Miles

written by

posted on

May 5, 2022

Three weeks ago, on a snowy afternoon, a special little calf bull was born. We had been keeping a close watch on the mama cow, who was giving many signs that she was ready to calve. The process was taking longer than usual, which was telling us something wasn’t right. Doug prepared by slip-tying rope that he could cinch around the calf’s legs if needed. He walked to the pasture, stood at a distance, and observed the scene.

The cow was trying; her calf’s feet were showing, but nothing else was happening. The intention set, Doug roped the calf and began to pull. After what probably seemed like a long time, a healthy, BIG bull calf was on the ground, and his mama was licking him. The excitement, calm, beauty, and pure love vibrated through the pasture. The herd was watching, and the snow began to fall. Magic!

We learned quickly that this bull calf was much larger than most newborn calves, and his mama was on the petite side. This caused issues with him understanding and finding her teet to start suckling for milk. So, Suzy prepared a bottle of warm whole milk.

The amount of patience and love that went into the days that followed this calf’s birth was limitless. Bottles morning to night, regularly checking on his health, always trying to teach him how to suck. A good chunk of our days has been spent on chatting and tending to this little guy, whom we now call Miles.

From milk in the bottle to electrolytes to boost his immunity and strengthen his body, Miles was becoming a little too dependent on seeing Doug or Suzy and knowing they were what made his tummy feel good.

After many attempts of showing Miles how to suck from his Mama, Doug did it! Watching Doug for reassurance, he followed his lead over to the mother cow, and from there grabbed on and did what he needed to do to fill his belly.

There's no doubt the connection between Doug and Miles was formed as soon as that little stuck calf heard Doug’s voice, telling him he could do it! Miles clearly didn’t want to sever that bond, so Doug continued to show him all the love and patience he needed to grow into the best little bull calf he could be!

- Jayme

Wild Meadows Farm

Blog: On The Farm

Grey County

Durham, Ontario

Calf Being Born On A Farm

Rising Beef Prices: A Farmer's Perspective

I visited a local dairy farmer this past week to talk about buying hay to feed our cows next winter. We spoke of many things, including one topic on the top of many farmers minds recently - beef prices. Is it going to stay high? Can it go up more? How much can the consumer absorb? When will it come back down? These are all things that no one knows, but many can speculate on. Those who have been around a lot longer than I have, talk about cattle cycles, how they will go up, encouraging more people to get into it and then when supply is back up, the prices will come crashing back down. Some are sure this is coming and to be cautious. Others aren't so sure and point to the factors that are causing the prices to skyrocket, such as: a low and decreasing cattle herd in North Americaa growing demand for beef, despite the higher priceshigher costs of doing business (land costs, fuel, taxes, etc.)an aging farmer population who are cashing out and don't want to go through another bust phasethe challenges and risks young farmers face getting into the industry There is more to it, but those are the large factors at play. As an example of how drastically the prices have changed, that dairy farmer is getting roughly the same amount of money for his 3 week old male dairy calves currently as we were paying local farms we deal with 2 years ago for a ready for market grassfed and finished steer (that had been fed, housed and managed for 24- 30 months). At the time, this was a premium price that the farmer was happy to get. Now, the price is approaching double what it was - this just in a matter of two years. All that said, I do think cattle prices were too low in the past, where it wasn't sustainable for the farmer. Prices did have to go up. Despite the increasing prices, beef demand has not slowed down. I think this demonstrates that the real value of beef (and cattle) is much higher than what we had been accustomed to in the past. More and more people have figured out that beef is a nutrient dense health food - it has REAL value. On that note, check out how similar the two graphs (from the NASDAQ over the past 5 years) are below: As fiat money loses confidence and value, real tangible assets gain confidence and value. As nutrient deficient and fake food (see below) are becoming more understood for what they are, REAL food increases in value. We've done our best to minimize our margins and to try to keep the rest of our operating costs as low as possible. It is important to us that we are fair to the trusted farmers in our network that we have built relationships with, who we purchase calves from to grow our own herd and others in our network who we buy in grassfed and finished cattle from. We will continue to do that so we can ensure we are providing you with the best quality we can while also supporting other farmers in our community. So how can you as our customer best navigate all of this?#1 Take advantage of our sale on ground beef, beef roasts and ribs (see below), which will be on until March 2nd.#2 Buy in bulk. We offer bulk pricing on things like ground beef, braising ribs, burgers, sausages, etc. When you buy the bundles, you get a discounted price per pound.#3 Buy 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 or whole beef. This is obviously a big investment, but it is the cheapest way to purchase beef from us. If you don't need that much for yourself, we do have some customers that go in with family and friends to make these purchases. Just keep in mind that when you buy this way you are getting more than the prime steaks. You are also getting roasts, ribs, and everything else. If you would like to learn more about this, please get in touch. As always, thanks for following along and we hope you have a great week!

The Food Pyramid

This past week, new US health guidelines were released, where real food was the focus. While we are obviously in Canada and it isn't necessarily directly relevant to our food policy, I think it's telling to compare what is now being recommend in the US (you can find it here) and what is recommended in Canada (you can find it here). There are a lot of similarities, but a few things jumped out at me when reviewing the two policies, specifically the kinds of protein and fat types to target (and which ones to avoid). In the Canadian healthy eating guidelines it states: "Eat plenty of vegetatbles and fruits, whole grain foods and protein foods. Choose protein foods that come from plants more often" It also promotes eating healthy fats such as vegetable oils and soft margarine and to avoid fatty meats and high-fat dairy. Compare that to the new US health guidelines, which states: "Every meal must prioritize high quality, nutrient dense protein from both animal and plant sources, paired with healthy fats from whole foods such as eggs, seafood, meats, full-fat dairy, nuts, seeds, olives and avocados." I am not a health expert or dietician, far from it, but I think most of us can see something is off. What we've been told isn't working. It would be wishful thinking to say it is only our diet, but it would be foolish to suggest that diet isn't at least part of the problem. The chart below (here's the paper it is from) sheds some light on the trend of the consumption of animal fats vs. plant based fats. It's safe to say our collective health has declined as the animal fat consumption has decreased and the plant based fat has increased. Food and nutrition can be very confusing in this day and age as changes away from our natural way of being are pushed in favour of new ideas and ways of doing things that aren't necessarily better for us as individuals. I find it refreshing and encouraging that a government so closely tied to ours is encouraging a step back to a more traditional way of eating. Have a great day!

Why Changes Proposed By The CFIA Matter To You, The Consumer

Today I'll write about new cattle traceability rules that are proposed by the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency), how they may affect small farms and why it matters to you as consumers. It's a nuanced topic and there is more to it than I can effectively write here, but I'll try to give you an outline of what is happening.

Miles

More from the blog

Rising Beef Prices: A Farmer's Perspective

The Food Pyramid

Why Changes Proposed By The CFIA Matter To You, The Consumer