PODCAST · leisure
Great Big Farmer
by Great Big Farmer
An "audio journal" of life on the farm.
Episodes
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Remain Calm, Neighbour's Cows Not Mine + Chisel Plow And Compaction + Wendell Berry's Passing + Red Clover
I confused the neighbour's cows bawling with mine. Well not me, my cows. Using a zig-zag path to help erosion on hills. Chisel plow to rip for compaction in the heifer barn field. Breaking shear bolts. Kincardine seems to be in the rainshadow of Michigan's "thumb". Wendell Berry influenced me...
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(September 3) Night Sounds By The Fire Pit + Oakley's Patrol Bark
We like to make a small fire and sit around it at night. There is a line of maple trees along the east side of the front yard, and their trunks support a supply of wood that helps to make a cozy space. A ring of field stones defines the fire pit, and six or eight chairs are arranged in a somewhat...
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Care And Management Of Weaned Calves + Other Stuff + Sounds Of The Morning
Rambling on about care and management of weaned calves. Not seeing peas emerge in the cover crop. It makes no sense to worry about things on the farm that are out of my control to change now. In the barn with the newly weaned calves. Very few stress days for these calves. Weaning "across the…
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Weaning + Bruce County's "Coo Bos" + Apples + Cicada + A Cow Runs At Me Twice Today, Once Playful And Once Startled
Walking the group from a paddock back to the barn. The old time way to call cattle in Bruce County is "Coo Bos" and its origin is the Scottish reference to highland cattle; Coo= cow Bos= the Latin genus species Bos taurus taurus.The herd is super happy today, but I wish they were chill. They know...
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A Deep Dive Into The Minutia Of The Water Bowl Hook Up + Making It Look Good + Farming Has A Lot Of Grunt Work Like This
The old water line is tough to work with. No leaks. Making the unused electrical feed neat and secure (this bowl is energy free). Lots of water pressure. Stripping the concrete forms. I cut myself. Setting the water bowl in place is not easy by myself. Getting it going went really well. Podcasts…
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Late Summer Pasture Move
Late summer pasture move. Reasons for moving the cows. Finishing up by checking the water, salt, and mineral. Soybeans are maturing. Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder Please contact me with your own stories. [email protected]
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Energy Free Water Bowl...Describing The Forms And Pouring The Concrete
Lots of detail here, 'cause everybody wants to hear about concrete forming! LOL I ramble on about how the concrete pad will meet the requirements for the installation of the bowl. Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder Please contact me with your…
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Appreciating The Cover Crop + Other Stuff + River Sounds To Finish
Growing cover crops and grazing cattle is the best! Rapids in the Kincardine Creek between two pools. Simple three point hitch spline repair. Difficult tire packer repair. Breaking out concrete in the barn. Perfect growing conditions for germination. Fade out with river sounds. Find your place in...
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Tire Packer Shaft And Bearings Destroyed + Very High Seed Density In Cover Crop + Time To Get Some Rest
The manure-compost pile has warmed up. The tire packer is very broken and I'm glad nothing else was damaged when it came apart. I calculated that the seeding density for this cover crop mix is 44 seeds per square foot, which is very high and I'm glad about that. Looking ahead...but for now, it's...
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Cover Crop Costs Aren't Just The Price Of The Seed
Rambling while unloading seed bags. Big problem with the seeder metering mechanism. The right way to live my life. Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder Please contact me with your own stories. [email protected]
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An Interesting But Insanely Busy Day Recorded Early Morning While Pulling Weeds
Early morning. Recording while checking compost temperatures and walking the soybean field. Pulling weeds tall weeds, trying to decrease the seed bank. Making the disc sing. Magnet finds more fence wire and a plow point. Lots of prep for seeding the cover crop... Find your place in the world. Dig...
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I'm Late Getting The Cover Crop Planted + Making Progress With Farm Composting
Overall, things are going great this summer, but I'm late getting the cover crop planted. First disc needs to be repaired, and the supplier to the machine shop is slow to courier the bearing that's needed. Also, the new tractor needs a lot of attention before it can be used reliably. It would be...
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Custom Repairs + Comparing Grazing Cattle With The Oil Industry
I would advise anyone to trust the engineered specifications for tractor fluids, and don't follow the advice of the retailer...it's important. Custom repairs are a lot of fun. The way that animals forage for food is a lot like the way humans have managed Earth's oil resources. Early on cattle…
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Weeding With An Amish Hoe + Cutting Back Sourghum-Sudan, Other Stuff + Three Lines From Mary Oliver's "Sometimes"
I think hand weeding a field is called roguing for weeds, and I'm doing that using my Amish Hoe.Other stuff...coffee time...a trip to the mennonite machine shop...swapping the fluids on the new tractor...2nd cut baling went well....cutting the sourghum-sudan cover crop. There are three lines from...
