The Rural Voice, 2002-09, Page 51their usefulness and a new barn
would be required if they were going.
to stay in pork.
He had a good friend and
neighbour, Albert Hessels who was
very Targe in veal production. "He
taught me a lot about what he did and
I got into it."
Veal is something that one
person can do by himself for
the most part, he says. While
help is needed for weaning and
moving calves, most chores can be
carried on by one person.
Today the Palmers market about
300 veal calves a year, meaning they
have about 175 on the farm at any
one time. The production cycle for
calves is about seven months.
They get their calves from six
good-sized dairy farms in the area
that he visits every 10-14 days. "1
like - that. You have a, good
relationship going. They trust you
that you're paying the right amount
of money."
He pays about the same price
year-round, sometimes above the
going rate, sometimes below but it
evens out.
When you buy off the farm part of
the deal is you take all the. calves,
twins and everything, he says. Twins
are a challenge for vealers.
Producers can also get their calves
from auctions but risk the politics of
the industry. "It's ugly. I'm surprised
there aren't more people beat up in
the parking lot," he says.
"If you don't want to do that game
you can have a buyer do it for you.
You just put your order in, `I want 25
please' and he'll bring them to you."
For all producers the fear is
disease. If a farmer gets a disease in
his herd that is transmitted to calves,
the fragile calves can wreak havoc on
a veal operation, a problem Palmer
himself has encountered. Disease and
his busy schedule with OVA has -led
him to downsize from about 500-600
calves a year to the current size. The
smaller operation has proven much
better health -wise, he says.
His cropping acreage of 40 acres
of wheat, 200 of soybeans and 130 of
corn has also been downsized
because he refuses to pay $130 an
acre for land, more for than he feels
he can recover from growing crops.
He spends about 50 days a year
away from the farm with his work
with OVA and as the red meat
sector's representative on the
Agricultural Adaptation Council.
work he finds exciting. He does mis
the local contact with local farmers.
particularly when he used to sell seed
corn and spend a lot of time visiting
farmers.
Still he enjoys being part of the
OVA organization at a time when so
many exciting things are happening
(he credits his predecessor for putting
the programs in place that are now
paying off). He admits he'll miss the
work when his term is finished.°
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JOHN DEERE
SEPTEMBER 2002 47
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