To see the vast expanses of grain farms, going literally for hundreds of miles along the highways in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta was really eye-opening. Of course I realize that my acre or two can sustain more than my family for a few months, but when you consider Canada alone, at a population of 36 million people, the field sizes out west start to make sense. On our trip, we also saw the beginnings of the season in Eastern Saskatchewan and Western Manitoba where farmers are already positioning equipment, harrowing fields and getting ready to sow seed. Once again, the scale of the operations are extreme. I pull a six foot wide disc harrow, these big machines are pulling anything from an 18 foot to 60 foot wide cultivator! To add perspective to all of this, visiting the Reynolds Agricultural museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta and seeing the 100 year old technology they used to do field work is very humbling. We've advanced technologically alot in 100 years!
We also noticed the great number of cattle farms. Being mid-April, the calving season was in full swing. We saw so many new calves we lost count, and we were only scratching the surface in terms of seeing farms. We visited one small farm in Claresholm, Alberta and got the up close and personal of that operation. The owner said that the calving season seemed to be delayed which was a blessing in disguise as southern Alberta got a horrible snowstorm around April 9th. This would have killed any newborn calves. All his calves were born around the 14th and on - he was waiting for three more on the 21st.
Scenery in the west is amazing when you're used to forested areas. True, a field is pretty plain, but there are more rolling areas of Saskatchewan than one expects, so we did experience a really amazing side of the great plains. Will leave a few pictures for you to view. Back on our farm, the work is about to begin. Stay tuned!
