We completed all our registration requirements for traveling into Canada three days ago. We traveled 210 miles from the Rambling Rose Studios to the KOA at Sault St. Marie.
At the border we didn’t have to show anything, beyond our passports, and answer a couple questions. We were surprised at how easy it was. Since we didn’t know how easy or difficult it would be, we opted for staying at a KOA that was very near the crossing point. We had stayed here on our trip four years ago with our Transit van. It was a very short visit then, as we had an issue with our van that we thought would be easier to deal with in the states.
This time it was uneventful. We got to do some laundry, listened to the evening rain, and got ready to travel to our next Harvest Host stop. We were driving to South River Brewing, 501km away (311 miles).
We arrived to a very quiet town and brewery. We were the only Harvest Host guests for the night, so could park where we liked. Paula and I each enjoyed a flight of their beer selections over numerous Qwirkle games. After dinner we took a walk in the neighborhood before more rain came in.
Next we were on to the Forest Cove Alpacas which was only 140 miles away. We need to space out our driving to reach Camping Chutes aux Iroquois on Sunday, as that’s when we could get a four day stay with them.
We arrived before lunchtime, and got ourselves set up. The alpacas are sooooo cute. They had two babies, called crias. One (grey) was born yesterday, and the other one (white) last week. Other fun facts, the males and females are kept in separate pens. Alpacas are a herd animal that is domesticated to always eliminate in the same spot, which probably makes it easier on the humans who tend them.
Then we went off to see what was happening in the nearby towns since it was Canada Day, July 1. Unfortunately the threat of rain had driven all the festivities inside, so we did a little grocery shopping and headed back to the Alpaca Farm.
On Saturday we headed for the Wilkridge Farm, only 166 miles away. This is a fully automated dairy farm. More on that in a minute.
We arrived early enough to take a bike ride for a nice 20 mile loop. Check out the photos; they’re all taken from the phone mount on my trike. Not too bad, if you tilt your head just right.
Then it was back to the dairy farm for our personalized tour with owners Ken and Peggy. Ken showed us historic pictures of how the farm had changed over time. Next, he explained Canada’s supply-managed dairy market. Farmers are only allowed to produce up to a set amount. This prevents overproduction and resulting price drops. The farmer’s income is protected without the need for government subsidy. Interesting concept.
They automated the dairy operation five years ago when they thought they would be selling it to allow them to retire. Their two daughters and a son didn’t appear interested in the family business. Luckily their son completed his civil engineering degree and found the day to day work too monotonous. He worked the farm while his parents took a two week vacation, and decided he would carry on the family tradition. He will make the sixth generation who has run the farm! Amazing!
So the farm was different than any dairy operation I’d seen. The cows live in a barn that has rubber mat floors for them to walk on, pads to lie down on, automated waste removal and milking machines that they can queue up for every 3.5 hours. The barn is climate-controlled and actually feels air conditioned. We asked if their 80 head of cows went outside, and they said they used to give them a choice, but none chose to go outside. Also by having them inside, they can better monitor their health, and less issues seem to arise. The human work is monitoring the milk production, mixing their feed, and delivering it to them.
When the cow wants to be milked, it enters the milking stall. Once the doors close, the robotic arms with the milking cups attach to the cow’s teats using a 3D camera for positioning. The teats are washed, milking is done, and then the teats are coated with iodine. When the milking is complete, the cow is given a treat, and the doors open, allowing it to leave. There is a little training needed for cows who have not experienced this milking style, but once they’re trained, there is no more hands on needed. The electronic tag in the cow’s ear allows each cow’s production to be monitored, as well as its health. If a cow shouldn’t be milked, the automation will not take its milk, and the gates open to encourage it to move on. A big change for dairy production; it eliminates the low paying and hard work of milking each cow by hand, or connecting each cow to an automatic milking device.
This morning we tried to do another trike ride, but we miscalculated where we wanted to start. We got a bit too far afield, and didn’t find a well surfaced trail. Check out this railroad bridge trail crossing:
It looks like they just picked up the rail, and never really surfaced the bridge for bicycles. It had ATV signs, so maybe this isn’t a big deal to them. It was to us, so we gave up. Darn.
We returned to the farm to get our trailer. Then we tackled the 109 miles to Camping Chutes aux Iroquois. The miles weren’t far, but the roads and traffic were terrible. Too many people completing their Canada Day weekend made the roads clogged. Some were rather narrow also, which always makes me nervous. It requires even more concentration when pulling the trailer.
We made it. We’ll be here for four days, exploring le P’tit Train du Nord bike trails in this area. Can’t wait!
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