How to work hard without destroying hard

In terms of production, the greatest haying crew we ever assembled was in 2011. Six strong young men were at the core of the group, augmented by the same number of other young men who came and went. The core group included Danny, who could carry two bales at a time and still carry on an easy conversation about books; James, a steady-paced kind of guy who chucked bales for hours without ever waning; Mike, a strapping one-time semi-pro soccer player who could lob bales with the ease of a NBA guard knocking in 3 –pointers; and Claudio, a vivacious, irrepressible Italian traveler who liked to build impossibly huge loads on the trucks and kept everyone laughing.

To see this group at work, as I did often that summer from the vantage of the tractor seat, was something to behold. Arriving in a field as some sort of farm SWAT team, the hay crew could load, transport, and restack in our barns, hundreds of bales an hour. Two balers working full out had a hard time keeping up. Whole fields of hay bales vanished, as if by magic. At any time on a sunny afternoon, young men were swarming the fields; bales were flying onto the trucks. It was mad, fun, infectious, wonderful.

However, in terms of damage to our equipment, 2011 was also a record. In the course of bringing in hay, or doing other farm work that summer, both sides of an F250 were crunched, the rear window of a Dodge Dakota was smashed, the door of a little Ford Ranger was buckled and the guard on a hay rake was bent. Tractors went in ditches, trucks were high-centered on rocks, back-up mirrors were torn from doors.

In fact, there were so many dings and prongs that a unique group was established—the Smash Club. Membership required an accident.

Nearly everyone was a member.

Yes, some of this damage was inevitably part of farming, but much was a result of the energy and pace of work. It is hard to set a blazing pace loading hay bales in 25C+ temperatures then remember to pull in the truck mirrors when backing into a narrow barn.

A couple of “come on guys” talks with the crew didn’t do much good and I understand why. What is the power of a few sensible words from a middle-aged guy in the face of the adrenalin-juiced energy of hard work—especially when that energy is run through the multiplier effect of young guys working together?

I might as well have asked a river in spring freshet to slow down.

Steps taken after that summer to reduce damage to trucks and equipment included: purchase of a flat deck truck (less fender to ding) to haul hay, exercising more discretion about who drives what, and where (no more under-age drivers in the hay fields—or at least the fields with ditches).

At the same time, I have changed my attitude too. I have come to accept that some energy-fueled recklessness is simply part of the cost of making hay, just like twine, or lubricant.

Putting out the welcome mat How three farmers boost their income through farm stays.
By Kevin Sutton 

The billion dollar chicken Is there a realistic purebred alternative to the modern industrial meat bird?
By Dan Needles 

Growing better, not bigger How one Quebec farmer is making $100,000 on just 1.5 acres.
By Josh Martin

Is there a place for healthy hemp on your small farm? Joking aside, this crop has potential.
By Shirley Byers 

Departments

Letters The challenges of heat lamps, Martha Stewart vs Joe Goodenough, egg-eating ethics.

News & Notes How to Goblinproof your chicken coop, the changing face of Canadian agriculture, Nova Scotia heats with hay, solar powers innovative ag project in Australia, new bee book, studying at food school.

Q&A Sole destroying gumboots.

At Pasture By Ray Ford Funding cuts have reduced the number of forage research projects in Canada.

Equipment By Dan Kerr Understanding jacks

Recipes By Helen Lammers-Helps The marvelous efficiencies of big batch cooking.

Practical By Evelyn Gilmar DIY goat and cattle scratcher.

Notes from the Larkspur Supper Club  Caribbean agriculture—as seen from a Canadian small farm perspective.
By Dan Needles

Virginia Schwarzenbach, a Membership Services, Communications and Marketing representative from the North American Farm Direct Marketing Association (NAFDMA), explained that the addition of some form of PYO farming can complement other types of farm direct marketing already in use on a farm.

“Pick your own farming intertwines with what farmers are already doing to make their farm more publicly accessible,” Virginia said, “That kind of diversification really does help farms be connected to the community.”

PYO farms offer a win-win scenario for both farmers and customers.

The customer wins by reducing their costs and enjoying the flavour and health benefits of freshly picked produce, while the farmer wins by literally having the customer do the work for them. Financially, PYO is an ideal choice for small farms; it reduces labour costs while broadening the customer base and diversifying income.

On the downside, PYOs require the farmer or other staff to be on hand to serve customers while also instigating more regulations, additional farm insurance and other liabilities. Despite the negatives, PYO can be an enticing option for many farmers. If you like interacting with people and want to expand your farm, PYO could be a farm direct marketing choice for you.

The three l’s: location, layout & looks

Although it may seem cliché, the location of a PYO farm can be just as critical as for any business and finding the perfect PYO farm location can be challenging. For PYO farms, proximity to an urban or sub-urban area is crucial to ensuring a broad enough customer base to support the endeavour. You want to be close — but not too close!

Farms too close to urban centres may eventually find their livelihood challenged by urban sprawl, while those too far away may find rising fuel costs are keeping their customers shopping closer to home. A good location would be roughly one half hour to an hour’s drive from an urban or suburban center.

PYO farms can technically be of any size, ranging from only a few acres to a few hundred acres, but close attention must be given to ensure a potential PYO location has ample space for parking, washroom facilities, outdoor sitting areas (if you will be offering this service), and sales sheds. A good rule of thumb for parking is that 20 to 30 cars can be parked in a 1000 square foot area, with approximately four to six spaces for every acre of PYO production. (Local regulations for parking may apply, depending on your region.)

Your sales shed is one of the most important points on your layout;

it should be located between the parking and picking areas. This will help give customers a visual base for how to proceed with picking and also discourage those who think the produce is “free.”

The appearance of a PYO farm is very important for customers, and PYO farms must go beyond the typical conditions of a working farm;

an emphasis on cleanliness and aesthetics is critical on a PYO. A PYO farmer must provide wide, clean, predominantly weed-free rows from which customers will pick. Customers will want to enjoy the “farming” experience without the realities of farm life that include manure, weeds, fertilizers and mud.

Additional regulations & liability risks

PYO farms are subject to the same national, provincial and regional regulations as any farming business and these regulations may vary depending on the province and region in question.

Depending on your region, some of these regulations could include providing washroom and hand-washing facilities for customers and staff. Other applicable regulations can apply to the type and size of containers provided to customers for picking and the scales you use to weigh and measure picked produce.

When exploring the possibility of PYO farming, consideration should be given to whether or not the farm will be moving beyond basic farming activities into secondary activities such as retail or agritourism. This could result in a different tax assessment for a farm, and municipal or township by-laws could apply to a change of use.

Beyond regulations, PYO farmers also need to consider insurance implications; insurance can be one of the biggest deterrents for farmers considering entering into the PYO arena. As soon as customers begin wandering around a farm, the risks of a liability claim increases and standard farm insurance may no longer be sufficient. Farm liability insurance covers anything that occurs as part of normal farm practices, while commercial liability insurance is designed to cover other activities such as agritourism entertainment activities. A PYO farm may need a combined farm/commercial insurance policy to provide adequate liability coverage.

Susan Baker, Manager of Insurance Services, Ontario Mutual Insurance Association (OMIA), offers the following advice to prospective PYO farmers:  “My best advice to the public is to sit down with their insurance agent or broker and have a full and frank conversation with them,” Baker explained. “Every insurance policy is unique and a broker would understand the coverage a person already has and if they need additional coverage.”