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Chisel Plowing Opens And Stirs The Soil + Making A Deal On Another Ford Tractor + 2nd Cut Hay
I think a chisel plow does a nice job of opening compacted soil. It does so by stirring, without inverting the earth like a moldboard plow. I have a notion that this better maintains soil structure, and that fungal associations will be more easily reestablished in the pending cover crop. Just my...
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Moving On From Wheat Harvest + First Pass With The Disc
With wheat harvest finished, it's time to reflect...but not for long because the wheat stubble is growing weeds and a cover crop needs to go in shortly. I decide to "double disc" the hard, dry ground. Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder Please...
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What It Sounds Like In The Combine
This is what it sounds like while harvesting wheat with a White 8700 combine. Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder Please contact me with your own stories. [email protected]
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Wheat Harvest...Getting It Done
Are you curious about how the combine worked? Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder Please contact me with your own stories. [email protected]
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First Time Using A Combine + The Mindset Of A Stoic
Today's the day! Tom rambles on about his old farm equipment, specifically the various machines needed today and their cost. Then he does a deep dive into combine settings....a very deep dive. With all of this old equipment in operation he talks about a stoics' mindset when farming. Next...
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Summer Heat Changes Work Routines + Wheat Harvest Days Away + Reflecting On The Success Of The Farm So Far This Year
The sound of birds and insects. Daybreak as I check on the cows and move them to another paddock. A lot has happened since the last episode of this audio journal, and most of it has been quite good fortunately. With wheat harvest imminent, I reflect on the success or otherwise of the farm in…
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Friends Showed Up In The Rain + Organic Weed Control + Oakley Bothers A Fawn
I found a comfortable spot to sit/ lie down on a hillside near the river, with a view of the grazing cattle, the river, and the small field I call the bowl. Oakley came with me as well as a barn cat who probably thinks he is also a dog and should come on long walks. It was nice of my friends to...
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Early Morning Cattle Check + Crops and Cover Crops + Other Ramblings
Having heard a calf bawling in the distance, I decided to see if it was one of mine. It seemed like a good time to record a farm update. It was nice to hear the sound of the river, plus the grassland and forest birds. It really was a beautiful morning! Find your place in the world. Dig in, and…
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Soybeans Planted Into Standing Rye + Cattle Moved + Cover Crops + Thinking Ahead
This episode was recorded at about 6 am across the river, as I checked in on the cattle after their recent move. It is nice to hear the birds in this nice little clearing at the edge of the water. Soybeans are planted and the electric fences are all up and in decent shape. I'm also thinking ahead...
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Livestock Dog Mutiny + New-Used Combine
Finding time to record an episode isn't easy. Oakley decdides to spend time on the neighbour's porch. Critical tractor repair goes well. Bringing a White 8700 combine home from Londsborough. Looking for a break in the weather to plant organic soybeans. Find your place in the world. Dig in, and…
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Erosion From Upstream Damages This Farm + Wendell Berry's "Damage"
Somewhere upstream, a farmer has altered the path of water. Cutting deep gulleys and picking up soil, it made its' way onto this farm. Slowing in a waterway with natural grass banks lined with trees, the water dropped some of the soil and stone. Pulled by gravity and unable to flow in the plugged...
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Audio From The Barn And Field...Getting Grazing And Field Work Started
Grazing season has officially started! I've got some noisy audio here from a windy day. It is also dry enough to get the disc out on the field, another step toward getting organic soybeans planted. I used noise reduction on the raw audio, but it's still noisy at times. That's okay for me though,...
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How I Decide To Start The Grazing Season + Tilling A Heavy Cover Crop
When to let the cattle out on grass the first time is a big decision. This episode is a good one if you are new to rotational grazing. If you are an experienced grazer, you might reflect on what you do and possibly pick up some new ideas. I also talk about running the disc to incorporate a cover...
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Essential Ordinary + Calf With Two Broken Legs + Old Ways To Start Grazing, Field Work + Garden Progress
Coffee with friends in the driveshed. Forgetting Friday night, and splinting a calf with two broken legs. Fencing across the river. The "essential ordinary" makes things go smoothly. The disc needs repairs. It's probably safer to scratch your calves on the tail head rather than the head. Bo the...
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Maintaining Field Edges + The Bull's Time To Shine + AI Plans For The Yearling Heifer + Ponding Water Has Impacted My No-till Soybeans
Recording in the barn (you can hear the fence charger clicking away). I've spent about five days maintaining field edges and I'm not done this exhausting job. Rule of thumb....May 10th is the Bruce County day to put cattle on pasture. My fencing system is archaic. The field tractor needs my...
