Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2022 i Farm and Ranch Living

A few years ago, I spent some time in Alaska. The winter there was like nothing I’ve ever seen—it seemed like everywhere I went, the forests shimmered with frost. (Imagine an entire mountainside of trees looking like the ones on page 18!) I toured farms where the animals thrive in cold: the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer (where they harvest qiviut fiber) and a nearby reindeer farm that was the inspiration for this issue’s cover story (page 57). Now, I fully acknowledge that bundling up to visit a farm can’t hold a candle to working with livestock in subzero temperatures all season long, as Jill Burkhardt and her family do in Alberta, Canada. Jill’s ag diary, starting on page 28, fills me with gratitude. I’m thankful, too, for Kelly Sweet’s…

BUYING FROM A FARM? Here are some tips for finding and nurturing the perfect tree. Follow your nose. Our customers pick trees based on size, softness, needle retention (the better it is, the less you have to vacuum) and fragrance. We suggest breathing deeply. Canaan fir and Fraser firs tend to offer the best combination of these desirable characteristics. Measure twice. Size options come down to ceiling height in the home and the buyer’s mode of transport. Vaulted ceilings are popular in the Berkshires, so tall trees stay in high demand. Folks often underestimate how heavy these can be and the size/type of vehicle required to get them home. And trees look much smaller under the big blue sky than they do under your roof. Every year we get a…

BY JILL BURKHARDT GWYNNE, ALBERTA, CANADA EST.  1918 AG ORGS. Alberta Beef Producers; Results Driven Agriculture Research TRACTOR Kubota M6 Hello! My name is Jill Burkhardt. I grew up on a row-crop and hog farm in east-central Illinois, then my parents moved us to Montana to raise cattle. I attended university in Bozeman, which is where I met my husband, Kelly. We each have a degree in range science. I started my career working for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and in Canada for the Alberta provincial government. Kelly and I, along with our kids, are the fourth and fifth generations of Burkhardts to own Crooked Lake Farm near Gwynne, Alberta, Canada. Kelly’s family came here by train from North Dakota in 1900, and his great-grandfather Otto Burkhardt purchased…

Three years ago, dairy farmers Ronnie and Clara Patton, who own Wildcat Mountain Cheese in East Bernstadt, Kentucky, began searching for ways to use their dairy business to give back to the community. Eventually they connected with a representative from the Kroger grocery chain. Kroger was in the early stages of launching a pilot program that would allow farmers and agricultural business owners to sell their signature products—in the Pattons’ case, handcrafted artisan farmstead cheeses—directly to a regional distribution company at a fair market rate. The couple eagerly signed up. As part of the program, their cheese, and that of two other local cheesemakers, would be sold in Kroger stores in the company’s largest markets in the region. The products would bear a special label telling customers that a portion…

“...what to my wondering eyes did appear, but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.”—CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”—CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE…

IN A PICKLE NO MORE I’ve been looking for a bread-and-butter pickle recipe that was one of my mom’s favorites, but no one in my family has it. I was astonished to see the recipe from Karen Owen of Rising Sun, Indiana, in the August/September issue of Farm & Ranch Living. I wanted to let Karen know that the recipe is as close to my mom’s as any I’ve found. These pickles taste almost like hers. I am grateful to Karen for sharing her mom’s recipe, and I enjoyed the accompanying story by Karen Giebel, too. SUSIE BREEN JACKSON, WYOMING WARM WELCOME! I just got my first issue of Farm & Ranch Living, and I love it! I especially enjoyed the in-depth ag diaries. Your magazine brings back fond memories…

The house was quiet. The snow had just begun to accumulate on the driveway and the tops of the fence posts. There was no wind to speak of, and that’s unusual in this area at this time of year. All was peaceful—for the time being. My family would be arriving late that night, and don’t we all worry a little more when our families are traveling home for the holidays? We visualize and pray for their safe arrival. Then comes the chaotic, blessed homecoming. Mittens. Coats. Snowy boots. Luggage. Gifts. Children. Pets. Hugs and laughter. We’re happy to see our daughters and sons smiling with pride in their children, directing our attention to how this one’s grown and how long that one’s hair has gotten. And the baby—the baby is…

CRIMPER This foot pedal-operated rig is akin to a big set of pliers that pushes the metal pieces of the wreath frame into place to secure fresh greenery. WREATH MAKER Also operated by a foot pedal, this contraption wraps florist wire around fresh greenery to attach branches to a simple wreath frame. It’s important to add the greenery quickly or you’ll get your fingers wrapped up, too! ROPING MACHINE This works more or less the same way as the wreath maker. The major difference is that the wreath machine accommodates round forms, while the roper lets you make garlands of any length.…

The Loop program started out in British Columbia (BC) as a way to reduce operating costs on family farms. Today Loop works with 60 grocery stores in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan, diverting grocery surplus to farmers for use as animal feed, bioenergy or compost. In other words, the program “closes the loop” on organic-waste disposal in the food industry. Participating grocers keep excess food items in good condition and sort everything by department. This and other Loop policies help farmers make thoughtful feed decisions that follow the country’s Food Inspection Agency guidelines. As participating farmers, we do our Loop pickup every Saturday at a local grocery. We never know how much we’ll get, but the food is already sorted and boxed when we pick it up. Once we get home,…

1. WINTER STORM WATCH When a cold front came through bringing big, lazy snowflakes, I went out to close the barn door. As I arrived, the ewes poked their heads out—seemingly to check the weather—while a lamb snuck a peek too. ERIKA MILLER MONROEVILLE, OHIO 2. WE CAN DO IT! Every year we cut our own Christmas tree at a nearby farm. This time we got a second one for the kids. We loved seeing them work together, determined to haul their tree up the hill on their own. CYNTHIA SCHARENBROCH MARSHFIELD, WISCONSIN 3. SNOWY SURPRISE My daughter smashed a snowball in her brother’s face just before I snapped this photo. He was a bit shocked, as this was his first snow, but he took it like a champ. SHAYE…

1. SHAKERS to remove debris before loading the tree onto the customer’s car. 2. TREE DRILLS designed specifically for use with Stand Strait tree stands. 3. TREE CARTS to safely bring trees in from the field. 4. PRUNER for shaping trees in summer. We use battery-powered rotary shearing equipment. It’s lightweight, emissions-free and quiet. 5. FERTILIZER BACKPACK reduces fatigue; easier to carry than a bucket. 6. VARIOUS MOWERS that are specific to the task or terrain. This reduces the need for maintenance. 7. MAX TAPENER TOOL to help train and straighten the treetop for evenness and star placement. 8. SQUARE POINT OF SALE SYSTEM offers a simplified database of products, easy payment processing and financial reports. 9. OUR WEBSITE offers a look at our farm’s history, houses an online store…

• The Highline bale processor makes bedding cattle a breeze, and the self-loading bale wagon can haul 14 bales with just one tractor and operator. • The Segue 7T mixer helps us get a proper ration for feedlot cattle and makes feeding in bunks easy—plus it’s manufactured in nearby Wetaskiwin. • For cutting twine and netwrap, we use box cutters with snap-off blades that can be changed easily. That way we’re never without a sharp blade. • We use Gallagher solar-fence energizers and livestock data collection and management tools. • Trimble GPS for the field tractors • Our cattle salt and mineral comes from another local company, Country Junction, and we use DeKalb corn for grazing. • The Koenders calf warmer is a necessity in this climate. • Hi-Hog’s cattle-handling system and calf table are indispensable. • Stanley weatherproof…