Dan Darling is a beef farmer in Northumberland County who took on the family business with his brother, Van when he was 18 years old. For the last 40 years, Dan has been taking care of his livestock which has ranged from dairy cows to pigs and for the last two decades, he’s concentrated on beef production and typically has around 200 cows in various stages on several pastures.
Darling Farms crop and pasture land total about 15-hundred acres spread across four different townships.
In addition to his beef herd, Darling has been working with his wife Mary and three daughters, Carolyn, Julie and Margaret, on a pure bred Limousin herd of about 50 animals, a breed known for sturdiness, health and adaptability.
Darling tells us that right now, besides his regular chores, his day consists of doing hay, combining wheat, doing straw and he says they’ll be doing corn silage shortly – which is a popular fodder that’s high in energy and easy to digest. The corn silage this year will feed the herd well into next year. After silage, Darling will be concentrating on fall wheat, combining beans and grain corn and finally getting his herds under shelter for the winter which is a couple of weeks work on it’s own, owing to the fact that his herd is spread across the county.
To say that the Darling family is busy at this time of year would be a big understatement. In addition to work on the farm, the family will be attending fairs pretty much every weekend until October on the lead-up to the grand daddy fair of them all, the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair that runs the beginning of November in Toronto.
Dan’s proud of the family’s achievements at the Royal. The Darlings have won the Canadian Show Female of the Year the last two years running, and Darling says he has another contender for this year’s show that he’s looking forward to making the trip into Toronto for.
For Darling, feeding time is probably his favourite time of the day, that and riding our with his wife to check on the herds, though he does say that the Royal is also a highlight of his year where the whole family has a chance to meet old friends and talk shop with friends, neighbours and other farmers from across the country.
To learn more about the Darling Farms operation, check out the full interview below:
Seeds of Success Fueled by Kubota. Supported by the Northumberland Cattlemen Association.
(Written by: Joseph Goden)
