The Rural Voice, 1991-02, Page 32Which
Boots
Belong to
The FCC
Advisor?
Hard to tell, isn't it? Because farmers are our only customers, you ll often find us
walking through fields and around livestock pens. It's our job to be that close to the land
and that close to you.
Planning to buy land, livestock, equipment ? Or build farm housing, barns, sheds?
FCC offers flexible financing attractive rates to new and established farmers. Let's walk
through some ideas together.
Offices in: Walkerton 881-1490 Owen Sound 376-6338
Goderlch 524-5366 Stratford 271-0460
IA.. Farm Credit Corporation SooAtd du addiavow* Investing in Good Bossiness.... Canadian AgncWhin
♦• Canada Canada
Head
Office
Dufferin Mutual
Insurance Company
For Insurance you can rely on
call one of our brokers near you
Cockwell Insurance Brokers Ltd. Atwood 519-356-2216
Culham insurance Brokers Ltd. Collingwood 705-445-6100
Howard Noble Insurance Ltd. Collingwood 705-445-4738
Simpson & Company Collingwood 705-445-3151
Howard Noble Insurance Ltd. Dundalk 519-923-2313
Chapman, Graham & Lawrence Insurance Durham 519-369-3131
Grand Valley Insurance Brokers ....................... Grand Valley 519-928-2851
Chapman, Graham, & Lawrence Insurance Hanover 519-364-2790
Tebbutt Insurance Brokers Markdale 519-986-2167
Georgian Bay Insurance Brokers Ltd. . Meatord 519-538-2102
Crewson Insurance Brokers Ltd. Shelburne 519-925-3145
Howard Noble Insurance Ltd. Thornbury 519-599-3812
Chapman, Graham, & Lawrence Insurance Walkerton 519-881-0611
Shelburne, Ontario
110 Adelaide St., P.O. Box 117,
519-925-2026 1-800-265-9115
LON 1S0
Fax 519-925-3357
1895
— 100 years
1995
28 THE RURAL VOICE
that of his son, Derek. The social
aspect of belonging to the Rainy River
Hereford Association and showing
cattle is no small attraction, Andrew
points out. "It lets us get away from
the barnyard for a while!"
There's an even division of labour
between Andrew and Kristine: he does
the field work and helps when calving
gets tricky; she is in charge of medical
duties including the artificial insem-
ination and looking after the calves.
Both share cleaning, feeding and
inspection responsibilities — which
include spelling one another in three-
hour shifts every night during calving
season. An intercom in the bedroom
comes in handy for emergency calls
from the barn.
This year, Kristine took several
weeks off work in order to alleviate
some of the stress of calving time.
She and Andrew believe that atten-
tiveness pays off. "To get 100 per
cent, you really have to look after your
cattle," says Andrew. "You've got to
be right with them." Kristine agrees.
"If a calf is sick, or you have to feed it
by the bottle, it's to your own
advantage to take care of it. We save
everything we can."
Long hours and lack of sleep don't
deter them. "It starts with the first
calf," says Andrew, "when you think:
Here we go, 24 hours a day! But it's
your income. You've got to look after
it. I can miss a few nights' sleep; it
passes fast enough. When it's all
over, then it looks good."
They try to keep up-to-date with
the latest in calving tips, always open
to new methods. "We read a lot," says
Kristine. "Everyone has good ideas."
Most people follow the same basic
rules, adds Andrew: "Keep sickness
out, keep your calves clean, and lots of
bedding."
Describing how their system of
management evolved, he says, "It's
just something that came by itself.
We'd see what we needed, so we'd
add improvements. Back then it was
fun: we'd have to dehom a cow and
we'd tie her to a post! Now we've got
all the corrals and chutes made. We'd
see something new one year, and
change our system over. This is how
we've ended up. There's still room
for improvements, but it's a lot easier
now."0