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Asking AI For Hobby Ideas + Hugging Trees And Sitting By The Ocean In BC + Not Living By My Core Values
This episode is all about the fun I had, and how I was struck by the beauty of nature while on holiday in British Columbia. And then I get started talking about my decision not to fly and it seems like I couldn't stop talking about it LOL. Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take...
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Hen vs Barn Cat + Retained Placenta + Equipment Repairs + More Rugby + Off-Farm Work + All Is Well Knock On Wood
I've never seen a chicken break up a cat fight, until now. While Peter and I are busy welding and repairing equipment, a cow decides to have her calf. How I dealt with her retained placenta. I am starting to think about all kinds of spring activities including chainsaw work in the field edges,...
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The Bull Gets Nosy + A Spring Drive Through Mennonite Country + Wendell Berry's 1992 iv
The bull and a nest of bees The importance of manure as fertilizer The skidsteer's time to shine Rugby is my volunteer work I am an idiot and wrecked my chainsaw A chill drive through Mennonite country My fence chargers can be repaired Mennonite and Amish farms look very different from English...
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Larry Kraemer And The Path To Organic Agriculture
Are you thinking about making a move to organic agriculture? Larry Kraemer shares the details of his path from a life in Toronto to his organic farm near Kincardine. This is a great episode if you are thinking about transitioning from conventional farming to certified organic. Contents: Raised in...
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Celebrating Life
This afternoon I travelled to Southampton to celebrate the life of a teaching colleague, Pat Joynt. This episode was recorded in the bank barn while sitting with the calves. The Present...until the 6:45 min mark. Noticing the small stuff in life. Calves, a barn cat, and hockey on the radio. The...
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Mouse Attack + Marketing Wheat + Getting The Bull Outside
We get the sugar maple seeds planted, and a mouse helps to make things interesting in the seeding room. I worked on marketing my hard red winter wheat using an "everybody needs to win" approach. Teddy the bull sees the great outdoors for the first time since he got here. Find your place in the...
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Flint The Cow Suddenly Goes Psycho + The Organic History Of One Field Including Cover Crops
I learned some lessons when Flint the cow suddenly became maximally aggressive when a strange person entered the bank barn. Also, it is a requirement of organic certification to maintain field histories. The added bonus is you can look back on a field and really get a sense what worked and what...
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Dead Calf? Plus, Checking On The Tree Seeds In The Fridge
As they say, if you have livestock you're going to have deadstock. That's always in the back of my mind when I check on the cattle and the calf I noticed today didn't look right. Also, I have a few minutes to check on the tree seeds that I put in the fridge. Jan 11 - tree seeds placed in damp…
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Would anyone benefit from an open house "field day" on this farm?
If I hosted a field day, would anyone even come? Do I have any useful knowledge or experience to share? These are some of the questions that come to mind as I entertain the idea of hosting an open house "field day". As this episode was recorded I arrived at a few tentative conclusions. I think I...
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I Have Decided - Mary Oliver
Sure I'm a farmer. But I'm also what you'd call a contemplative. Here is the poem, I Have Decided by Mary Oliver. Let me know what you think! Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder Please contact me with your own stories. [email protected]
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A Good Episode If You Are New To Cows And Calving
I'm hoping that you might find something in this episode that will help you during calving season, especially if you are just starting out! I think there might be a couple of takeaways for experienced farmers too. I talk about my calving bins, keeping safe when near a new mom, home made…
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The Calving Circus Has Begun
[email protected] Four calves in 48 hours. Frozen water lines. A calf that doesn't know how to suck, and another that is the sort I call a runner. A heifer in heat and a frustrated bull. Anxious momma cows, and every barn cat wandering around to check out the excitement. A circus. I'm…
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The Sounds Of June On The Farm
[email protected] June 22 is right in the middle of haying season. I decided to set my phone in the field and capture the sound of the wind, grassland birds, insects, and passing cars. The sound of the farm in summer is something I never want to forget. Skip ahead to 2:17 if you want to…
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Frozen Water Bowl, Experimenting With Kernza, Off-Farm Work
[email protected] The plan is to put together an "audio journal" for the coming year. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to farm, and have been doing so for quite a number of years now. When my farming life is over, I want to remember some of the details that I'm sure would...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Great Big Farmer have?
Great Big Farmer currently has 43 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Great Big Farmer about?
An "audio journal" of life on the farm.
How often does Great Big Farmer release new episodes?
Great Big Farmer has 43 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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Who hosts Great Big Farmer?
Great Big Farmer is created and hosted by Great Big Farmer.
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