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2020 was an interesting year for all of us, although farming activities at Cornell Farms - calving, planting, harvest, etc. continued as usual. Cattle prices held up well but there was increased competition for processing hours as everyone wanted to be part of the local foods movement. We didn't realize that once you got your toilet paper, you needed ground beef! We harvested some great crops of soybeans and oats - very different than last year. We even got most of the ground ready for the 2021 planting season and it was a great fall to clean out the pens, so lots of natural nutrients spread on all our fields!
Farm markets were interrupted as we all worked together to keep everyone safe but they started up again in the early summer with new protocols.
We have had a hard time keeping up with the increased sales of all our products.
We have introduced a new online shopping component to our web page. Be sure to check it out. It is an up-to-date list of what we have available throughout the year. Our hope is to group orders together by community and then make deliveries once a month. Hopefully it will work.
Watch our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages to see what we're doing here throughout the year. It's always an adventure.
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Baptism of Charlotte Jeannine Cornell
Charlotte was baptized in an outdoor ceremony over Thanksgiving with all families social distancing on bales of hay. Rebecca and Kelsey were godparents.
Garnet continues to work as an Environmental Specialist for New Gold - Rainy River Project. Michelle is on maternity leave from the local Optometrist office in Fort Frances.
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Charlotte is an outdoor girl who likes to spend time with her great grandparents Gordon and Jeannine Cornell.
They are both doing well and Gordon still comes to the farm every day. He had a bit of a mishap with his hand while working on machinery and had a cast on it for a few weeks while it healed - that still didn't stop him helping around the farm. He will be 92 in January.
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Pat's parents, Earle and Joanne Clysdale visited in September coming north in their motorhome with grandson Earle and fiancé Bella.
They are both doing well. Earle helps out Ralph and Brenda (daughter) on their farm in southern Ontario on a regular basis. He just turned 91 in October.
Pat and Kim hope they have those long-living genes as part of their make-up!
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Kelsey's New Position as Brewmaster at Flux Brewery
Kelsey has started a new job at Flux Brewery in Scotland, Ontario. What a great start to her career. They seem to be doing well in spite of the social distancing rules.
Rebecca continues to work as a Veterinarian in Kirkton, Ontario.
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Our New Adventure - Hops
Cornell Farms grew some hops this year. Rebecca and Kelsey were around to help with the building of the hop yard and planting. Harvest was pretty good for the first year.
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Here's a picture of the hop planting crew with the supervisor. Guess who that is!
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Kim and Pat's Fishing Adventure
Good friends Scott and Colleen decided to take Kim and Pat out fishing on Rainy Lake. We hadn't been fishing for 30 years even though we live right next door to one of the greatest outdoor playgrounds in North America. Here are the results.
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Pat wasn't going to be outdone. It was a great day. We caught our limit and had a fish fry a few days later. It was a great break from our busy schedule.
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Family Pictures
Michelle arranged for family pictures while everyone was home for Thanksgiving. The results are stunning.
This is Gordon's favourite tractor. He's always tinkering with it!
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Here's one of our favourites in the soybean field.
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The Three Musketeers
Lots of Carhartt in this picture.
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Travels Throughout the Year
Pat visited Anna Maria Island, Florida in January with a friend and Kim and Pat made a quick trip to Winnipeg for a couple of days when COVID numbers were low but that was the extent of our travels in 2020. The rest of the time was spent close to home.
Charlotte is a real cow girl so the newsletter wouldn't be complete without a few pictures of her and her favourite animal - cattle.
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One more of Charlotte and her cows.
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Best Wishes for 2020
Kim continues to travel throughout the region for Farmers' Markets on top of all his farming duties. He is also a member of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Board. Pat continues to work as a Justice of the Peace based in the Fort Frances Courthouse.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all our activities. Sign up for our quarterly newsletter by visiting our webpage.
Hope you have a happy holiday season and best wishes for 2021.
Kim, Pat, Rebecca, Kelsey, Garnet, Michelle and Charlotte
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