Explore every episode of the podcast Great Big Farmer

With the steady rhythm of the electric fence charger in the background, I think about the calves that were just picked up to be sold. It seems like this gets harder for me as the years go on. I don't think I like the calves more than I did in the past, I'm just more aware of my affection for them. I read a few pages from Sun House by David James Duncan. He writes about the relationship between an old rancher the land and his cattle, and those who will be nourished by their bodies. After reading, I think about the same. I conclude "if the cattle are living in the beauty of the world, then so am I". When I listened to this recording later, this really stuck with me. It is the essence of ecological farming and I believe this notion transfers to the production of tomatoes, honey, apples, wheat and whatever else we raise.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Rambling about all kinds of stuff today. Thinking about the quality of the pastures and how much grazing time is left. Will the Super El Nino allow for a longer grazing season? Had the same problem with the combine; it definately needs a new belt. The sourghum-sudan cover crop will be left for the deer. Still no fix on the flooding from upstream farms. Upcoming jobs include rolling the composting manure windrow, cut Queen Anne's lace, and get the new disc and cultivator ready for next spring. Beavers are eating the cover crop, and have some interesting slides down to the water. I volunteered at the Ripley Fall Fair where it was noted how polite everyone is, even when a bit tipsy. Nice community!

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

I ramble on about the beavers who have set up a temporary home in the deepest part of the river. Seems like equipment repairs are happening all day, every day. Picked up a wider disc and I ramble on about that. Working on firewood, tooth test for soybeans, cover crops need rain, calves go to OLEX next week, and to finish a sound you'll recognize if you prep your own fire wood. (Sep 23)

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

I thought I had rambled in previous episodes, but in this one I have outdone myself! Prepping the combine for soybean harvest. The planter is repaired and almost ready to be put away. The cows are wondering why I'm talking to myself. Fall maintenance on the White 2-62 tractor took so much longer than expected. It's weird that there are flies on the cows this time of year. My cattle brand is Bar Double A, the same as my ancestor Molly Lyle in Arrowood Alberta. I'm thinking about forcing the graze on this paddock. Another fantastic evening to be in the pasture with the cows. The sound of cows munching red clover to finish. (Sep 14)

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

I ramble on... about the organic audit coming up and a whole bunch of other things such as field histories, receipts, tags for seed bags, transferring anecdotal notes to summary sheets, and things I would do differently in hindsight. Then I suggest that planning cover crops by seeds-per-square-foot is a good idea and better than pounds of seed per acre. Flint's calves are always awesome, and I wish she would have a heifer to keep. My calves are chill when they get vaccinated. I had to change the hydraulic hose fittings on most of my equipment because my new Ford tractor is weird. I reflect on this audio journal. When I search the internet, I include .edu in the search criteria.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Before rambling on about other things, Tom calls the cows "Bruce County Style" to cross the river. Sounds of the crossing and the cows feasting on apples. The question of the best number of cows to keep in my little herd is contemplated in non-directional monologue style LOL. At this point in the fall, I'm starting to plan for the end of the grazing season. (Sep 5)

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

I've got concerns about the number of apples on the ground where I am about to move the cows. If they eat too many, one or more might bloat which is a real concern. The DIY loose salt or mineral feeder is described. These have been great and have really stood up well over the years. (Sep 5)

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

I confused the neighbour's cows bawling with mine. Well not me, my cows. Using a zig-zag path to help erosion on hills. Chisel plow to rip for compaction in the heifer barn field. Breaking shear bolts. Kincardine seems to be in the rainshadow of Michigan's "thumb". Wendell Berry influenced me greatly. Red clover in the mineral mix has resulted in a good stand in the most distant paddock. This remote paddock is a resting place for deer and this morning, it is providing habitat for meadowlarks, snakes, and monarchs. There is nothing like a program of rotationally grazing cattle to increase biodiversity.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

