Your Ontario beef farmers have opened up about life on their local farms. Read more about Matt and Elaine Bowman, Kim Jo Bliss, Mike Buis, Sandra Vos and Roger Sisler, Paul Sharpe and Family below.
Matt and Elaine Bowman – Ontario Beef Farmer, Temiskaming, ON
Make It Ontario Beef: Tell us a little bit about your farm, Matt.
Matt Bowman: Our farm is located in the little clay belt about 10 miles north of New Liskeard. We are the fourth generation to farm in this location.
On the farm, there are 110 Charolais-cross cows that we breed back to Charolais. Our calves are generally born starting in mid-March and we hope to have this completed before the cropping season starts. We normally sell the calves in late October or early November.
In addition to cattle, we crop about 650 acres of wheat, canola, barley, and oats; we also operate a small seed cleaning plant.
Kim Jo Bliss – Ontario Beef Farmer, Rainy River, ON
Make It Ontario Beef: Tell us a little bit about your farm, Kim.
Kim Jo Bliss: My farm is located in the Rainy River District, on the border of Manitoba and Minnesota, about 15 minutes North of Emo. I live and work on my great grandpa’s farm that has been part of our family since 1926. In 1936 my great grandpa and great uncles erected a beautiful barn. Then in 1938, the barn was damaged by fire, but was thankfully saved and I am proudly using the barn today.
With the support of my family, I have 50 cows; approximately half are purebred Herefords and the others are Hereford/Red Angus. We calve in February and March, that works well with my other job, I conduct crop science research at the University of Guelph at the Emo Agricultural Station from April to December.
Mike Buis and Family - Ontario Beef Farmer, Kent County, ON
Make It Ontario Beef: Tell us a little bit about your farm, Mike.
Mike Buis: I’m a third generation farmer and my son John farms with me full-time (he’s fourth generation on this farm) on our 700 acres. My parents are partners with my son and I, and we farm it together; it’s truly a family-run operation.
We have about 350 cows that we raise and we recently expanded our business to include retail meat sales.
In addition to cattle, we grow crops such as sweet corn, green beans, seed corn, winter wheat and soybeans. We also rent out some land for tomatoes and cucumbers.
Sandra Vos and Roger Sisler – Ontario Beef Farmer, Brant County, ON
Make It Ontario Beef: Tell us a little about your farm Sandra.
Sandra Vos: Farming came to me late in life. I had an opportunity to purchase about 80 acres of land that had been in my uncle’s family, which was owned by his non-farming son. I decided to buy the land and use it for its best purpose and be a farmer.
My farm is located between Paris and Brantford in the County of Brant. When I first purchased the land, I remember my youngest son asking me if we were going to be poor. He still comes home from school and wants to know if I bought cows with his education money! My philosophy is “take care of the land and it will take care of you.”
To ensure the farm is successful, I partnered with Rodger Sisler, a traditional silage-based farmer. Together we bought our first Red Angus calf. Today my cowherd is mostly commercial; I use one of our Red Angus bulls to produce Angus crosses. The pasture-based cow/calf and beef operation seems to work best for me. Calving starts in late April and ends mid-June.
Paul Sharpe and Family– Ontario Beef Farmer, Guelph, ON
Paul along with his two brothers Michael and John joined their parents Bill and Marion Sharpe in managing their family business and farm just outside of Guelph, Ontario. Together, the Sharpe’s cash crop and custom farm 7,000-acres and finish 1,500 head of cattle per year. They also own and manage Sharpe Farm Supplies, an input supply business specializing in grain, feed, fertilizer, seed and custom application.
Paul resides in Guelph with his wife Jody and their three busy young children. A personal success for Paul in 2010 was the completion of his first marathon. His hobbies include running, cooking and travel and he is a regular donor of blood in his community.
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