Go north, young man!
Beef production has always been a tough game. And the last few years have tested the mettle of all producers in Canada.
But cattle producers are a tough breed. And those who have been around for any length of time know it's not a commodity you get in and out of. You've got to stick out the lean years to take advantage of the inevitable cyclical swings to better times. And the only way to do that is to maximize efficiencies and keep costs of production in check.
That was the motivating force behind the decision a family of beef producers farming on high-priced Middlesex County land made to head north way north to the Temiskaming region of Ontario.
Triple D Farm Enterprises is owned and operated by the Duffin family Jim and his two sons, Doug and Darcy. In addition to the beef operation in the south, they also operate a flock of laying hens and a grain elevator. Back in 1986, after years in the beef industry and two sons joining the team full time, the Duffins needed to expand their operation. But at $6000 an acre, adding to their land base on the often-thin margins of beef production was impossible to pencil out.
QUEST FOR LOWER LAND COSTS
Their search for a cheaper land base led them to an area just outside New Liskeard, Ontario, in the productive region known as the northern clay belt. The northern land is as productive as their home farm when it comes to hay and mixed grain yields. But the area doesn't receive enough heat to produce corn. The Duffins picked up land for less than $1000 an acre along with 100 crossbred cows that the previous owner had purchased over time at the local sales barn. "The genetics weren't great," says Doug Duffin, "but we knew we could work with them."
At the time, they had a herd of pure-bred Limousin cattle at the home farm and started shipping purebred heifers up north to improve the northern herd. Steers and heifers not required for replacements were sent south for finishing. Replace-ment heifers were maintained on the New Liskeard property.
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"The biggest challenge was accepting a long distance relationship ... it takes time to rely on another's judgment."
Doug Duffin, partner Triple D Farm Enterprises |
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"The biggest challenge was accepting a long distance relation-ship," explains Doug. "We hired a farm manager from the area but it took some time to rely on another's judgment." Philip Alexander is a farmer from New Liskeard and he agreed to manage the beef herd for the Duffins back almost 20 years ago and he's been with them ever since. "Initially we went into it with the idea that he'd have authority to make decisions, but it was still difficult to let go," says Doug Duffin. "We had weekly phone calls early on but now, he probably only speaks to Dad once every two or three weeks."
Farmers are accustomed to solving everything themselves. And for the first few years, the Duffins traveled up north to help for a couple weeks in the summer with hay. But as things evolved and trust was created, Alexander took over full reins. "We haven't been up north now since 1995," says Doug. "We're really fortunate to have Philip."
IT GOES BOTH WAYS
While they're lucky to have Philip, the working relationship goes both ways. That's what makes it work. Philip has his own farm with about 50 cows. The Duffin herd calves in March and April and Philip's herd calves in the fall. All the Duffin calves are born before the herd is turned out on pasture. Equipment and bulls are shared and off-season calving spreads out the workload to be manageable.
Back in the 1980s, cultural differ-ences were apparent. Farmers in the north were much more laid back than those from southwestern Ontario. "It would take them two days to get parts up there while down here we'd drive from dealer-ship to dealership until we found it," says Duffin. "Now, they're much less patient and a whole lot quicker. In part, the Internet has changed their lifestyles dramatically."
The agronomic practices are different, too. It's tough to get hay off because it rains much more. In fact, one of the most peculiar sites Doug saw during the early days was people cutting hay in the rain. "They know they have to push on or they'll never get it off," he says. But while it rains a lot more, things dry up a lot more quickly. "They have much less humidity and you can see the land dry before your eyes," he says.
In addition to the cow-calf herd, Triple D Farm Enterprises also runs a private bull test station in Temiskaming where heifers from the region are put through Record of Performance (ROP) testing in preparation for breeding stock sales. The bulls and heifers they test stay up north while all finishing occurs in Middlesex County on high energy rations that are much more expensive to produce in the north because of limited heat units.
ALWAYS A SILVER LINING
The north is better cattle country, too. They don't experience the January thaws +10ēC during the day and -10ēC at night. It comes in cold and it stays cold. Cows over winter in a bush and calves are born on the snow. And they're fine with that. "Steady cold is actually a lot easier on their health than freeze thaw," says Duffin. "They get fewer respiratory problems up north than we experience in the south."
The BSE issue has curtailed many sales this past year so the Duffins will cut back on the number of heifers they breed and the number of bulls they put on test. "That'll diminish our cow herd a little," says Doug.
The Duffins haven't purchased any land in the north since 1986. They rent a farm with a barn to over winter yearling heifers. And they purchase standing hay from cash crop farmers who want it in their rotation. "The price of rented land goes up and down with the price of grain, but generally, we can find what we need."
Over the last few years, the Duffins have done some crossing with Gelbvieh and Red Angus. But since they sell their finished cattle live, they are going to go back to pure-bred cattle as the Limousin sell better in a sales ring.
Other southern farmers have tried buying land in the north for cash crop purposes, but in most cases, it hasn't worked. Land prices have risen some since the Duffins first expanded their beef production in the region. And some large cash croppers from the south have been buying up quite a bit of land in the area especially for wheat production. Looks like opportun-ities still abound go north, young man.
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