We like to make a small fire and sit around it at night. There is a line of maple trees along the east side of the front yard, and their trunks support a supply of wood that helps to make a cozy space. A ring of field stones defines the fire pit, and six or eight chairs are arranged in a somewhat coherent circle. The best seats face west with a clear view of the setting sun over the sloping west treeline of the farm. This is the place where we entertain friends, and where the kids have had their small parties over the years. Sitting there happens most nights when we are free, and we tend to have a fire on weekends or in the shoulder seasons when it is cool. On this night, we enjoyed a small fire and were taken by the loud and consistent chorus of crickets and grass frogs. You'll also hear Oakley's patrol barking. I think he's letting the coyotes know that he's on duty. He is a Maremma livestock dog, so it is in his DNA to continue like this all night and every night. Needless to say he sleeps most days LOL. He is a gentle, intelligent, and independent dog, and a fierce defender of the property.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Rambling on about care and management of weaned calves. Not seeing peas emerge in the cover crop. It makes no sense to worry about things on the farm that are out of my control to change now. In the barn with the newly weaned calves. Very few stress days for these calves. Weaning "across the gate" vs "separation". Jumping back to the start of the recording to the sounds of morning...about a minute standing on the cow path where the pasture, river and woods meet. Recorded September 3, 2026.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Walking the group from a paddock back to the barn. The old time way to call cattle in Bruce County is "Coo Bos" and its origin is the Scottish reference to highland cattle; Coo= cow Bos= the Latin genus species Bos taurus taurus.The herd is super happy today, but I wish they were chill. They know where the apple trees are. Pigeons startle a cow and in an instant she runs at me like I wasn't there. Cicada in the background. Moving gates and sorting out the cows. Weaning nose-to-nose.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

The old water line is tough to work with. No leaks. Making the unused electrical feed neat and secure (this bowl is energy free). Lots of water pressure. Stripping the concrete forms. I cut myself. Setting the water bowl in place is not easy by myself. Getting it going went really well. Podcasts I listen to sometimes focus on exciting stuff, not grunt work like this. Installing the 2x6 barrier allows access to both sides of the bowl.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Late summer pasture move. Reasons for moving the cows. Finishing up by checking the water, salt, and mineral. Soybeans are maturing.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Lots of detail here, 'cause everybody wants to hear about concrete forming! LOL I ramble on about how the concrete pad will meet the requirements for the installation of the bowl.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Growing cover crops and grazing cattle is the best! Rapids in the Kincardine Creek between two pools. Simple three point hitch spline repair. Difficult tire packer repair. Breaking out concrete in the barn. Perfect growing conditions for germination. Fade out with river sounds.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

The manure-compost pile has warmed up. The tire packer is very broken and I'm glad nothing else was damaged when it came apart. I calculated that the seeding density for this cover crop mix is 44 seeds per square foot, which is very high and I'm glad about that. Looking ahead...but for now, it's time to get some rest.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Rambling while unloading seed bags. Big problem with the seeder metering mechanism. The right way to live my life.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Early morning. Recording while checking compost temperatures and walking the soybean field. Pulling weeds tall weeds, trying to decrease the seed bank. Making the disc sing. Magnet finds more fence wire  and a plow point. Lots of prep for seeding the cover crop...

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Overall, things are going great this summer, but I'm late getting the cover crop planted. First disc needs to be repaired, and the supplier to the machine shop is slow to courier the bearing that's needed. Also, the new tractor needs a lot of attention before it can be used reliably. It would be easy to miss one key maintenance issue that could result in costly damage to the tractor. Right now I'm really focused on the flushing and conditioning the radiator and coolant system. It sounds basic but that sort of thing is a really big deal. There have been so many things to manage to farm organically, and I haven't done a good job with farm composting. The cattle manure is a valuable input and it is best applied as finished compost instead of fresh manure and straw. So, the manure has been moved to a field edge where it has been windrowed. I'll record temperature data and rolll the windrow periodically until it is fully composted, then apply the compost to the field that currently has soybeans next spring along with a cover crop. As usual, the cows and calves are happily grazing their paddocks.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

I would advise anyone to trust the engineered specifications for tractor fluids, and don't follow the advice of the retailer...it's important. Custom repairs are a lot of fun. The way that animals forage for food is a lot like the way humans have managed Earth's oil resources. Early on cattle graze plants that have the lowest perceived cost:benefit ratio. Pasture plants that are palatable and easy to access. Later, less palatable plants or those that are farther away are grazed. Isn't that analagous to the manner that we have obtained oil?

