Hamilton Farms is located in the scenic foothills northwest of Calgary, Alberta . Hamilton Farms has been raising high quality purebred Black Angus cattle since 1981. They run approximately 400 cows & operate over 5000 acres of which 850 acres is hay; approximately 900 acres in annual crops & the remaining 3500 acres mostly native grazing land.
I arrived at Hamilton Farms north of Cochrane on Friday afternoon and toured around the cattle with Gail Hamilton. Had a great look around all their cattle and got to see a lot of HF Kodiak and HF Tiger progeny, which was exciting as we have used Tiger (pictured below) at Hollywood Angus and our first AI calves have just been born.
I then stayed on at Hamilton Farms with Rob and Gail for the next three days - got to go and tour some more pastures; put mineral and salt out; do general cattle work; drive the pickup truck ferrying everyone around to the different pastures; and mow lawns (grass can really grow over here!). They were in the middle of making hay, so also got my first taste of hay making! Hay production is so critical here for feed in the winter months. It has been a good year for hay production with lots of rain, but the rain definitely makes it interesting when you’re trying to bale it! I really want to thank Rob and Gail for having me stay and help - I had a fantastic time and really enjoyed doing something a little different to what I’ve been doing in Canada and have ever done at home, but that is so relied upon for survival through their winter! Thanks so much!
I then stayed on at Hamilton Farms with Rob and Gail for the next three days - got to go and tour some more pastures; put mineral and salt out; do general cattle work; drive the pickup truck ferrying everyone around to the different pastures; and mow lawns (grass can really grow over here!). They were in the middle of making hay, so also got my first taste of hay making! Hay production is so critical here for feed in the winter months. It has been a good year for hay production with lots of rain, but the rain definitely makes it interesting when you’re trying to bale it! I really want to thank Rob and Gail for having me stay and help - I had a fantastic time and really enjoyed doing something a little different to what I’ve been doing in Canada and have ever done at home, but that is so relied upon for survival through their winter! Thanks so much!
