Second ammonia leak keeps Weyburn rinks closed until after Christmas
13h ago
City was on schedule to reopen on Dec. 13, and now has to remove the ice again.
While many farmers have their calving season in the spring, Glen Gabel has his in the winter, by choice.
Gabel farms near Regina, raising purebred Angus cattle. He chooses to calve in the winter, giving himself extra time before he sells his bulls as yearlings.
“If you can gain that one or two extra months of age on them, come next year for breeding purposes, they’re just a little better animal that way,” Gabel told the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Wednesday.
Gabel said he monitors the herd with a WiFi camera. He makes sure he has insulated shelters for the animals to perform the miracle of life.
“You’re coming out of a warm body no different than a baby being born at 96, 97 degrees soaking wet. And then you come into a -40 wind chill,” he said.
“You’ll turn into a Popsicle pretty quick if they don’t have protection and a place to keep them warm.”
When the weather turns cold, Gabel said he goes through an extra 25 per cent in feed.
“We feed as good a quality of hay as we can get for them. We also feed green feed, which is basically oat that is seated that is cut prior to harvest … (It) gives them a little bit more energy, especially in this cold weather,” he said.