'Everyday you learn something': Farm wife busy during harvest
Before moving to a farm near Abernethy, Zucel Osiowy was a ‘city girl’ in Regina.
Osiowy was originally a physics teacher from Cuba, so learning the agriculture industry was a bit of a curve ball.
“It’s a learning process, everyday you learn something,” Osiowy said.
Osiowy has been on the farm for 14 years. She has relied on other farm wives to adjust to the new life.
“I have a friend, she told me, ‘don’t learn everything on the farm,’” Osiowy explained.
“I say ‘why’, she says, ‘because then you have to do everything’,” she added.
Osiowy did learn how to harrow and combine. She sat in the buddy seat and watched her husband, until one day, she took the wheel.
“If you know farmers, they just want you to go, go, go,” she explained.
“I just take it easy, and I try do my best, just to help him to get the crop off.”
When she isn’t on a combine, she’s busy cooking meals for the family. The Osiowy family is excited to get the crops off. They farm canola, wheat and flax on 2.5 quarters of land.
When the crops are harvested, the Osiowys will burn the straw left from the flax, so it doesn’t get tangled in equipment during seeding in the next season.
“Even in the summer, I’m thinking about the flax, when it has to be burned,” Osiowy said, “That is one thing, that is very, very scary about the farm, when there’s a fire,” she added.
Safety is a priority on the Osiowy farm. Her husband Bruce Osiowy has learned a few lessons over the years.
“Communicate with each other, so you know where everyone is on a regular basis,” Bruce said.
“Make sure everything is well lit, because you know it gets dark early these days.”
Bruce said the crops look good this season, “We sure had good weather up until now. It’s been really hot and dry, and it’s been wonderful,” he said.
Harvest is often a battle with the weather, and a race against the clock. It’s a busy time and farm wives have to be adaptable, according to Osiowy.
She’s had to face many fears during her time as a farm wife, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We are fearless,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.
1 killed, 3 injured in head-on crash on Hwy. 417 in Ottawa
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.