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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1997-03-19, Page 29THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 1997. PAGE A-9. Farming, home-based business for women It's no secret that the concept of the single income farm family is pretty much a thing of the past. Most farm wives, in addition to helping their husbands, also work outside the home to supplement the family income. In rare situations, however, the tables have been turned. By Bonnie Gropp Citizen staff It's all about life. That is the joy that Mar)' Ann Drost finds in her career. "I love the whole experience of new life," says the mother of four, who operates a sheep and pig farm near Kinbum. "I took on farming so I could make some money, yet be al home with my children. I believe it's important to teach them the farm way of life. And it beats (having them) sitting on street comers." Drost and her husband Carmen, who has for the past five years worked long days for nine months a year at Cargill Fertilizer, have 100 sheep as well as an iso-wean nursery bam built last March, where they raise 1,200 pigs, from two weeks of age to 25 pounds, through Allied Pork Corporation. While the Drosts have a manager to help with the pigs, the sheep are primarily Mary Ann's job. And come lambing season she appreciates that Carmen is around in January and February to help, because with small children things can get a little hectic. Like this year for example. Carmen was busy completing a computer course, so Mary Ann had to dress Brent, three, and Zachary, 19 months, each time she made one of her many daily trips to the bam. (The other children are Tanya, 10 and Shawn, nine). "That's a challenge, because you're always running out to see if everything's alright. And everytime the kids need a dry set of clothes." The concern is not just with the birthing process but with feeding as well. Lambs, need to be watched to make sure that they get some milk within one hour of being bom or they get hypothermia. Failing to nourish, can be the result of a stressful birth or if the mother isn't producing milk. Mary Ann keeps cow colostrom available for this Hello, friend Mary Ann Drost's gentle handling and frequent visits to the barn have the animals looking for affection when they see her. purpose — and a large supply of baby bottles. "All a lamb really needs is its stomach full." Obviously birth happens any time of day, so Mary Ann's watchful eyes can't close for a restful eight hour's sleep. "I don't need an alarm," she says referring to her nighttime watch. "I just wake up and if I don't go sec what's happening I lay there and wonder, so it makes more sense to just go." On one occasion this year, Mary Ann went to the bam at 2 a.m. and didn't get back to bed until 4:30. In that time 11 lambs were bom. The days regularly begin at 6:30 a.m. and end at 11:30 p.m. "Sunday's our day to sleep in and catch-up," she says. Mary Ann started raising lambs right after her marriage; five sheep and one ram were a wedding present from her in-laws. "I love lambs and for anyone wanting to raise animals, sheep are a low start-up cost," she said. With the arrival of April comes sheep shearing day. "That's a big event," says Mary Ann. We have a lot of people here helping, a lol of food that needs to be prepared and work to be done." The shearing is done by someone else for expediency's sake. "Carmen can do the shearing, but he does five an hour; the man we hire can do 17," laughs Mary Ann. Shearing, she explains, is done strictly for the health and cleanliness of the animals. It costs $2.50 a sheep to shear and the fleece brings in about $3 each. The workload lightens shortly after the sheep's coats do, and with the warming of the weather Mary Ann's work takes on a more somnolent tone. "I spend my summers counting sheep," she says, "and making sure they're healthy. Obviously with only a 50 cent profit on the fleece, the prime source of income from lambs is the meat. The lambs bom on the Drost farm are, with the exception of a few kept for replacement livestock and sold privately, sold to market. Mary Ann's loving concern for her animals and their familiarity to her is evident. Whereas sheep can be a skittish animal, Mary Ann's are quite comfortable with humans. She picks up a lamb, and recalls its difficult birth, all the while the little animal snuggles against her, licking her cheek. How, one wonders can someone send to market, something they obviously have such nurturing tendencies toward? "I do this job because it's for me. If I do it well I see the benefits financially. I love my animals and I give them the best home I can while they're here, then I don't think about it. That may seem harsh, but it's my livelihood." Mary Ann had a little lamb Mary Ann Drost of the Kinburn area loves farming as a career. The animals, which