The Citizen, 2006-03-16, Page 27Yak attack
Mark Beaven of Morris takes his new challenge, Scotty in
his arms. Beaven has five yak on his farm because "I
wanted something different." (Heather Crawford photo)
ilaton. County
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By Heather Crawford
Citizen staff
When Mark Beaven, a Huron East
councillor and field operations
manager at Ontario Egg Producers,
moved to a new property on Morris
Road, he decided to try something
new.
"I'm always up for a challenge,"
he' said.
Beaven began looking for a
different kind of animal to occupy
his new barn and eventually decided
on the yak.
The peaceful, docile animal that
originates from the Himalayan
mountains, proved to be more
accessible than Beaven first
assumed.
"I started doing some research on
the interne and I found that the
closest producers of yak were in
Minnesota and Quebec."
Although these locations were
quite a hike from his farm near
Belgrave, Beaven didn't abandon the
idea altogether.
"I was speaking with someone in
Brussels who heard there were yak
in Dublin. I said, 'No you didn't.
There aren't any yak around here.'
But he was sure he heard there was."
So Beaven decided to take a drive
out and check up on the rumour.
Sure enough, there was someone
else with the same desire to . be
unique.
Beaven bought three yak in Dublin
and two more in St. Helens giving
him a small-sized herd of five.
"Who knew there were these
hidden pockets of yak around here?"
he said.
PAGE A6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2006.
Agriculture 2006
Raising yak, man learns as he goes along
Yak are a very docile animal and
very compatible with other animals,
he said. "We have a horse and
the yak get along fine with the
horse."
Although there isn't a large yak
market in the area, according to the
International Yak Association, it is
yet untapped. Yak milk has a high
butter fat content and is known in
Tibet for its richness. It is often
By Keith Roulson
Citizen publisher
The hot dry weather in 2005 made it
a surprisingly good year for growing
white beans in Huron County.
Bob-Fotheringham, president of the
Ontario Bean Producers' Marketing
Board explained there was good yield
and quality in the 2005 crop. Speaking
to the annual Members of Parliament
Dinner sponsored by the Huron
County Federation of Agriculture.
March 4, Fotheringham said the dry
season was something of a blessing for
bean producers. They had goile into
the year with a real concern for
anthracnose which had been a problem
in 2004 and had caused poor seed
quality.
Despite the good crop, things
weren't entirely rosy for bean
producers. Like the prices for all other
grains, the price for beans went dowb
dramatically, he said.
Meanwhile Fotheringham worried
about the lack of research into white
beans in Ontario as the industry moves
West.
He said the bean hoard is looking at
putting all its research grants from
other projects to support a researcher
at University of Guelph.
made into butter and cheese. Yak
hides and horns are also natural
products that could be used for
decoration or other means.
"I heard that the fibre is the second
softest next to cashmere," Beaven
said. 1
For now, however, he doesn't plan
on reinventing the yak market.,
"We're going to attempt milking in
the spring," he said. "It's really just
for personal use. We're learning as
we go."
Beaven said the biggest challenge
to being a new yak farmer is, "I have
no idea what I'm doing. I grew up in
an agricultural area. I work with
Ontario Egg Producers but I'm.
rancher ignorant when it comes to
yak,"
Still, he said he is having a lot of
fun. "It's been the topic of
conversation in different Circles
now."
But that was more than likely the
point. "I wanted something
different," he said. "I wanted
something no one else had."
2005 a good year for
growing white beans
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