‘You look after things the way you want to look after them,’ says veteran rancher on Ag Day

For Agriculture Day in Saskatchewan, an Arcola-area rancher is sharing a story about how far he’d go to get the job done.

Chris Lees was in the middle of calving season when the polar vortex hit, bringing windchill values below -40 C.

He had six cows birthing at the same time. The barns were full and so were the “hot boxes.”

Lees has been farming for 47 years and says he has never seen temperatures plunge that deep for so long. He was worried about the calves freezing.

“We basically just ran out of room so … you’ve got to do whatever it takes to get these calves dried off and warmed up,” Lees said during the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Tuesday.

So Lees took the calves into his home. His wife is a rancher as well, so there wasn’t much of a discussion about it.

“We just looked at one another and said, ‘I guess the back porch is where they’re going.’ We just started hauling them in,” he said.

That independence is part of what has kept Lees working for so long.

“Agriculture is a passion. It’s hard work, but it’s rewarding and you’re your own boss. You look after things the way you want to look after them,” Lees said.