Story by: CrestonValley Agriculture Society

It’s October and the growing season in the CrestonValley is winding down.

This has been an exceptional summer and early fall for most crops. Field crops and gardens have produced well.

It’s about time to get the last produce out of the garden and get it ready for the coming winter. Root crops such as potatoes, carrots and beets are usually the last to come in, along with late apples, pears and plums from the orchards. Don’t forget the various squash and pumpkins.

Field crops are mostly finished as well. The dairies that grow corn for silage to feed their cows will be chopping that now. That’s one of the last crops to come off.

Another “crop” ready for harvest is beef. The majority of the beef calves born early in the spring which have been out on pastures with their mothers all summer are now big enough to be weaned and put into feedlots to be grown out to maturity.

Most area beef cow/calf farmers sell their calves to feedlots in Alberta. Some are finished on their home farm here and sold for local consumption.

Market prices are looking very good this fall for cattle, which will be welcomed by all the area growers.

While current beef cattle prices are good, the reality is that they are reaching a level that they should at least be at, and should have been at years sooner. It has been 10 years since the BSE, or mad cow, “crisis” occurred. International borders closed to Canadian beef products and prices plummeted. Billions of dollars were lost to the Canadian beef industry and the Canadian economy, and many producers were forced out of business.

It was a terrible overreaction to the situation. The resulting regulatory burdens and costs will continue to make Canadian beef more expensive, in general, than that of our neighbours to the south.

The rules and regulations imposed on the beef industry greatly impacted how beef is processed and handled on its way to consumers, even for the smaller-scale producers we have locally. As long as the current rules are followed, consumers can be assured that our Canadian beef is a safe, healthy product. Support our area producers and enjoy some great local beef.

Like most months, October has a holiday long weekend, Thanksgiving. For many it is just an extra day off from work or a chance for a cross-border shopping trip.

For a lot of us involved in agricultural production of all types, Thanksgiving is a special holiday. Farmers have a special connection to the land and what our land produces. The ability to grow such a wide variety of crops and livestock in our valley and the opportunities and freedom to market our food products as we can is something that all farmers and consumers can be very thankful for.

Our family Thanksgiving dinner menu will consist of a locally grown turkey and ham, surrounded by potatoes and a variety of veggies from our garden. Dessert will be home-made pies made with (of course) local apples and pumpkins, topped off with whipped cream from our local dairy.

The harvest is done; let us all be thankful. May your Thanksgiving meal include some local CrestonValley grown food. Be “ag aware.”

(For more information about the Creston Valley Agriculture Society contact Randy Meyer at 250-428-7013 or Kris Vanderweyde at 250-428-2920.)