Some of the information you may want to have on hand before approaching your insurance broker would include the amount of land to be used for public access, the types of activities you are planning and any additional equipment you plan on installing such as a playground or picnic area.

Marketing success

Marketing a PYO can be different from marketing another type of farm. Unlike traditional farmers, a PYO farmer is literally marketing the harvesting experience to his/her customers.

The best form of marketing — and the cheapest — for a PYO farmer is word of mouth. It’s for this reason that most PYOs are often operated in tandem with membership in one or more local farmers’ markets or a roadside stand. The farmers’ market or roadside stand provides the farmer with the opportunity to market directly to customers who have already displayed an interest in their produce. Once a customer visits the farm and makes purchases, the farmer is reliant on the customer’s impression of their farm and their willingness to spread the word among family and friends.

Signage is also an important tool for a PYO farmer. Visitors to a PYO farm may be unaccustomed to driving on country roads and need frequent, large and legible signage to direct them to your farm. Signs should list the crops available at your farm with the capacity to indicate when they are in season.

Picking words of wisdom

Andy and Cindy Terauds own Acorn Creek Garden Farm, a 100 acre farm direct enterprise located in Carp, Ontario. The Terauds offer PYO as an option on their farm and grow more than 600 varieties of fruits and vegetables to sell at three farmers’ markets and 25 local restaurants.

Andy explained how he learned a valuable lesson about maintaining market diversity and relying on a single customer base. In the 1980s, his customer base was predominantly of Lebanese descent, and as a result he modified his operation to suit the needs of these customers. This backfired when five Lebanese-owned farms opened nearby, cutting dramatically into the Terauds’ market. “We learned a lesson about diversification,” Andy said.

Saundra and John Vandenberg, and their son, Matt, of Rideau Pines Farm, have owned and operated a PYO farm in Eastern Ontario for more than 30 years. The Vandenbergs grow more than 230 varieties of vegetables and sell to 15 restaurants and two farmers’ markets in addition to farm stand and PYO sales. Their farm is located roughly a half hour from central Ottawa, making it the perfect distance from an urban centre.

Matt explained that, as with the Terauds’, the Vandenberg’s largest market for PYO is customers from an Eastern European, Bosnian, Croatian or Russian background and they grow varieties of produce to appeal directly to those markets.

“Eastern Europeans do a lot of preserving,”Matt stressed, “We fill a niche for that market.”

At the Rideau Pines Farm location, Matt said he has seen a surge in PYO sales over the last 6 or 7 years, crediting it to the “buy local” drive and the increased awareness of where a customer’s food comes from.  Matt estimates that 70 per cent of his sales come from farm gate and PYO sales with the remainder split fairly evenly between farmers’ markets and restaurant sales.

The Vandenberg’s experience is that PYO sales complements their other markets and is an integral part of their farm direct marketing enterprise.  “We’ve always relied on PYO,” Matt said with a laugh. “The customers are doing the work for us.”

Do’s & don’ts

• Do prepare a partial production budget to compare profitability from farmer-harvested to PYO produce. This will help in making decisions about PYO farming.
• Do register your PYO farm with provincial or regional organizations promoting direct farm marketing activities.
• Don’t neglect to create and maintain an informative website. Customers need to be able to find you easily online and in person.
• Don’t neglect to ensure special areas, individual events and agritourism activities are listed separately so they will be covered in your insurance policy.

The agritourism debate

Some farmers feel that the current trend towards including agritourism on PYO farms detracts from the fundamental nature of farming, turning a viable farm into little more than a tourist destination.

Others feel that providing some form of agritourism is an obvious means of attracting more customers to their farm and should be utilized to its full potential.

How much, or how little, a farmer chooses to incorporate agritourism into their PYO enterprise is a personal decision dependant on a variety of factors, including insurance ramifications, local by-laws and personal preference.

Farmers interested in agritourism need to consider how far they want to prioritize the agritourism component of their farm. If agritourism becomes the main focus of the farm then clearly the farm moves from being a “working farm” to a tourist site. This could affect whether or not income derived from agritourism qualifies as farming income.  The inclusion of family-oriented activities such as a playground or offering ice cream cones or beverages to customers can make good marketing sense. The key is to keep the focus on the farm, not the attractions.

For More Information:

North American Farm Direct Marketing Association: http://nafdma.com/

Marketing on the Edge: A Marketing Guide for Progressive Farmers (produced by NAFDMA and available on their website) http://pickyourown.org/howtostartapyo.htm 

Alberta Factsheet: Farm Direct Marketing for Rural Producers: http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex3482

Until last month, when our farmhand, James, replaced the old homemade wooden gate with a new metal one, the gate was latched by a broken horse-lead clip, which hooked into an eyebolt embedded in a post. It was a fumbly affair, even if you weren’t carrying feed buckets, or a tool kit, or a chainsaw. It was especially hard to do up when ewes and lambs were in the barnyard, as they were keen to burst into the ungrazed area around the tool shed. Several times each year the ewes were faster than the gate fumbler, with the result that they shot into the tool area. Only after much shouting, hysterics etc were they shunted back out.

With the old gate, traverse time through the gateway ranged from a minimum of 10 seconds to a maximum of 40 minutes.

The new gate that replaced the old gate came with a chain and built in clip. To traverse the gateway now we simply lift a loop of chain off a post and drop it back on when we’ve past through. It is a simple task, easily done with one hand.

Traverse time is now five seconds.

Even if we forget about the sheep-related delays and hysterics, the new gate saves five seconds per traverse. Based on my usage alone, that is 2.9 minutes per week, 12.5 minutes per month, or 2.5 hours per year.

Other people use the gate too. My wife, our daughters, hired help; they all pass through the gate, almost always on farm-related work. It is fair to say that all the other users combined go through the gate three times as much as I do, for a total overall time savings of as much as 10 hours per year.

How we value our time varies, but let’s say overall it is $12 per hour. The gate saving in one year is $120. The gate cost $63. Labour to install it was probably $30. Even if we round to $100 cost, the gate paid off in less than one year.

I call this sort of thinking Martha Stewart versus Joe Goodenough. Joe Goodenough thinking says the old homemade gate and the goofy latch were just fine. Martha Stewart thinking says the old gate was in fact very costly and the money spent to replace it with something better returned wonderfully.

I live with these two ways of thinking—Martha versus Joe—

all the time, at scales ranging from the wisdom of reusing a worn chainsaw file (worth $1.50 new) to the economics of replacing our old baler with a new one costing $25,000.

The example I have detailed with the gate is kind of a no-brainer. However, when I look at all the gates on our farm (50+) to say nothing of all the tools and machinery that could benefit from a Martha/Joe analysis, I get overwhelmed. We could go broke spending money wisely! How does that work?

I’d like to hear from readers who have ideas about this.

One other, semi-socialist thought: presuming that many of Canada’s 220,000 plus farms have wonky gates, would it not be an excellent use of federal government money to assist with this matter? I can see it now, a triple-chinned, deep-voiced Honorable Member rising in Parliament to table Bill C355, aka, The Fumbly Farm Gate Improvement Bill. . .

The future of mobile abattoirs
By Fiona Wagner Small units processing lamb, chicken and beef have been in service long enough to identify their strengths and weaknesses.

How to run a successful pick-your-own farm
By Amy Hogue What you need to know to operate a great PYO operation.

Second Silent Spring?
By Jeffrey Carter Research links bee deaths to seed treatment.

