Life is extremely busy for Robin Orr, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Her drive and desire to succeed in agriculture has earned her the Oldies 100.9 Woman Farmer of the Year Award for 2021.
Co-owner of Lid-Steer Beef operation in the Brighton area with her sister Haley Lidster, she’s not only working at the agri-business she founded with her sister three years ago, she’s also helping on her husband Nathan Orr’s chicken farm while also working full-time as a Personal Support Worker at a long-term-care home in Warkworth.
But, it’s all in a day’s work for the rural dynamo who’s put in the time and effort to make Lid-Steer Beef a success story. And, being named as Woman Farmer of the Year is validation that her perseverance has paid off.
“There are a lot of women nowadays that are farmers, so it means a lot to be picked as Woman Farmer of the Year,” she said in a recent interview.
Orr noted women in farming is not a particularly new phenomenon, nor is she surprised at the sheer volume of women taking over farms from their parents and running the operations successfully.
The most challenging aspect of farming for women, she said, is the physical strength that’s required. “We’re not as strong as males typically, so you have a lot of challenges.”
Agriculture has always been in her DNA, growing up on the family farm just north of Brighton on Hwy. 41 owned by her parents Johnny and Kathy Lidster. She later branched out to work on a dairy operation during her teenage years.
So, when her father opted to slow down the pace of his life, Orr and her sister — who has a business degree — opted to take over the beef side of the farm operation and begin Lid-Steer Beef three years ago. They have about 20 Charolais steers on the farm at any one time, raising them up and typically sending three to slaughter per month. That beef comes back to the farm to be sold at their storefront operation at 1164 County Rd. 41 in Brighton.
“People can buy it in bulk or come in. It’s like a grocery store and you pick what you want,” said Orr of Lid-Steer Beef.
And, so far, the business has been going well for Orr and Lidster. Many favourable comments appear on Lid-Steer Beef’s Facebook page, including “the meat is very good” from one poster and “We bought a half beef from the girls, and we will definitely be buying beef from them again. Delicious!” from another.
Raising superior quality beef requires work and attention to detail, said Orr, noting that proper feeding and animal husbandry skills are a must.
“Making sure you’re feeding them regularly and on time and making sure that they’re ok,” she said.
Even though life is busy with own health-care career and farming business, Orr still tries to find time to help out as much as possible on her father’s farm as he harvest crops on 1,200 acres of land.
“We do lots of crops. My dad mostly does it as I work full-time, so it’s kind of hard for me to get in the field. I try to help out when I can,” she said.
If Orr has any advice for any women farmers who want to follow in her footsteps, it’s this: be tough-minded.
“Stand your ground, don’t let people walk on you. Be tough.”
Listen to the full conversation below.