Drost refers to as her babies, are the beneficiaries of her nurturing while being raised. She sees farming as a job opportunity that allows her to make money and be a stay-at-home mother to her four children. By Bonnie Gropp Citizen staff For Kittie MacGregor, farming was not a way of life. Bom in Goderich and raised in London, Ontario, Kittie moved to the Londesboro-area 25 years ago following her marriage. She and her husband, Don, would be the fifth generation to live on his family's farm. About the rural lifestyle, Kittie says, "I knew nothing. But through the understanding and patience of my husband, along with a little common sense, I have come to know the business." So much so, that when Don began trucking in the late 1970s Kiltie took on most of the bam duties in their beef cattle operation. The only part of the business which is still exclusively Don's domain is the land work involved on their 100 acre property. "I won't drive the tractor," says Kittie. "I stay away from all of the machinery. When Don brings the bales in I think it makes more sense for him to be driving a tractor with a big spike out front carrying an 800 lb bale. Otherwise we're just asking for trouble." Kittie’s career choice, like that of most farm wives, is family driven. "After I had the children, I wanted to be home and this was the way to do it. I needed to work, and I didn't want someone else raising my children." Also, she says, that this arrangement allows Don to do the job he loves. "I wouldn't have him doing anything else. Because he's doing what he loves, he's happy when he gets home. And I enjoy the fact that this job allows me to be able to volunteer for things with our daughters." Spimg is the one time when finding time to do these volunteer things can be at more of a premium. With new babies being bom in the bam, Kittie's in greater demand there. "I'm in and out of the bam all day long and checking the fencing to make sure the calves stay with their moms." The one-time city girl says she has learned a lot about life doing what she does now. "You look at things differently after you've helped a calf come into the world," she says, adding that she is still amazed watching a vet do a caesarean section. Kittie also recalls a time when one of their cows had died of unknown causes. "Don and I are adamant about finding out what has happened when one of our animals dies. On a recent foggy, rainy morning, Kittie MacGregor's workday gets off to a challenging beginning with a flooded barn floor. The family dog, Patches was a little reluctant to accompany her, opting for drier land. This has often been a fascinating education for our kids." One Kittie, too, found particularly interesting was after a pregnant cow had died of a stomach ulcer. "She had been about two months along. During the autopsy the vet showed us the fully formed calf. It fit in the palm of my hand." Don, whose job can take him away from home for long stretches, calls Kittie daily to see how she's managing. "One day I fell apart, because everything had gone wrong. I'd lost a calf and that can be tough, because they’re like your babies." Self-effacingly Kitlie acknowledges that most farm wives do as much on the farm as she does. "It's not really hard work for me. I’m not doing anything any different than what other women do on the farm. Also, I get tremendous help from my neighbours," she adds. In addition to her farm work, Kittie is the only woman director on the Huron County Beef Producers' Board. "They asked and Don said we'd do it together, but it's been me," she laughs. In addition to helping her stay informed about what is happening in the industry, she is also glad to be able to add a female perspective to things. "I want the other directors remembering they're consumers as well as producers. Because I'm a woman I do the grocery shopping and I see what our product looks like. We should know how it is being marketed." Kitlie is also a volunteer and chairperson for the next two years for A Slice of Huron, which will be voluntarily taking rural education to the classrooms. "Because of my city background, I know there are people who do not understand the rural way of life. I believe people should know that those in livestock husbandry are not bad. I don't object with a vegetarian’s choice to not eat meat, but don't tell me I can't." Having had the perspective of urban and rural lifestyles, Kitlie knows where her heart is. "We lived in the city for a year after we married and we never used it. We didn't go to theatres or out to dinner. I like the country, I like the friendly atmosphere. When I moved here I was included in this community and that says so much about rural Ontario." "I love having the opportunity to be home with my kids and I love raising them here. They may not be street-wise, but I can share with Lhem lessons of life that you can only get on the farm.