Little winery on the prairie
By Shirley Byers Pioneering family that pushed for farm-friendly winemaking regulations is now in full production.

New engines
By Dan Kerr Manufacturers are developing new engine technologies to deal with tough emission standards. Here’s what you need to know before you buy a new tractor.

Departments

Letters Stink bug woes, better long-keeping tomatoes

News & Notes Ostrich farming rears its head again, delivering biopesticide by bumblebee, GM alfalfa update, dancing tractors, new book advocates building, not buying.

Q&A How soils affect the taste of food.

At Pasture By Ray Ford Great pasture gadgets for 2013.

Recipes By Helen Lammers-Helps The wonders of maple syrup.

Practical By Evelyn Gilmar The fine art of brooding baby chicks.

Notes from the Larkspur Supper Club By Dan Needles That ‘pulledthrough-the-fence flavour’.

“We knew Trudeau was landing in Humboldt, in the area along highway 5 where the golf course is now,” she says. “It was a nice summer day. There were a lot of people there of course; it’s the prime minister. He did not address us. He got out of the helicopter and he just ran. I was shocked that he wouldn’t acknowledge the crowd and say something. He just ran. After that I kind of expected things like that from politicians. They don’t really want controversy.”

Sometimes activism is effective, and sometimes the man/woman you want to talk to just runs away. Maybe they listen, but do nothing to help. Sometimes who wins and who loses isn’t entirely clear.

Activism can be working to get rid of something such as genetically modified seed or it can be working to preserve something already in place such as supply management or to create something new such as a marketing cooperative. In recent conflicts regarding the Canadian Wheat Board there were activists on both sides of the debate. Some farmers wanted to keep the Wheat Board, others just as passionately wanted to get rid of it. It could be said that activism birthed the CWB and that activism is tearing it down.

Activism can take different forms. It can involve letter/email writing,  collecting names on a petition, organizing meetings, writing pamphlets, setting up websites,  arranging speaking engagements, joining and supporting a farm organization,  taking part in a rally or blockade and much more.

As to which of the many forms of activism works best, it depends on the circumstances, says Tony McQuail, Ontario farmer, activist and former executive assistant to provincial agriculture minister, Elmer Buchanan. “If you’ve got a situation where the people you’re dealing with . . . are willing to listen to thoughtful arguments and change their position, then a well thought through and rational discussion . . . why a different policy or position is appropriate could be very useful. On the other hand if you’ve got somebody who is not the least bit interested in listening to your situation or position, you’ve got somebody who’s about to close down your local abattoir, you’ve got a bank that’s about to foreclose on a neighbor because they encouraged them to borrow lots of money then all of a sudden decided to call the loan, then it’s time to get your friends, get your neighbours, get your customers and try to get between what you’re trying to protect and the people that are trying to tear it to pieces.” And, he adds, if possible figure out ahead of time who the best media contacts are, appoint a capable spokesperson and get the message out to a bigger audience.

Activism in action: 

What does that look like?

Derick Canning is a lobbyist on behalf of Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia. He’s on the provincial Dairy Farmers’ board. “Once a year we go to Ottawa and talk to the government,” he says.

Each province sends four members from its provincial board. Canning goes with a group from Nova Scotia and meets with Nova Scotia MPs. “Our national organization basically suggests, if there’s any issues that are on hand, how to best go about explaining them,” he says. “Supply management is probably the biggest topic.”

Supply management is a sometimes controversial system used in Canada to regulate the amount of certain farm products (poultry and dairy) on the market — enough for Canadian demand and not so much as to create an excess. Farmers are assured a price that covers their cost of production and imports are controlled through tariffs.

The meetings Canning attends are in January or February. They last an average of half an hour. Some are concurrent, with some lobbyists meeting with the party in power and others with the opposition. They might also meet with senators, or with staff. The lobbyists explain why supply management is important to farmers, consumers, processors and tax payers.

“We basically have a discussion, answer questions and explain why we’re there. We report back to Dairy Farmers of Canada,” says Canning.

He is paid the usual regular meeting wage per diem, and he feels the lobby is successful.

“Supply management still exists and the current government continues to say they support it and will support it going forward. That’s basically all we go there for to ask for — their continued support.  We really don’t ask for anything else.”

Cathleen Kneen, activist   

Back in the seventies, Cathleen Kneen was farming in Nova Scotia. To raise the profile of sheep, then regarded “as the dirty things that hung out in the bottom of the barn,” she organized a sheep fair.

Along with a breeding stock sale there were wool crafts, competitions, sheep dog trials, lectures, a dance and a barbeque at the fair. “It was a big event that really changed the whole tone of the sheep business in Nova Scotia.  It turned the association into something that was able later to take on the issue of marketing. Then we, (Cathleen, husband Brewster Kneen and Michael Isenor) started a lamb marketing cooperative 30 years ago.”

Today, Northumberland Lamb Marketing Cooperative markets most of the lamb in Nova Scotia.

Classifying the above as activism, Kneen defines the weekly radio program she did for CBC’s Radio Noon as advocacy. “It was just telling people what was going on on the farm.” Her goal was to bridge the rural/urban divide.

In B.C., in 1999, the provincial government was proposing a general overhaul of agricultural policy. The move was to a so-called harmonizing of regulations around B.C. abattoirs which would require all abattoirs to reach the federal export standards as opposed to what had been in place before, which was a provincial licensing standard, says Kneen. “The federal export standard had to do with facilities more than anything else,” she says. “It wasn’t necessarily about anything you or I would recognize as being food safety.”

Kneen was instrumental in getting a group together that became the B.C. Food Systems Network. Hearings were being held across the province and the Network worked to make sure every community understood that food security was a core issue for people “The point we wanted to bring forward was that food security needs to be considered as an element within the agriculture portfolio. It was about production of commodities, as far as the agriculture department was concerned, it wasn’t about food,” she says.

The B.C. Food Systems Network proposed that the government look at scale and scope appropriate regulations and maintain the opportunity for something parallel to what was the provincial licensing. “We certainly were very happy to see some rigorous attention to licensing,” says Kneen. “That wasn’t the issue at all.”

The point they were trying to make was that if an abattoir is killing a small number of animals that are going to be distributed locally, that is a different level of risk to public health (than that posed by a very large plant killing many animals for national and international distribution.) There should be a different level of regulation required, not a lesser level of oversight.

But, at that time the government pretty much went ahead with their original plans. “It took a lot longer before we finally got some changes and it’s an ongoing dance,” says Kneen.

Ironically, the changes that Kneen worked to bring about have now been adopted, but not without damage. In the meantime 90 percent of the abattoirs in B.C. have been lost; numbers have dropped from 300 to 30 and a considerable number of those plant operators have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in meeting the new standard.

“So, now when you say okay, these smaller ones don’t need to have the same facilities, the people who have just invested three quarters of a million dollars, not unreasonably, get a little bit upset. That’s the problem with not listening to what we said the first time.”

Tony McQuail, activist

Tony McQuail says he got involved in the local Ontario Federation of Agriculture because of two issues: the absentee foreign ownership of farmland and the high interest rate policies of the federal government in the late nineteen-seventies and early eighties.

Proposals to build a coal or nuclear power plant in his county got him involved with CANTDU and the Huron Power Plant committee which was working with a number of different farm organizations. Out of that grew the Foodland Hydro committee which tried to address the issue of hydro placement through agricultural land.