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

I think hand weeding a field is called roguing for weeds, and I'm doing that using my Amish Hoe.Other stuff...coffee time...a trip to the mennonite machine shop...swapping the fluids on the new tractor...2nd cut baling went well....cutting the sourghum-sudan cover crop. There are three lines from Mary Oliver's poem "Sometimes" that really stand out.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

I think a chisel plow does a nice job of opening compacted soil. It does so by stirring, without inverting the earth like a moldboard plow. I have a notion that this better maintains soil structure, and that fungal associations will be more easily reestablished in the pending cover crop. Just my opinion here, though.Unfortunately, an old wire fence was unearthed. It had been buried in a roll in one spot and needs to be cleaned up. It is brittle and will be a hazard for tractor tires even with a careful clean up. Also, an extensive root network along the west fenceline was a challenge for the chisel plow. I was very fortunate to hear about a Ford 9600 tractor that is for sale locally. This is literally exactly the tractor that I was looking for ideally. At 135 pto horsepower, it is a beast for this farm and will keep limit the strain on my present Ford 7700 tractor. It is also time for 2nd cut hay...today will be a very, very long one!


Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

With wheat harvest finished, it's time to reflect...but not for long because the wheat stubble is growing weeds and a cover crop needs to go in shortly. I decide to "double disc" the hard, dry ground.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

This is what it sounds like while harvesting wheat with a White 8700 combine.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Are you curious about how the combine worked?

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Today's the day! Tom rambles on about his old farm equipment, specifically the various machines needed today and their cost. Then he does a deep dive into combine settings....a very deep dive. With all of this old equipment in operation he talks about a stoics' mindset when farming. Next episode...post harvest discussion.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

The sound of birds and insects. Daybreak as I check on the cows and move them to another paddock. A lot has happened since the last episode of this audio journal, and most of it has been quite good fortunately. With wheat harvest imminent, I reflect on the success or otherwise of the farm in terms of its' different parts. Hay production, winter wheat, soybeans, and the cattle. As a former teacher, I couldn't resist assigning a grade to each...LOL. Why am I still grading things in my retirement?

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

I found a comfortable spot to sit/ lie down on a hillside near the river, with a view of the grazing cattle, the river, and the small field I call the bowl. Oakley came with me as well as a barn cat who probably thinks he is also a dog and should come on long walks.  It was nice of my friends to turn up in the rain for the EFAO field tour last week. I was expecting about six people but there were maybe twenty. I didn't know what people would be interested in, so I did a two hour show and tell. Looking back, I think I should have mentioned organic weed control with more clarity, so I make an attempt in this episode. While recording, a fawn emerged from the woods along the river. Sunset. Peace. I am grateful.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Having heard a calf bawling in the distance, I decided to see if it was one of mine. It seemed like a good time to record a farm update. It was nice to hear the sound of the river, plus the grassland and forest birds. It really was a beautiful morning!

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

This episode was recorded at about 6 am across the river, as I checked in on the cattle after their recent move. It is nice to hear the birds in this nice little clearing at the edge of the water. Soybeans are planted and the electric fences are all up and in decent shape. I'm also thinking ahead to planting cover crops, fixing equipment, planting cover crops, and haying season coming up.
I'm so tired! LOL

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Finding time to record an episode isn't easy.
Oakley decdides to spend time on the neighbour's porch.
Critical tractor repair goes well.
Bringing a White 8700 combine home from Londsborough.
Looking for a break in the weather to plant organic soybeans.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Somewhere upstream, a farmer has altered the path of water. Cutting deep gulleys and picking up soil, it made its' way onto this farm. Slowing in a waterway with natural grass banks lined with trees, the water dropped some of the soil and stone. Pulled by gravity and unable to flow in the plugged waterway, it flowed into our pastures and cropland. With deposits of six to eight inches, the pasture is now low ground and water is flowing in it. Similarly, the field planted in rye is now low ground and will probably continue to receive silt deposits throughout the year. An excavator will be needed to repair the damaged stream....costly in several ways (1) the ecosystem is damaged (2) the cropland and pasture will be permanently damaged having been buried in sediment (3) time (4) money, probably a couple of thousand dollars or more.
I read a relevant bit from "What Are People For" by Wendell Berry to finish things off.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Grazing season has officially started! I've got some noisy audio here from a windy day. It is also dry enough to get the disc out on the field, another step toward getting organic soybeans planted.

