The Rural Voice, 2003-08, Page 14"Our experience
assures lower cost
water wells"
103 YEARS' EXPERIENCE
Member of Canadian
and Ontario
Water Well Associations
• Farm
• Industrial
• Suburban
• Municipal
Licensed
by the Ministry
of the Environment
DAVIDSON
WELL DRILLING LTD.
WINGHAM
Serving Ontario Since 1900
519-357-1960 WINGHAM
519-664-1424 WATERLOO
Specialists:
• All FARM BUILDINGS
• GALVANIZED STEEL
• COLOURED STEEL
• WOOD SIDES
• FENCES
• AIRLESS SPRAY PAINTING
• SANDBLASTING
• BOOM TRUCK
We Power Wash Everything
Before We Paint It!
519-848-3184
1-800-837-0246
R R #1 ARTHUR, ONTARIO NOG 1A0
10 THE RURAL VOICE
Robert Mercer
Estate fruit -based winerg planned
Robert
Mercer was
editor of the
Broadwater
Market Letter
and
commentator
for 25 years.
Our local spring farm field tour
here on Vancouver Island this year
was to a large dairy farm where the
owners were very handy at making
all their own barns and homes as well
as specialized farm machinery. They
were also looking to start their own
estate winery.
If there was nothing else to inspect
on the farm, the combine -sized
workshop was enough to make any
farmer jealous. It had all the space
you would like and all the equipment
you could wish for. Some of it may
have been a bit old, but it must have
worked as the line-up of machinery,
and livestock housing made on the
farm was impressive.
One of those self-made, designed
and fabricated units was a planter for
black currant bushes. Just about the
whole thing was made from scrap and
parts from the local automobile junk
yard. The wheels, the seat, the frame,
in fact all but the trench blade which
was acquired in California
(secondhand) when getting the
original ideas for the planter, were
"free".
The planter is needed on this farm
as Bruce and Diane Beacham plan to
enter the estate winery business. At
first they were looking at grapes, but
found that their location on
Vancouver island was too far north
for the successful production of wine
grapes. So not to be stopped, they
switched their approach to a fruit -
based wine. This is the year when
they start to plant out their new
venture.
Our visit to the farm was much
more than a discussion on black
currants as the family started at the
location in 1978 with 67 acres, no
farm buildings, no house and no
electricity.
Since then they have built two
farm family homes, two cow barns,
the milking area, an on-farm feed
mill, a calf barn and the fully -
equipped farm workshop.
They have built up the acreage to
over 300 and have a daily milking
line of about 110 cows. The basic
feed is grass silage that is stored in
bags. The system has worked well for
them as they were the first to use the
method hack in 1979-80.
Much of the silage crop is taken
off low-lying wetland that is difficult
to make hay upon, and can only be
harvested with the aid of a massive
high dump trailer with floatation tires
bigger than those on a 747 jet.
One of the ideas on this farm that
can be used anywhere was in the
selection of partitioning board for the
calf stalls. This board must be strong
and capable of taking the abuse of
young calves, manure and dampness.
To meet the needs of this barn
where all the stall siding is
removable, Bruce searched all
options and came up with puckboard.
This is the same boarding as used in
hockey arenas. It is tough, waterproof
and cleans well. It was also easy to
fabricate into the design of the pens
and securing mechanisms.
The farm workshop had also been
used to make a set of triple rollers
that were needed to pack the seed and
soil in their rotational grass and grain
program. A farm -made land leveller
was among the other tools built on
the farm, and once again nearly all
materials used were either scrap or
secondhand.
It was a glorious day in June for
the farm field trip. Maybe next time
we visit we can sample the new fruits
of the labours of the Beachams. A
cordial with a kick.0
Deadline for the
September issue of
The Rural Voice
is
August 20, 2003