Ultimately, it was decided not to build a nuclear power plant in Huron County but instead to put a second series of four reactors at Bruce Nuclear Power Development. Although the initial goal of the activists had been achieved, it was not an ideal solution. “We could have gone to a conserver strategy approach and been in a helluva better position today,” McQuail says.

So far, his two initial concerns, absentee ownership of farm land, and high interest rates, have not been rectified, but he does see progress on another cause he championed — the issue of stable and adequate funding for farm organizations. “There had been ongoing concern amongst the people active in farm organizations that while all received the benefits of policies and programs implemented by government, only a portion of the farmers supported the organizations that were doing all the work to bring these issues forward.”

In his position of executive assistant to the minister of agriculture, progress was made and in 1993 the NDP government enacted the Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act by which farmers who gross $7000 or more in a year can apply for a business registration number.

They then choose an accredited farm organization to join and the membership fee of $195 provides a source of funding for the organization.

McQuail says this legislation has created a more stable funding base and allowed farmers to be more effective lobbyists. It’s enabled farm organizations to hire staff to research issues and put forward their views to government. It’s also created a slightly better balance between the activist speaking on behalf of farm organizations and the lobbyist speaking on behalf of larger corporations, he says.  But it hasn’t redressed that issue completely. “I can’t say it has greatly increased activism but those that are active at least aren’t necessarily subsidizing the rest of the farm community,”

He also convened a committee which birthed the Ontario Environmental Farm Plan which includes funding, peer review, buffers, shelterbelts, pesticide handling and water management. These two programs are still in place today.

How to be an effective activist

Do your research. Know what you’re talking about,” says Tony McQuail.

Activists need to be aware that they are not the only ones with access to politicians and bureaucrats and they need to educate themselves as to the agenda of other groups with horses in the race.

“If you can make friends and contacts and work with people in government, that’s wonderful . . .  but don’t count on it because who are the politicians and the senior bureaucrats out to lunch with? Probably not you. At least not on a regular basis. Who are they listening to on a regular basis and what is their ideology? What is their understanding?”

Don’t try to re-invent the wheel, says Kathleen Kneen. “Use existing networks. Share contact lists. Work with established groups if you can.“

Organizing and organizations

“I’ve had it beaten into my head since I was about 15 that the thing to do was organize,” says Vic Althouse, MP 1980-1997, former NDP ag critic, former chairman of the NFU Grain & Oilseeds Commission, former secretary of the Saskatchewan Hog Marketing Commission and former member of the CWB Advisory Committee. I still believe as farmers we would be well advised to have one organization dedicated to looking after us as farmers. However, that doesn’t seem to be the way most look at it.”

Farmers are not terribly hard to organize but it’s hard to get them to think like an organization, and hard to find people to run the organization, says Althouse. “You need different people to get people signed up the first time . . . Then you need a different type of person to run the thing. And that was where we failed. We had a very active period towards end of the sixties, early seventies. The Farmers Union was doing a pretty good job of organizing, but we weren’t consistent.”

Organizations must have more than a leader. There has to be several others who could be leaders. “You have to make sure that you’ve got the kind of training to make it possible for any one of 15 or 20 people to take over at the drop of a hat, or the stop of a heartbeat or whatever. And that way you might have an organization that does something.”

There must also be training for people interested in the various positions, education not only on how to run an organization but ever up-dated knowledge on policies, and issues coming up that the organization will have to have a policy on.

“You have to have a bureaucracy to keep it on an even keel. These have to be paid positions.”

Organizations need someone to look after scheduling and there has to be some mechanism — some people to make sure that there’s a tie between the leadership and the membership and both sides know what’s going on to report either way — instructions from below and reports from above. For a while it worked by having monthly meeting but those broke up. What organization has a monthly meeting anymore?”

For some issues the internet is useful, he says. It’s a way to reach a lot of people quickly and sometimes it works on a short term basis but usually not for anything long term.

On the other hand, Althouse points out, “Farmers tend to leave organizations when they get a break.” He laments the lack of steady, ongoing participation from farmers in farm organizations.

It was more than 30 years ago that Pat Godhe stood stunned, as Trudeau sprinted from the crowd assembled to meet him. She`s forgotten what, if any issue they were there to espouse. Maybe they just wanted to welcome him to Saskatchewan. She hasn`t forgotten how she felt when he ran but as an organic farmer and activist she`s seeing the beginning of changes she has advocated for, seen a growing awareness of food, where it came from and how it got here, and she believes that in spite of the disappointments, and the disillusions, activism can really work. It is not something farmers can afford to turn their back on.

Making the most in micro
By Susan McIver James and Julie Young are proving that significant production is possible off of even a small plot.

VARIETY TRIALS: Long keeping tomatoes
By Kim Langen Our tests prove that it is possible to grow tomatoes that store well right into the heart of a Canadian winter.

Understanding farm activism
By Shirley Byers A guide to how activists lobby for change (and what kinds of activism work and what kinds don’t).

Wonderful barley
By Rhona McAdam Domesticated 10,000 years ago, barley is still the grain of choice for farmers, processors and consumers.

Departments

Letters Shabby journalism unusual in SFC, seed guide no place to shill GM seeds, bigger is not better.

News & Notes Get ready for 3D printed food, new book probes urban food production, has farming dumbed-down the human race?, dancing tractors, alien stink bugs in ON, new box program supports communities.

Q&A Dealing with chickweed, easy ways to extract posts.

At Pasture Who gets to say that their products are free range and who doesn’t.

Equipment Handy tips to keep your chain saw running smoothly and efficiently.

Recipes Transforming freezer-burned beef into a delicious stew.

Practical Hay feeder for chickens.

Notes from the Larkspur Supper Club By Dan Needles What is time to a pig?

A. E. McKenzie Co. Inc.
www.mckenzieseeds.com
In business since 1896 A.E. McKenzie Co. is asking old and new customers to, “click the cute little blue button and ‘LIKE’ us on Facebook.” You’ll find info on decorating small spaces, easy and healthy recipes and tips to guarantee success in the soil.

Alberta Nurseries & Bow Seeds Ltd. 
www.gardenersweb.ca
For more than 80 years Alberta Nurseries and Bow Seed have supplied hardy seed and nursery stock to gardeners and farmers. Visit the website and check out their Safe Seed Pledge.

Annapolis Valley Heritage Seeds
www.annapolisseeds.com
As a living seed bank for the Maritime region, the goal of Annapolis Valley Heritage Seeds is to maintain, select and develop the greatest diversity of seeds possible which thrive in our climate. All hand grown, open pollinated non-GMO seed for gardeners, small farmers and seed savers.

Blazing Star Wildflower Seed Company
www.growwildflowers.ca
In their twenty-first year of business, Blazing Star is dedicated to preserving and restoring native Canadian wildflowers. They’re your source for everything from xeriscaping to wedding favours. In 2013, they’re adding two year old plant plugs to their inventory.

Boundary Garlic
www.garlicfarm.ca
Specializing in heritage, certified, organic garlic for seed, Boundary sells by mail order across Canada. They carry about 150 varieties and will export bulbils.

Cottage Gardener Heirloom Seedhouse & Nursery 
www.cottagegardener.com
The Cottage Gardener is an heirloom seed house providing organic seeds of rare and endangered heirloom varieties of vegetables, herbs and flowers to gardeners and market growers since 1996. Seed is available in retail packets or bulk quantities.

