Life-long farmers, Bill and Joyce MacDonald have run their farm in New Brunswick for over four decades. They now raise cattle, grow crops and rear horses, we spoke to Bill about running a cattle farm in the contemporary age.
When did you start in the farming industry?
I worked on a farm when I was a teenager, then we started our own farm in 1972. We started out with pigs, sheep, goats, cattle and a few horses. We did that for a while then we got out of pigs and hogs, we bought some beef cattle and horses and that's what we've been doing up until today.
How has
It is all mechanised now. It's also hard to find any labour. We used to be able to get young people helping with the hay.
Regulations are getting crazy. The environment is the big thing right now, everywhere, not just here. When we first started there weren't many regulations, now there are regulations for our streams, for walks and for fences.
Also, neighbours from the city move
What three pieces of advice that you would give to those who want to buy and run their own farm business?
If you want to buy and run your own farm, go and get a course in agriculture, on farm management, soils and crops and whatever kind of animals they were looking at, or at vegetable, animals or grain.
They might have to make some lifestyle changes. They have to realise that they will be working a 7 day a
If you're going to be based close to town, consider what kind of distribution there is and what kind of attitude the town has towards farmers.
How difficult is the process for getting products distributed, if you are inexperienced?
Before we had no difficulties. Just in the last few
The price of cattle had bottomed
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