does it ever stop

Monday morning, yes its one of those Mondays. Don is back with us today. A couple of hours into the day and I glance over to Don but what do I see........







Yup, the tire on Don's spreader just decided it had enough and was not going to cooperate any more. It was going to walk (roll) away from this job.







Stu is amazed that the tire just decided to unscrew its bolds, spit them out and drop to the ground in this last 20 ft.








Don is proud to acclaim yet another trophy.






So what do we do with this heavy, heavy spreader to change the tire. Why, we call out the professionals of course. A great many businesses that cater to the farmers here in the lower mainland owe their existence to our Don and eagerly hover off in the distance of what ever field he is working in.

And it goes on....

Oops, Don has another breakdown. Management is coming over to have a look at things. Fortunately, it was not a big thing and Don was back to work in 10 minutes.











Meet Dwayne.
Dwayne is going to take over Don's tractor today.




Lunch time at our cafeteria in the field







Tomorrow is Sunday and that will be a day off for us. I hear it is going to rain an well

..

First 3 stages of getting the land ready

This is the first stage.
Spreading the fertilizer over the land when is is dry enough from the winter rains.






Second Stage.
During this stage, the manure is turned in the soil. It covers the manure with soil reducing the smell and is the first step in breaking up the dirt for planting.






Third stage.
In this photo you see the sub soiler. The tractor is pulling an implement that drags large teeth up to 3 feet below the surface through the dirt. The teeth breaks up the lower level of soil to
allow aeration and good drainage.



Carl says HI to everyone.








You have seen the first 3 stages or working the land and it is still not ready for planting.

Routine Day

There it is, just to the right of my tractors nose. Its BROWN GOLD! Well, at least to an Organic Farmer its brown gold. I am parked right next to the pile with the hoe which is loading me up for a delivery.

That is Stu in the hoe doing the loading. He piles the brown gold into my spreader until it just starts to spill over. With a full load the spreader is carrying a tremendous weight and we must be careful driving over the rough roads or we could break something.


Here are my buddies on their way back for another load while I am pulling out from the pile. It is back and forth all day long until we need to move on to another pile in another field.

This is a drivers view going down a field road.


Now we are at our destination and doing the spreading. It is back and forth covering the field with an even layer of fertilizer. We have 2 settings when we spread. Heavy setting is used for crops such as corn and a light setting used for a crop such as beans.

Today went pretty good, no break downs and Don is back with his repaired spreader.

First Day

Today is actually the 2nd day of spreading. Yeah, they started without me yesterday. Things don't always go smoothly of the farm, today, someone left the key on and the battery was dead on my tractor. Getting ready to jump start it using my truck parked
by the wheel.




Meet the crew. This is Carl. He thinks that maybe he did leave the key on yesterday. Carl is driving the big John Deere with the rubber tracks pulling a disc. He turns in the manure after we spread it. We like to be neighbour friendly, so no smell.






Meet Bill.
Bill is driving the older Ford tractor pulling a spreader like me. Right now he is wondering what the hell am I doing with this camera.





Here we have Gary. Gary is driving a John Deere pulling a spreader.









Here we have a photo of Carl and Don discussing who might have left the key on causing the dead battery. Don likes to break things, but claims he did not even drive that tractor yesterday. Today Don is driving that red Case tractor behind him pulling a spreader.
He did not have a good day today. First a shear pin broke on his spreader so it was a trip to the shop and back for parts. Later after a good hour of work, the axle on his spreader gave up the ghost and broke too. That was it for him today, it was carefully tow the spreader to the shop for repairs and take the rest of the day off.


Meet Stu. Stu operates the hoe and loads up all our spreaders. Stu is also in charge of the spreading operation. He spends all winter turning over the manure piles ensuring that they have a good even heat to meet compost regulations. During the spreading operations, Stu's responsibility is to get the job done. He fixes our breakdowns, tows us out of the mud when we get stuck, wipes our tears when we break something and breaks up our fights when we have a disagreement. We love Stu.

Then there is Pharmbouy, that happy go lucky author of this blog.
He never breaks anything, he is always on time for work, a willing helper and all that.... well you know what.

Have you heard of the BLACK GANG of the coal mines in Nova Scotia. Well, you have just met the BROWN GANG of Fraserland Farms.


We will continue this story tomorrow....Betty just told me to get my coveralls the H.......ll out of the trailer.

It's starting

It is now 5:30 am, and I have an hour to check the web, and get ready for work. Today is the 2nd day of spreading (you know what) and its all organic too.
Betty is still in bed but she made my lunch last night.
Its tough on the first day after a winter of sun and beaches. Oh well, I guess this is what they call the real world.
Stay tuned to see what goes on the farm.

April 14/08 "In the beginning"

This blog is about Larry and Betty Pollard spending the summer away from their winter travels. Not long after they return from the south Larry exchanges his sockless sandals, t-shirts and Bermuda shorts for work socks, steel toed work boots and cover-alls in preparation for another season working on an organic farm that is partly owned and operated by Betty’s daughter and son-in-law, Shelly and Brent Harris. Brent is a fifth generation Delta farmer and along with his dad, brother and brother-in-law oversee the operations of more than 1000 acres of organic vegetables in Delta BC. They also harvest more than 100 acres of cranberries (non-organic).

A note from Betty:
Who would have known that in 1995 when Larry retired from the Air Traffic Control tower in Kamloops, BC that he would end up driving a tractor for six months in the summers? It all started in June 2001 when Shelly called me and asked if Larry would be interested in managing a special project involving the research study of using compost tea on some of the organic crops. I recall the conversation way back when: “And Mom, it is only for 12 weeks in the summer and only for two years”! Well, that is seven seasons ago. The part-time short-term job offer has evolved into the position of part-time manure spreader, part-time liquid copper oxide spreader, part-time cranberry frost protection monitor and part-time handyman. Larry forgot to look at the fine print on the contract that states: “Once you sign on the farm you are in for life”! Up until the summer of 2007, I remained at our home in Kamloops and Larry commuted between Kamloops and Delta. We have since rented out our home in Kamloops and now live in our 30-foot 5^th wheel full time and spend six months from early May to mid October parked at a slightly wooded spot at a far corner of the farm where we are surrounded by cranberry fields. We are entertained by the sounds and flights of the eagles nestled in the close by trees, the squirrels sneaking off with the left over seeds left behind by the many variety of small birds feeding off the several bird feeders. At the end of the season we pack up and head back to Kamloops to winterize our water garden before we head back to Mexico for the winter months. Although our little spot is isolated, I am using the time constructively. I am realizing a life-long project and working on a book relating to the ancestral history of my grandparents, Georges Lavoie and Marie-Anne Poirier.

Yes that’s how it all started.

It is now the middle of April 2008 and the fields are still too wet from the winter rains for our equipment to start work. Spring is in the air and the sun is warming the land, it won’t be long now.

Things will be happening soon, so take time out to follow the issues of “Pharmbouy on the Farm”.