Country Farm Seeds
www.countryfarmseeds.com
Serving Ontario farmers since 1972, Country Farm Seeds seeks out additional opportunities for customers to improve their bottom line, such as competitive seed prices and export premiums for many of their top varieties.

De Dell Seeds Incorporated 
www.dedellseeds.com
A “family-only” owned and operated Canadian seed corn company, De Dell Seeds is also proud to be the only, non-GMO seed corn company in Canada, producing certified organic seed corn in Canada.

Dominion Seed House  
www.dominion-seed-house.com
In business since 1928, Dominion offers over 2,000 gardening products, including old favourites as well as new flowers and vegetables from all over the world.

Early’s Farm & Garden Centre Inc. 
www.earlysgarden.com
Over a century in business, Early’s inventory of 693 seed varieties includes vegetable, flower and sprouting seeds as well as grass and turf —and most are available in bulk quantities.

Evergreen Seed Co. Ltd.
www.evergreenseed.ca
Custom mixes are their speciality, and Evergreen carries a complete line of proprietary forage varieties, forage mixtures and turf mixtures, Evergreen is recognised by Agriculture Canada and the Canadian Seed Institute to apply official tags and seals.

Florabunda Seeds
www.florabundaseeds.com
Think English cottage gardens of the past. At Florabunda you’ll find varieties salvaged from English abbeys and monasteries in the middle ages. Others were brought back to Britain by plantsmen who were sent out on plant-hunting expeditions around the world.

Full Circle Seeds 
www.fullcircleseeds.com
The year 2013 will mark 20 years of offering certified organic, open pollinated, hardy seed. Besides heritage varieties Full Circle Seeds carries varieties from Asia and Europe prized by the best local chefs.

Gardens North
www.gardensnorth.com
Birthed in 1991 as a “dining room operation,” Gardens North now does business in over 30 countries, supplying seed to gardeners, commercial growers and other seed houses and offers the only Canadian source for GA-3 (a germination stimulator.)

Greta’s Organic Gardens
www.seeds-organic.com
Greta’s Organic Gardens is an organic seed company growing plants for their uniqueness in taste, appearance, colour and shape. Greta’s heirloom seeds are untreated, open pollinated and non GMO.

Halifax Seed Company
www.halifaxseed.ca
Established in 1866, Halifax Seed Company is Canada’s oldest continuously-operating family-owned seed company and is constantly evaluating new products to determine their suitability for the Atlantic Region.

Heritage Harvest Seed
www.heritageharvestseed.com
Heritage Harvest Seed specializes in rare and endangered herb, vegetable and flower seeds including heritage garlic, Jerusalem artichoke and top set onion. No longer shipping to the U.S.

High Mowing Organic Seeds
www.highmowingseeds.com

Now carrying over 800 vegetable, flower and herb varieties, High Mowing Organic Seeds is dedicated to supporting sustainable agriculture. Their breeding program focuses on developing varieties with traits that are important to organic growers.

Holes Greenhouse & Gardens Ltd
www.holesonline.com or
www.enjoycentre.ca

Founded by the late and highly-esteemed Ted and Lois Hole 37 years ago, and now one of Canada’s largest garden centres, Holes is renowned for its quality plants and seeds.

Hope Seeds
www.hopeseed.com
Offering one of the best selections of maritime, heritage and organic seeds in Canada, the people at Hope Seeds are committed to high quality, organic growing and local food.

Horizon Seeds
www.horizonseeds.ca
Horizon Seeds, an all-Canadian family owned business, and member of SeCan grows all its seed in Norfolk County and offers certified hybrid corn, organic and conventional soybeans with treatment options available on all hybrids.

J.L. Hudson, Seedsman
www.jlhudsonseeds.net/index.htm
In business since 1911, Hudson Seedsman defines itself as a public access seed bank; information on site on how to order by mail or email. Canadian customers need to note: orders can take a month to arrive. There is no phone service.

Hyland Seeds (a division of Dow Agro Sciences Canada Inc.)
www.hylandseeds.com
Hyland Seeds carries a wide selection of GMO and non-GMO corn, cereals, alfalfa, soybean and white bean, including Refuge Advanced corn hybrids.

The Incredible Seed Company
www.incredibleseeds.ca
Specializing in open-pollinated and heritage seeds.  Vegetables, flowers, herbs.  Only untreated and GMO-free seeds.  1-888-851-6620 or visit our website.

Johnny’s Selected Seeds
www.johnnyseeds.com
Johnny’s Selected Seeds is a privately-held, 100% employee-owned seed producer and merchant. Products include seeds for vegetables, flowers, cover crops, and pasture mixes, as well as tools — ships internationally.

Lindenberg Seeds Ltd
www.lindenbergseeds.ca
Good quality seed at a fair price is the best value. That’s been the philosophy at Lindenberg since 1935 when the original Lindenberg brothers began selling seed to Prairie gardeners. The Lindenberg family continues to sell only seed that has been tested and retested for quality.

Maizex  Seeds Inc.
www.maizex.com
In business for more than 25 years, Maizex offers traited hybrids and varieties that annually deliver above average performance across a wide range of heat units. Inventory includes seed corn, silage and soybean products along with agronomic expertise.

McFayden Seed Company
Effective August 15, we will not be offering a catalogue for the upcoming 2013 spring season or fulfilling orders directly to customers. Instead, we encourage you to visit any of the thousands of retailers across Canada that carry our products under the McKenzie Seeds brand. For the future, we are reviewing the business strategy of selling directly to consumers through the mail and may re-introduce the product line again next year.

Mumm’s Sprouting Seeds
www.sprouting.com
Whether you’re looking for home-grown sprouts and microgreens, or seeds for commercial sprouting, Mumm’s can fill your order, be it a package or a container load.  Visit their website to learn all about sprouts and sprouting.

Mycogen Seeds
 www.mycogen.com/sitepages/about%20us.aspx
Mycogen began, nearly 30 years ago as a biotech company specializing in transgenic research. It now offers some of the most advanced genetic trait and agricultural chemical technologies. Products include grain corn, soybeans, sunflower, canola, alfalfa and sorghum.

Ontario Seed Company
www.oscseeds.com
Native grasses, prairie wild flowers, ecological lawn alternatives and specific use mixtures such as septic bed mix and naturalized wetland mixture are just a few of the extra specials you’ll find at this 126 year old family run seed company. Their inventory also includes vegetables, flowers, herbs, tree, lawn and forage seed.

Pioneer Seed
www.pioneer.com
Established in southwestern Ontario in 1946, Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited is Canada’s leading developer of plant genetics and associated technologies. Product lines include corn, soybeans, canola, alfalfa, sunflowers, winter wheat and forage inoculants.

Prairie Garden Seeds
Widely known for his collection of ancient grains, some dating from 10,000 years ago, Jim Ternier also carries a full selection of vegetable and flower seeds. All are open pollinated, untreated and have not been genetically modified.

Premier Pacific Seeds Ltd.
www.premierpacificseeds.com
Premier Pacific Seeds Ltd. is all about grass seed. Forage and turf seed genetics vary from European origins to North American plant material. This allows for individual successful formulas for individual customers.

Pumpkin Moon Farm
www.pumpkinmoonfarm.com
Certified organic, Pumpkin Moon Farm specializes in heirloom flowers, herbs and vegetable seeds. Download the catalogue from the website.

Quality Seeds
www.qualityseeds.ca
In business for over 50 years, this family-owned company is one of the largest forage, lawn and turf companies in Canada.

