Reuniting the Herd and Preparing for Winter in Ontario

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November 7, 2025

This year, we had two groups of cows, one at our farm and another at a rental farm. This past week, the group that spent the grazing season at the rental farm finally came home. Bringing everyone back together always creates a bit of commotion, as the pecking order needs to be reestablished.

For the first half-hour or so, the boss cows made sure everyone knew their place. Some of the calves joined in, too, though they seemed more interested in playing around than asserting dominance. The main event was the bulls testing each other for supremacy.

Bulls Establishing Dominance

Adam, our big black bull and a purebred Black Angus, spent the afternoon getting acquainted with our red bull, a Speckle Park and Red Angus cross who doesn't have a name yet. The red bull did not really stand a chance because Adam is much bigger and stronger, but he did put up a good fight.

The next morning, when I checked on the herd, the red bull was off in the distance, clearly exhausted, while Adam looked relaxed, grooming one of his ladies.

Now that the bulls understand their hierarchy, the herd is peaceful. Adam occasionally nudges the red bull away from hay, but beyond that, there's little drama. Later this week, the two bulls will be separated from the cows for the winter until it is time for them to rejoin the herd next summer.

Preparing the Farm for Winter

Everything on the farm and in the business is running smoothly. As we transition from fall to winter, we're busy placing hay, moving animals to their winter pastures, and ensuring all watering systems are in good working order. We're setting ourselves up for a hopefully relaxing winter, a chance to slow down and recharge for a strong 2026.

We're Grateful for Your Support!

Orders continue to increase steadily, and we're incredibly grateful. Thank you to everyone who supports us and shares our farm with friends and family. Your support allows us to focus on running the farm and the business without worrying about advertising or extra costs. This helps us keep prices lower for you. It is a win-win, and we hope you think so too.

Wild Meadows Farm

Blog: On The Farm

Regenerative Farm in Ontario

Durham, Ontario

Grey County

Preparing for Winter on the 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.

Reuniting the Herd and Preparing for Winter in Ontario

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