Jared Anderson – August 2014

Jared Clayton Anderson
July 6, 1998 – January 29, 2015

Jared was born during haying season and raised his entire 16 years on our family dairy farm, Aldor Acres Dairy in Langley. Jared was known for his handsome smile, his kindness to all, and his incredible work ethic. As a baby he loved to stand on anything with wheels, we were always worried he would knock his teeth out! As he grew, so did his love of the outdoors. He and his brothers would dig holes and build forts as deep as they could go. He fashioned bows and arrows from scratch with materials he would bring home from the bush. The kids loved to spend time together target shooting. He spent his final summer in the mountains at a hunting camp, a place where he felt at home.  He’d never ridden a horse before that trip, but he was there to work, so he saddled up a horse and jumped on and fit right in. He was looking forward to going back to the mountains again soon.

Jared’s passion for dairy farming was evident from as early as 2 years old, he could be found with mom or dad raking beds with a shortened rake.  He treated all the animals with respect and loved the calves and cats during his daily chore time duties.  Once the DeLaval VMS was installed in the spring of 2012 Jared’s chores changed and he was interested in the new style of milking and had a great understanding of herd management. He was also employed off the farm milking cows at Devalera Dairy Farm a few times per week.

Outside of farming he was a rugby player at DW Poppy high school and the Langley Rugby Club, proud 4-H member of the Langley Beef & Swine Club, and respected member of our family.

At home Jared was a lover of family, practical joker, couch stealer, jam maker, burgeoning cook and the eater of all the fruit.  Jared was the much-loved son of Brian and Erin Anderson, and the brother of Brianna (18), Gabriel (13), and Reid (11).  He left us suddenly, and far too early. He leaves behind the grieving communities of Fort Langley, BC 4-H, D.W. Poppy Secondary School, and the Langley Rugby Club. Our family is very grateful for all of the prayers and support. Forever missed but always in our hearts.

A Celebration of Life was held on February 12/15 to a full house at Christian Life Assembly in Langley.

Donations can be made to Langley Rugby Club Scholarship c/o 21280 Crush Cres, Langley,BC V2Y 2R4

Winners of the 2014 Spring Contest ‘Pork Prize Packs’!

And the Winners are;

Julie Kell from Woodward Hill Elementary and Shannon Sandau from Ladybug Landing Preschool

Our 2 winners were drawn from the (milk) bucket and have been contacted.

Thank-you to all of the teaching staff that visited with us during the spring months of 2014!

Erin and I really had a fun season with your classes and groups that visited the Dairy Centre.

We were so excited to offer a chance www.aldoracres.com/teacher-contest  to each and everyone of you, an entry in the draw for a 1/4 of our ‘Farm Raised Pork’ (yes fed lots of milk btw!).

By Wanda Patsche

It takes a special person to farm. At times that “specialness” sometimes turns into a certain level of, shall I say, “oddness?” Here are my top 10 reasons why farmers are a little odd:

1) Farmers have binocular vision – How is it that farmers can see a piece of machinery in a field five miles away and know the model of tractor, what field it is in, who is driving and also knows they are eating the last half of a bag of Cheetos?  (okay, maybe a little exaggeration, but you get the point . . .)

2) Farmers have a “Need to Know Everyone Who Drives By and Why” syndrome. It never fails. When a truck drives by, farmers know who it is and the reason they are driving by. And if they don’t, they will ask anyone nearby, even if they know that person won’t know.

3) Farmers and driving are sometimes a hazardous combination. Have you ever ridden in a truck with a farmer? Let me just say, it can be very hazardous to your health, especially when driving though the countryside.  I swear farmers remind me of the “devil farmer who spins their head 360 degrees” while looking at what other farmers are doing in their fields or farmyards – all while driving! My advice? Keep your eyes straight ahead, have your hands ready to take the steering wheel OR, better yet, offer to drive. I do the latter often – for my own safety.

4) Farmers know exactly where everything is on their farm. But when it comes to the house, it’s like they have left their memory in the barn. For example, last week the sugar bowl needed refilling. Instead of asking me to fill it, my farmer decided to do it himself (surprising, I know). Simple job, right? Well, he ended up looking in every cupboard but the one where the sugar canister was. Let me just share the sugar has always been in the exact same place for the last 28 YEARS!

5) Running errands ALWAYS takes longer than what you think. If you ever ride along with a farmer to the local Fleet Farm store, be prepared to be there awhile.  It’s almost a 100% guarantee they will run into other farmers, who also have this overwhelming desire to solve the world’s problems right in the middle of the store. And that takes awhile.

6) Farmers should win the “cleanest people on earth” award. Some days it takes a lot of clothes and showers to farm, especially if you are a livestock farmer. It’s not unusual to change clothes and/or shower 2 to 4 times per day.  It’s just the way it is.

7) Farmers thrive during harvest. During harvest, when the work day is done by 11:00 p.m., it’s an early night. And they are back at it by 6:00 a.m. the next day. Day after day until the work is done. Thank goodness for adrenaline rushes, caffeine and harvest lunches because that is what keeps them going. And they love every minute of it.

8) Farmers know their neighbors. Neighbors help each other, often not asking anything in return. And if a neighbor is in real dire straights, neighbors will be tripping over themselves to help out. It’s just what farming neighbors do.

9) Working hard while not knowing the end result. Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they fail. But even through the failures, famers always, always think next time will be better – over and over again.

Killdeer Eggs with Flag Markers

10) Farmers have the utmost respect for nature. In the midst of the day-to-day work, farmers will stop and admire, appreciate and respect the nature that is around them. They go out of their way to help – like the time my farmer put flag markers around a killdeer nest with eggs because that killdeer happened to build a nest next to a high traffic area on the farm. It’s the little things that really are big things. And farmers know that.

And while the top 10 reasons of why farmers are a little odd, farmers think it’s a little odd when certain people think farmers are the evil-doers of the food world. It’s incomprehensible to them. Yes, they may be odd at times. Evil-doers? Not by a long shot.