Quality Seeds West
www.qualityseedswest.ca
Since 2002: supplying field seeds (alfalfa, clovers, grasses), cover crops (grain, peas, vetch), reclamation seeds, lawns, and lawn seeds adapted to the province of British Columbia.

Richters Herbs
 www.richters.com
A source for herb plants, seeds, dried herbs and more, Richters has been growing and selling herbs since 1969. Their first catalogue dedicated to herbs came was released in 1970.

Rupp Seeds
www.ruppseeds.com
Rupp Seeds supplies vegetable, turf, soy, grain and forage seed to wholesale producers, fresh market growers and the processing industry. Their goal is to help customers realize success by first achieving a healthy plant stand.

Salt Spring Seeds
www.saltspringseeds.com
Supplying open-pollinated, non-GMO seeds to farmers and gardeners; Salt Springs Seeds inventory includes garlic, grains, greens, medicinal herbs, beans and high protein crops such as quinoa and amaranth.

Speare Seeds
www.speareseeds.ca
Spear Seeds supplies forage, corn, turf, lawn and wildlife mixtures. Check out their website for information you can use.

Stellar Seeds
www.stellarseeds.com
All certified organic seeds are open pollinated, grown in British Columbia and farmed with holistic practices —bulk and packet sizes available.

Stokes Seeds
www.stokeseeds.com
With an emphasis on quality seed and extensive growing information, Stokes sells to home gardeners and commercial growers from locations in Canada and the United States.

Sunshine Farm
www.sunshinefarm.net
Sunshine Farm seeds are certified organic by PACS (Pacific Agricultural Certification Society). They offer many rare, heirloom and unusual varieties of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and other vegetables as well as herbs and flowers in their online catalogue.

T&T Seeds Ltd.
www.ttseeds.com
“Early in the Arctic, first in your garden,” is the slogan at T&T Seeds. This family business supplies quality vegetable and flower seeds as well as bulbs, fruit, trees and a wide array of gardening products.

Terra Edibles
www.terraedibles.ca
As well as herbs, flowers and aromatic sweet peas, Terra Edibles offers hundreds of varieties of heirloom tomatoes, beans and other popular vegetables. Order online or by mail.

Two Wings Farm
 www.twowingsfarm.com
Two Wings Farm carries a selection of certified organic heirloom vegetable seed, all grown on Two Wings Farm and tailored to the bio-region.

West Coast Seeds
http://www.westcoastseeds.com
West Coast is a certified supplier of organic, untreated and non-GEO seed. Their inventory includes a wide variety of vegetable, flower, herb and sprouting seeds along with books, resources and gardening supplies.

William Dam Seeds
www.damseeds.com
William Dam Seeds is the first registered seed company in Canada to feature a line of certified organically grown seeds. A family owned business founded in 1949, they carry no chemically treated seeds.

Yuko Horiuchi / Yuko’s Open-Pollinated Seeds
www.yuko.ca
From the Ottawa Valley, Yuko’s offer root stock for horseradish, Jerusalem artichoke, hops and fruit trees and is also a trusted source of open-pollinated seeds including many heirloom and oriental varieties. In 2009, Yuko travelled to Japan and brought back several Japanese varieties such as eggplant, cucumber and edible gourd to add to her inventory.

A not-always comfortable relationship with a useful farm tool

She left loaves of stale bread by the fox’s den, hoping it would leave the chickens alone. Instead, the fox treated the bread as a go-with, like the like the dinner roll at Swiss Chalet.

So Dancey borrowed her brother’s single-shot .22 rifle, and started taking target practice.

Soon the fox was on the run, hot lead whistling past his ears. A thieving racoon bit the dust. “That was one racoon I shot in anger,” she admits. “He eliminated forty-some of my chicks. I saw that guy and I said, ‘You’re dead.’ ”

Guns carry conflicting meanings in our society: they’re props in homemade hip-hop videos, totems of rugged individualism and the pioneer ethic, and instruments of horrific crimes. But on the farm, firearms remain a tool called on to deal with the three Ps: pests, predators and parting with livestock.

While the firearm may not be a tool you use much, it’s important to understand its safe use, storage and maintenance. Whether you’re thinking of buying a gun, or dusting off the relics in Grandpa’s gun cabinet, you’ll need to know the right firearm for the right job.

Job one: safety

In December, 2011, 15-year-old Rachel Yoder tumbled from a horse-drawn buggy near her Ohio home, bleeding from her head. Her family thought she’d been injured in the fall, but when she was rushed to hospital, doctors were startled to find she’d been shot. The incident seemed bizarre. Who would target a young, Amish girl on her way home from a Christmas party?

A police investigation determined Rachel was the victim of a gun owner’s thoughtless error. As she rode home, a man returning from a hunting trip fired into the air to empty his muzzle-loading rifle. The bullet struck Yoder, more than a kilometre and a half away. She died the next day.

Attitude is everything in firearms safety. Thoughtless or cavalier actions can lead to tragedy in fractions of a second. If you haven’t taken the firearms safety course, make that investment. (See sidebar.) And the next time you handle a gun, remember Rachel Yoder, and think about the other Rachels on and around your farm.

Parting: nothing sweet about this sorrow

Putting down an injured ewe or stunning Spot the pig for home slaughter can be one of the farm’s most unpleasant jobs — like living out the end of Old Yeller, over and over.

At least Old Yeller’s end was clean. Beginning farmer, but experienced hunter, Jeremy St. Onge was home-butchering a few pigs with a local veteran hog producer last autumn. The veteran was stunning the pigs with a well-placed shot from a .22 rifle, but when St. Onge’s turn came to stun his Berkshire, “I thought, a .22 is good, but maybe a .22 magnum is better.” Unfortunately, the higher-powered, metal-jacketed bullet went right through the animal’s skull, and out the throat. The wounded pig took off on a run, only to be brought down by a follow-up shot.

Euthanizing an animal “is something you want to learn to do correctly,” says Roy Lewis, the Alberta veterinarian who wrote Alberta Farm Animal Care’s fact sheet, Humane Euthanasia of Farm Animals. “You do feel better if the animal goes down, because you know you’ve ended it quickly.”

Lewis wrote the fact sheet in the wake of the Mad Cow crisis, when euthanizing older cows went from an occasional part of the job to a more common chore. As vets and farmers dusted off their rifles, “I heard some horror stories out in the field,” he says. “I think it was a federal vet who missed an animal and put a bullet in his vehicle.”

Aimed in the right area, Lewis says the garden-variety .22 long rifle bullet should do the job for most animals, with the more powerful .22 Winchester Magnum as a backup for thick-skulled animals like bulls. The goal is to have a sufficiently powerful round to penetrate the brain and render the animal insensible, without having the bullet emerge out the other side or ricochet. Hollow-point or soft-nosed bullets will increase tissue damage, and make for a surer kill, in smaller, thin-skulled animals such as lambs and young ewes, but solid-point bullets are required for larger animals with thick skulls. As with St. Onge’s tale, full-metal jacket bullets make a poor choice. They’re apt to go right through the animal.

Euthanasia guidelines from the British Cattle Veterinary Assn. also suggest a shotgun (including 12 or 20-gauge) loaded with No. 4, 5 or 6 shot fired from 5-20 cm away. At this range, “there is a relatively small entry wound but the brain is completely destroyed,” reads the Association’s Guidance for Veterinary Surgeons on the Emergency Slaughter of Cattle. To find the target, Lewis recommends drawing imaginary lines from the inside corner of the eye to the opposite base of the horns, (or where the horns would be for a polled animal.) Aim for the spot where the two lines meet. Animals are typically shot at close range, but not with the firearm held directly against the skull.

