Here are the boys from last year...today they left the farm.  It is never easy when this day comes.  Farming is an industry, however family farming is a lifestyle.  Why do we do this?  Every time we have to send our beef cattle to market, it is a sad day.  You see cows are not pets and they are too expensive to keep for the fun of it.  Without beef consumption there would be no beef cattle.  Every year we have to send off the extra ones that we cannot keep as breeding cattle.  So for anyone who eats beef...remember that today "the boys" ie Tugg, Trouble, Tater and Time went to the Aylmer Stockyard and were sold as "Stocker Steers".  They will be shipped to a feedlot for further fattening and then they will be sent to the slaughterhouse for processing into the meat that you will find in the supermarket.  The only consolation for me is that they were all bought by the same buyer and that they will still have some time together and all the food that they want...for now.  This is a sad old day and one that reminds me that we should never "waste" the meat on our plate.  A lesson that I hope to teach my children.  When we consume animal life there has been a sacrifice made and we should honour that sacrifice as best we can.  So yes, today we brought home a considerable amount of money for our efforts, but it still hurts to know that these cattle from our farm will pay the price.  Farming is not for the faint of heart.  Some people are unaware that there are many farmers who respect, even love their livestock and fret when the time draws near for them to go.  Family farming is the humane way to produce our food.  Good-bye boys, may your days be long even though your time is short.  I will miss you.