Mother’s Day falls on May 10
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
With Mother’s Day approaching on Sunday, Farms.com contacted women in Western Canada’s farming community to discuss their favourite parts of being a farm mom or memories of growing up around one.
Jacquelyn Hall raises cash crops and livestock with her parents near Stavely, Alta.
Growing up around her mom Joan on the farm brings back memories of delivering meals throughout the day.
“I remember waving at the tractor and trying to figure out the best place to do the food drop off,” she told Farms.com. “We still have a lot of field meals so there’s still a lot of packing things up and keeping it warm to bring out to the field.”
Hall recalls her mom’s dedication to a specific food item. So much so that no matter where she eats it, she can see her mom assembling it.
“Every time I have an egg salad or chicken salad sandwich, I remember how much my mom is a sandwich connoisseur,” she said. “She says sandwiches are art. It couldn’t just be a sandwich, it had to be a good sandwich.”
Melissa Atchison, a beef and cash crop producer from Pipestone, Man., also grew up with a farm mom.
As a young girl, Atchison’s mom Gail had an important job for her in the family’s dairy barn.
“We would go out into the barn and one of my jobs was to chase the cats away from the cream separator,” she told Farms.com. “My parents would be milking cows and I’d be wandering about in the barn. It was really fun.”
Now a mom herself, Atchison sees things from a different perspective.
Her daughter Reese and son Wyatt have developed a keen interest in food production, she said.
“It’s really cool that in addition to having all of that outside time and fresh air, they are developing a respect for the land and the animals,” she said. “They love tagging new calves, moving cows and hauling grain.”