The aim should be perpendicular to the skull to reduce chances of ricochet. In case the animal is merely stunned, and not killed, (or for home butchering), bleeding the animal out ensures quick death.

Horses, swine and sheep can all be killed with a similar technique, but hornless or polled sheep can also be shot in the back of the head, between the ears with the gun aimed towards the throat. Scottish veterinarian David C. Henderson recommends hitting heavy-skulled horned rams in the centre of the forehead slightly above the eyes, to avoid the bony area between the horns.

This can be a heart-rending job, and no simple task for the novice. You may want to call your vet out to do the job, either with a drug overdose or a penetrating captive bolt gun. Similar to the system used to stun cattle in an abattoir, the captive bolt gun sets off a charge that pushes a metal rod into the animal’s brain. “It renders them brain-dead right away,” Lewis says. After that, the animal has to be bled out to ensure rapid death. Captive bolt guns start in the $300 range and up, and they may be handy on a large farm. But for the same cash, why not buy a more versatile rifle or shotgun, and ask an experienced farmer (or home butcher) to coach you through the job? “You see the butcher take his time and get his aim right,” Lewis says. When the telling shot is delivered, “the animal just drops like a stone — crumples straight down.”

Pests

Groundhogs, racoons, and their ilk are the spam of the animal world. You can try ignoring them, but they continue, relentlessly building speed bumps to rattle your haybine, ambushing the hens, or thieving from the lamb creep. No wonder so many farmers want to hit the pest delete button. And for that task, they choose the shotgun.

“If you’re only going to make do with one gun, I would say it would be a 12-gauge shotgun,” says Steve Galea, assistant editor of Ontario Out of Doors Magazine, and a long-time rural resident and hunter. “You can’t beat it for versatility.” Armed with a selection of shells from tiny No. 9 shot to large lead slugs, you can handle everything from pigeons and squirrels to coyotes and bears, and use the gun to hunt geese and deer in the bargain. Because shotguns spray pellets in a densely-packed concentration (the density depends on the “choke” or constriction of the barrel), “it’s a point-and-shoot weapon. You don’t have to be a deadeye to hit your target,” Galea adds. The drawback — and benefit — of the 12-gauge is its relatively short range. For smaller animals and lighter shot, the effective range is about as far as you can throw a baseball; typically 50 yards or less with a full choke. With the newer smooth-bore slugs, accurate hits on a deer-sized target are possible out to 75 or 80 yards. That’s not to say pellets or slugs won’t damage a building or hurt a person or animal further away, but the chance of long-range catastrophes are reduced.

Shotguns come with a range of “actions”, including pump, auto loading and bolt actions, but the simplest, cheapest, and safest for the novice farm user is the single-shot break-action or “hinge” model. The barrel swings open on a hinge at the breech, and the shotgun can be carried about, open, ready to load. That way, you know it’s unloaded until you’re ready to use it.

The drawback with a 12-gauge is it comes with a wallop when you squeeze the trigger. Smaller users might prefer the reduced recoil of the 20-gauge. It’s lighter and easier to handle, and with accurate shooting, can be as effective as its big brother.

If a shotgun is a bit of blunt instrument, a rifle is more of a surgical tool. With its greater accuracy at ranges out to about 100 yards, the .22-calibre rifle has been the workhorse on most farms during the past century. Lethal to small animals over relatively short ranges, the rifle will dispatch raccoons, squirrels, weasels, rats, and even coyotes with a well-placed shot. With its modest recoil, it has the advantage of being easy to fire. It’s relatively quiet and its cheap ammunition makes it inexpensive to practice with. It’s also the most-commonly called-upon rifle when an animal must be put down.

As with the 12-gauge, the single-shot, bolt-action rifle is a safe, durable and cheap beginner’s gun, starting in the $200 range for a new unit. Sure, you’ve only got one shot, but it’s almost always the first shot that counts.

That said, more experienced shooters may want to go with a bolt-action magazine rifle, where additional cartridges are held in a box or “clip” style magazine beneath the action. Pulling the bolt back ejects the fired cartridge and chambers the next. Semi-automatics, where each pull of the trigger fires a round, are also popular, but more mechanically complex.

If you’re buying a rifle for farm use, you should be aware of one provision of Canada’s firearm storage rules applying to farmers. The law requires non-restricted firearms (a term covering most common rifles and shotguns) to be stored unloaded and locked or inoperable. But a gun used for predator control may be stored “temporarily unlocked, and out in the open, as long as it is unloaded and not readily accessible to ammunition.”

In other words, if you’re having a coyote problem, you can have the gun handy, as long as it’s not loaded. To comply with the law, you should select a gun that’s quick to load. Good examples include a bolt-action single-shot, a rifle equipped with a box magazine or clip, and our previous candidate, the break-action shotgun.

Predators

If the 12-gauge or .22 won’t do the job, the old-time farm response was to dust off the “deer rifle”, typically in the .30 calibre range. Classics include the .308, .30-06, .30-30, and the Lee-Enfield .303, workhorse rifle of the Canadian army during two World Wars. Thanks to its versatility, the Lee Enfield is still “a good, rugged gun for farming, a deer gun, a moose gun, a bear gun,” says Ontario-based firearms safety instructor Peter Brushey.

By the standards of more modern rifles, these are old school, heavy and, depending on the cartridge, relatively short or medium-range. They’re overkill for pests, although I know at least one farmer who uses his .30-06 to deter both groundhogs and coyotes. But if you’ve got one, and you face problems with larger predators, it may be a handy firearm to become proficient with. It’s also a good choice if you’re planning to take up hunting and don’t want to spring for something new.

For farmers facing wary predators, or very jumpy groundhogs, the more modern solution is the “varmint rifle,” with calibres including .223, .22-250 and .243. Equipped with a scope and firing small, high-velocity bullets, these guns send rounds zinging off across open areas on a relatively flat trajectory, frequently reaching out to hit targets beyond 200 yards.

Ellie Emlaw and her husband, Ken, run sheep and cattle on a farm near Parry Sound. In recent years the coyotes in their neighbourhood have become so canny that they stake out the house, observing the routines of both the farmers and their guardian llamas and dog. With such wary predators, “we never use a .22, because you can’t reach them with it,” Ellie says.

An incident on the Emlaws’ farm last June offers a good example of the “varmint” gun’s effectiveness. One morning Ellie glanced out to see a ewe down on the ground, with a wolf gnawing at the victim.

“You’ve got to be quick, because they’re watching the house when they’re eating,” Emlaw says of the predators. Ken grabbed a .30-30 rifle (suitable for deer in brush at relatively short range), ran outside, and propped the stock of his rifle on a fence post. Ellie emerged onto the deck with her .22-250. She admits she’s not very good at judging distance, but reckons the wolf was probably 400 yards away, maybe further.

Ken fired first, with the heavier bullet from the .30-30 dropping right in front of the target. The wolf looked up, backed up a bit, and then stood side-on, probably wondering what caused the noise and puff of dirt from the ground. That’s when Ellie, resting her rifle on the railing of the deck with her eye in the scope’s eyepiece, pulled the trigger. “It just fell over as if someone knocked it over,” she says.