I used noise reduction on the raw audio, but it's still noisy at times. That's okay for me though, because it's the reality of the day.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

When to let the cattle out on grass the first time is a big decision. This episode is a good one if you are new to rotational grazing. If you are an experienced grazer, you might reflect on what you do and possibly pick up some new ideas. I also talk about running the disc to incorporate a cover crop that was planted last August. It had a huge amount of biomass, and I have been a bit concerned about getting the field ready in time to plant soybeans.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Coffee with friends in the driveshed.
Forgetting Friday night, and splinting a calf with two broken legs.
Fencing across the river.
The "essential ordinary" makes things go smoothly.
The disc needs repairs.
It's probably safer to scratch your calves on the tail head rather than the head.
Bo the barncat follows me to do more fence repairs.
Vegetable garden progress, digging paths between beds, hardening off some seedlings.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Recording in the barn (you can hear the fence charger clicking away).
I've spent about five days maintaining field edges and I'm not done this exhausting job.
Rule of thumb....May 10th is the Bruce County day to put cattle on pasture.
My fencing system is archaic.
The field tractor needs my attention ASAP.
The cover crop in the field named "Bobolink" needs to get turned in so that the biomass can broken down in time for planting.
Rule of thumb...Mother's Day is the first day you can consider doing field work in Bruce County.
Introducing the bull to the cows is my highest priority right now.
Susan has helped me with a plan to artificially inseminate the yearling heifer (she is the bull's daughter).
Abby and I have pulled the dash apart on the Honda Civic and we need a win with this job.
The swather is a wild animal.
The sweep auger for the grain bin is almost ready, which is good because I'd like to sell the wheat.
My "no-till organic soybeans" experiment has been set back by ponding water.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

This episode is all about the fun I had, and how I was struck by the beauty of nature while on holiday in British Columbia.
And then I get started talking about my decision not to fly and it seems like I couldn't stop talking about it LOL.


Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

I've never seen a chicken break up a cat fight, until now. While Peter and I are busy welding and repairing equipment, a cow decides to have her calf. How I dealt with her retained placenta. I am starting to think about all kinds of spring activities including chainsaw work in the field edges, fence repairs, planting equipment, helping to coach boys and girls rugby at the high school, and off-farm contracting work. Busy days ahead!

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

The bull and a nest of bees
The importance of manure as fertilizer
The skidsteer's time to shine
Rugby is my volunteer work
I am an idiot and wrecked my chainsaw
A chill drive through Mennonite country
My fence chargers can be repaired
Mennonite and Amish farms look very different from English farms
Our farm doesn't have any bare soil
Today I can feel spring coming on!!
Wendell Berry's 1992 iv @ 18 min 49 sec


Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Are you thinking about making a move to organic agriculture? Larry Kraemer shares the details of his path from a life in Toronto to his organic farm near Kincardine. This is a great episode if you are thinking about transitioning from conventional farming to certified organic.
Contents:
Raised in Toronto
Great memories of summers in Bruce County 
The joy of hard work
Operating a conventional dairy farm
The challenges of high interest rates in the 1980's
Running a business and raising a family while also farming
Raising beef cattle
The circumstances that lead to growing organic row crops
Record keeping for organic certification can be easy!
Grain storage
Crop rotations
Growing organic soybeans to illustrate what it takes to raise a crop organically
Equipment and strategies to keep weeds at bay
Marketing organic crops
Farming as part of a rewarding life!


Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

This afternoon I travelled to Southampton to celebrate the life of a teaching colleague, Pat Joynt. This episode was recorded in the bank barn while sitting with the calves.

The Present...until the 6:45 min mark. Noticing the small stuff in life. Calves, a barn cat, and hockey on the radio.

The Past...from 6:45 to 16:47 min. Thinking about the joyous life of Pat Joynt and the unique community that existed in the high school where I taught.