In the ideal world, no farmer would need a gun. Foxes would be content with stale bread conveniently left beside their den. (Ah, room service.) Coyotes would seek out wild game, because it offers better exercise and the cachet of the 100-metre diet. Livestock and wildlife would get along like characters in a Beatrix Potter book. (Although even Peter Rabbit had a run-in with Mr. McGregor.)

Because the ideal world isn’t here yet, a gun still comes in handy on the farm. The best policy may be to ask questions first, and shoot (with due attention to safety) as a last resort. But as Aileen Dancey says, when you can’t bribe the predators with bread, sometimes the farm gun becomes “a necessity.”

Gun numbers

In 2011, the year before the federal government eliminated most rifles and shotguns from its registration system, there were about 7.8 million guns in the system, with about 1.9 million people licensed to own them — an average of just over four firearms per licence-holder. The total does not include weapons smuggled into the country for criminal use, and guns that are “forgotten” and unregistered.

Safe ownership The licence

A possession only licence (POL) allows the holder to own the guns they already have and buy ammunition. To buy guns, you require a Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL), and must pass the Canadian Firearms Safety Course.

The course, typically two days long and costing in the $200 range, exposes students to the full range of common rifles, shotguns and cartridges and shells, including some types you’re unlikely to own. The benefit is you’ll be able to safely handle any firearms you encounter. If, for example, your hunting partner has a heart attack in the bush, you can give him first aid, then unload his firearm and ensure it’s safe.

The vital four ACTS of firearm safety:
• Assume every firearm is loaded
• Control the muzzle direction at all times
• Trigger finger must be kept off the trigger and out of the trigger guard
• See that the firearm is unloaded

PROVE it safe:
• Point the firearm in the safest possible direction
• Remove all ammunition
• Observe the chamber
• Verify the feeding path
• Examine the bore for obstructions (Source: Canadian Firearms Safety Course)

Safe shooting

Practising with your firearm a few times a year (ideally on a supervised range) will improve your accuracy and act as a safety refresher, provided you repeat safe handling procedures.

“If you have a gun and you don’t use it very often, when you feel you do need it, you might not know how to use it properly,” says Gary Mauser, Business Administration professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia, and member of the B.C. Wildlife Federation firearms committee. “Familiarity does not mean contempt. It means practising the safety rules . . . Following those rules in target shooting two or three times a year is going to burn (the safety procedures) into your brain.”

Safe storage

Non-restricted firearms must be stored unloaded and either locked with a secure device (a trigger lock, for example), with the bolt or bolt-carrier removed, or in a securely locked container, receptacle or room. An example could be a locking gun cabinet fastened to the wall studs.

Ammunition should not be kept “within easy access” to the firearm, unless it is stored, together with or separately from the gun, in a securely locked container or receptacle.

Terms

Of the three classes of firearms in Canadian law — non-restricted, restricted, and prohibited — farmers are most likely to be licensed for a non-restricted gun, typically a rifle or shotgun used for hunting, predator or pest control. Although the definitions of restricted and prohibited weapons are quite involved, restricted firearms include most handguns, while prohibited weapons include fully-automatic rifles. Firearms basics–Rifle: features internal grooves in the barrel to spin the bullet and stabilize its flight.–Calibre: The bore diameter measured in hundredths of an inch or millimetres. –Shotgun: Typically a smooth-bore gun that fires a shell that releases a collection of pellets (“shot”) or a single slug. Some shotguns feature rifled barrels for more accurate slug shooting. –Gauge: Measurement system for shotgun bores, ranging from 10 gauge (largest barrel) down to .410 calibre. Common sizes include 12 gauge and the smaller 20 gauge. –Choke: The constriction at the end of the barrel to control the spread of the shot. Choke ranges from full choke for maximum range to cylinder bore, for maximum spread over shortest range. A rifled choke can be used for slugs. Some shotgun barrels are manufactured with a particular choke, while others come with interchangeable chokes or barrels.

While rifles and shotguns are usually separate firearms, some companies offer a rifle/shotgun combination with a smooth bore (often 20 gauge or .410) and a rifled barrel (typically in .22 calibre, although sometimes higher.) These versatile guns make a handy combination for farm use.

Ammunition
Shotguns fire shells with various shot sizes or slugs. Always ensure you’ve got the right-length shell for your gun.

Rifles fire cartridges. Rimfire cartridges, common with .22 rifles, hold the primer in the rim. Centrefire cartridges, common with more powerful rifles, hold the primer in the centre of the base of the case.

Always match the ammunition with the rifle by reading the data stamp on the barrel of the gun, and on the head stamp on the centrefire cartridge.  For example: .303 British is not the same as .303 Savage, and neither is a 7-mm Mauser and a 7-mm Remington Magnum. Putting the wrong cartridge in a rifle could result in serious injury. (Never carry a mix of ammunition in your pocket, and always verify the ammunition you’re loading.)

Bullet weights are measured in “grains.” The heavier the bullet, the more grains. In general, lighter bullets fly more quickly, on a flatter trajectory, with reduced hitting power (but all these factors can also be affected or compensated for by the propellant and shape and type of the bullet.) A 150 gr. .303 Br. round, for example, has a muzzle velocity of 2,830 feet per second, while the same cartridge with 180 gr. has a velocity of 2,460 fps. The first round is suitable for deer in more open areas at slightly longer ranges. The second, heavier bullet would work for deer or moose at shorter ranges in brushy areas.

Where will the bullet go? A key aspect of firearm safety is to identify your target and look well beyond, ensuring a stray or errant bullet won’t hit other people, animals, or structures. “Effective range” is typically the distance at which you can hit your target with enough force to kill it or knock it down. “Dangerous range” is the distance at which the bullet could still harm another person or animal.

Typical dangerous ranges
.22 long rifle: 1.1 miles.243 Winchester: 2.2 miles.308 Winchester: 2.5 milesNo. 6 shot: 240 yards00 buckshot: 740 yards12-gauge one-ounce rifled slug: 760 yards(Source: Canadian Firearms Safety Course.)

The firepower you don’t need.
Although it was invented for the First World War, the Thompson submachine gun was produced too late for the conflict. Instead, the gun’s manufacturers touted the “Tommy gun” for civilian use, with an ad showing a cowboy driving off a gang of mounted marauders by blasting away with his Thompson. The gun was, according to the ad copy, “the ideal weapon for the protection of large estates, ranches, plantations, etc.”

Gunless
There are valid reasons not to own a firearm, many of them listed in a 2009 statement by the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians. Having a gun in the house can turn an impulsive gesture like a suicide attempt into a near-certain fatality. The suicide “success rate” with a gun is 96 per cent, compared to only 6.5 per cent with an attempted drug overdose. One U.S. study found a home with a gun is 4.8 times more likely to be the site of a suicide than one without.

Between 2000 and 2009, twenty-three per cent of spousal killings involved a gun, as did 26 per cent of family-related killings of children. Between 1990 and 2005, the Canadian Agricultural Injury Surveillance program tracked seven accidental gun-related deaths of adults on farms.

If you’re gunless, you may be able to deter pests with sound cannons, bear-bangers, or netting and fencing. Even pellet guns, slingshots, and enthusiastic dogs can play a role. (Pellet guns and air rifles should still be handled as if they’re actual firearms.)

Farmers with predator pressure might be able to strike a deal with a local hunter or trapper to provide protection. If you need to euthanize an animal in distress, consider calling on the services of a neighbouring farmer, or your veterinarian.