The Future...from the 16:47 min mark. It's time to start thinking about tomorrow. I call what I do each day the essential-ordinary. There is a lot to be said for finding joy in thoughts of tomorrow. As we all know tomorrow will be the new present, before living again as the next memory in the new past.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

We get the sugar maple seeds planted, and a mouse helps to make things interesting in the seeding room. I worked on marketing my hard red winter wheat using an "everybody needs to win" approach. Teddy the bull sees the great outdoors for the first time since he got here.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

I learned some lessons when Flint the cow suddenly became maximally aggressive when a strange person entered the bank barn.
Also, it is a requirement of organic certification to maintain field histories. The added bonus is you can look back on a field and really get a sense what worked and what didn't. I discuss the challenges presented when cropping this field and some of the steps I have taken so far with crop rotations and cover crops.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

As they say, if you have livestock you're going to have deadstock. That's always in the back of my mind when I check on the cattle and the calf I noticed today didn't look right. Also, I have a few minutes to check on the tree seeds that I put in the fridge.
Jan 11 - tree seeds placed in damp paper towel then stored in ziploc bags in the fridge
Feb 25 - checking the seeds 46 days later

Walnut, birch, silver maple, sugar maple, oak.

Conclusions? Some of the sugar maple seeds have germinated, so I should transplant them to soil right away. The silver maple seeds just don't look good, and it was probably a mistake to vernalize them in the fridge. I should have just planted them last spring when they fell. Too early to tell with the walnut, birch and oak.

Send me questions, comments, or advice about growing trees from seed.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

If I hosted a field day, would anyone even come? Do I have any useful knowledge or experience to share? These are some of the questions that come to mind as I entertain the idea of hosting an open house "field day". As this episode was recorded I arrived at a few tentative conclusions. I think I have some experience to share when it comes to rotationally grazing cattle because I've been doing it for a long time. Likewise for anyone interested in organic row cropping, I might have interesting things to offer because I am relatively new to it. If someone likes to experiment, they might be interested in my attempt at organic no-till soybeans using rye and roller crimping. There is also the equipment! I farm in 2026 using equipment from 1970 and could set all of it out for people to see. The agroecological practices that I've been doing over the years, and the new things like starting trees from seed all might appeal to someone who attends. Who knows? I'm tempted to host the field day and see what happens...there is only one way to find out if it would help someone.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Sure I'm a farmer. But I'm also what you'd call a contemplative. Here is the poem, I Have Decided by Mary Oliver. Let me know what you think!



Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

I'm hoping that you might find something in this episode that will help you during calving season, especially if you are just starting out! I think there might be a couple of takeaways for experienced farmers too.
I talk about my calving bins, keeping safe when near a new mom, home made electrolyte solution, colostrum, milk replacer, selenium-vitamin E, castrating, and many other things.
Here is something I forgot to mention LOL and I thought of it as soon as I was done recording. If a calf isn't breathing, reach for a piece of straw and insert the straw a couple of inches into the calf's notril. I've had success a couple of times doing this.

Electrolyte: store these ingredients in a ziploc bag and administer the solution with a tube doser or bottle

1.9 litres warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon "salt free" salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons corn syrup


Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

Four calves in 48 hours. Frozen water lines. A calf that doesn't know how to suck, and another that is the sort I call a runner. A heifer in heat and a frustrated bull. Anxious momma cows, and every barn cat wandering around to check out the excitement. A circus. I'm tired.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

June 22 is right in the middle of haying season. I decided to set my phone in the field and capture the sound of the wind, grassland birds, insects, and passing cars. The sound of the farm in summer is something I never want to forget.

Skip ahead to 2:17 if you want to use this episode in your contemplative practice. Or just play it for your cat while you are at work. Up to you LOL.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

greatbigfarmer@gmail.com

The plan is to put together an "audio journal" for the coming year. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to farm, and have been doing so for quite a number of years now. When my farming life is over, I want to remember some of the details that I'm sure would otherwise be forgotten. And so here it is, the first episode.

I've decided not to edit very much, if at all, and that way I will be more likely to stick with it throughout the year. When I think about past years and how busy farming can get, I really hope that I can keep this up! The idea is to include just the main issues that are occupying my brain.

This episode includes some typical challenges on the farm:
-Frozen water lines in the barn
-Problems with my on farm research sponsored by the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario (EFAO)
-Balancing farm work with my contracting business

Find your place in the world, dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
greatbigfarmer@gmail.com