Heading Home

Well, my amazing adventure has finally come to an end – time to come home! I spent my last few days with the Buckleys at Quarter Circle X Ranch moving more cattle to their summer pastures in the Rockies.  I would like to say a huge thank you to the Buckley family for being my Canadian home base and family away from home!



I left Canada on 9 August and got home on 11 August. No time to feel jet lagged – it was straight to the farm to start clipping and preparing our show team for the local show circuit. It was exciting to get home and see our own cattle. I’m full of enthusiasm from all that I’ve seen and done and can’t wait to put some of the ideas I've learned to use in our own stud.

Cattle, Horses and the Rockies:

Wow! having only another day or so left in Canada hasn't meant I'm on the slow down - fitting as much in as I can!  And what better way to end my last days than on horseback moving cows in the Rocky Mountain foothills!  It definitely won't be an image I will get out of my mind for a long time - chasing our missing cows and calves and bulls up and down creeks, crashing through the water, riding blindly through the spruce trees, all while being in one of the most magnificent mountain ranges!  The flat plains of Peak Hill are going to take a bit of adjusting to after this!!!  The last few days I’ve been riding a different horse - Charlie  - definitely doesn't act his age (25), but still thinks he young – a tremendously athletic horse who really knows how to work cattle!  As well as this, we’ve being taking bulls out - only 2 more groups to go - and moving the cows around.  Have been trying to bale hay but the weather has had other ideas - the last 2 days we’ve had storms roll in in the afternoon and  had just enough rain to dampen everything and push the moisture content way too high.  Also had the opportunity to go raspberry picking today - absolutely gorged myself on them – they never taste better than when freshly picked from the bush! 
Looking forward to my last day/s here in Canada and getting to end it on a high - will be trailing more cows and calves to the summer pastures, then comes the joys of packing!  Seriously how much stuff can one accumulate in 4 months!! 

Quarter Circle X Ranch

After my stay at Hamilton Farms, I headed back to my Canadian ‘home away from home’ at John and Tracy Buckley’s Quarter Circle X Ranch near Calgary. I’m into my final week in Canada but what a way to end it!!!  This time of year is really busy with everything happening at once - trying to get hay made (not the easiest when the weather isn't that cooperative), pulling bulls out of the breeding pastures; and then – the HIGHLIGHT! - trailing the cows and calves to the summer pastures at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. 

 

On the first day, we went and gathered all the cows & calves - the pasture they were running on is set with a creek flowing from the Rockies in the middle with thick timber areas, steep banks and pasture land.  Once we had 'found' all the cows, we trailed them closer to home ready for the big cattle drive the next day to the summer pastures, and cut the bulls out and brought them home.  I then spent the afternoon raking hay while others were baling, trying to beat the rain!  Then came all the excitement of the next day when the drive really began. It was fantastic!!! Got up bright and early at 3.45 in the morning (practice for the shows when I get back!) and saddled our horses and headed out.  Only just light when we left the barn at close to 4.45am.  Went and gathered all the cows from the pasture - passed a herd of elk grazing on the hay fields along the way - then started them up the road and on the way to the lease. 

We went under the Calgary Banff Trans-Canada Highway overpass and took them southish along the road for 11 miles.  Beautiful scenery & a gorgeous day - warm (23degrees) and sunny.   Just something very 'right' about moving cattle this way!  It took us close to 4 hours to get to the corrals where the lease land starts and give the cattle a rest and us a coffee break. 

Then the best part began! Had to take them another 4 miles through all the pines and trees, green meadows, down a very steep edge and through a gorgeously clear creek that runs straight from the Rockies and up what they call the "wall" – literally, this very steep path up from the creek flats!  So much fun!!  Some parts you just held on and let the horses take you!  The bush was really dense in parts - made it fun trying to work out a path and get all 205 cows and calves through it!  Then we came out on top of the mountain onto this stunning mountain meadow! It was fantastic!  We’ve got a couple more trips to do up to the summer pastures with other cattle, so can’t wait for what’s in store over my last few days.

 

Oh, have also been busy getting the haying done - getting to become a pro at raking hay and now also baling.  This is a bale I made myself!

Hamilton Farms

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!

Miller Wilson Angus

After Vermilion Fair, I headed off with Miller Wilson Angus (DMM) back to their ranch at Bashaw, Alberta.  Last year I had a fantastic time helping Lee & Dawn Wilson show their cattle at Agribition in Regina, Sasketchewan, and it was so great to catch up on everything that has been going on since, and also hear about their time in Australia at Sydney Royal where Dawn judged the Angus.  When we got back, we off loaded the steers that DMM showed at the Fair, and had a quick look around at some of their cows right near the house.  The next morning was spent touring around all the cows and calves and also moving some to different pastures - a tremendous line of cattle!!! Unfortunately my time at DMM was all too short, as that afternoon I headed with Dawn to Hamilton Farms north of Cochrane. Thank you DMM for a great visit!

Vermilion Fair

On Thursday, I went with Lewis Farms to Vermilion Fair, about 2 ¾ hours east of Edmonton. The Fair was similar to one of our typical country shows, with livestock, agricultural trade displays and carnival rides etc. The grounds were very green and pretty! At the Fair, they held a ‘Jackpot Heifer Show’, which Lewis Farms won with their Simmental heifer. There was also a ‘Steer Jackpot’ which was great to watch; some of the steers in the lineup are pictured below. The  steer with white legs was one shown by DMM; the other black steer was the winner of the jackpot.

Spring Creek Beef, Edmonton

On Wednesday, I visited the Spring Creek Office in Edmonton where I met with Kirstin Kotelko and others on the Spring Creek Ranch Premium Beef team. Spring Creek Ranch produces premium beef raised without hormones or antibiotics. As well as delivering a beef product that is high quality and pure, they focus on the well-being and humane treatment of their cattle, and are committed to environmental sustainability through the use of bio waste (cattle manure and crop residues) to produce ethanol; green energy for the local community; and bio fertilizer for their pastures. This capped off what I had seen the previous week at the feedlot and bio-refinery, and gave me an understanding of how these operations all work successfully together.

I got to talk about the vision behind the Spring Creek Beef brand, how it’s run, & look at their promotional material. We then took some promotional material to a local grocer who stocks their product so I could see how it was displayed in the shop, the style of packaging & the various cuts available. They carry a range of fresh (ie steaks, roasts, mince) and frozen beef products (eg burgers, meatballs, stirfry cuts), that are aimed not only at providing a quality dining experience, but also at being very accessible to the consumer.

 

After that, we visited ‘A Taste of Edmonton’, a food fair where restaurants offer samples from their menus to taste. One of the restaurants, “Zinc”, uses Spring Creek Beef and was serving Alberta Beef Petit Tenderloin with blue cheese mashed potatoes (pictured below). Got to talk to them & taste the product (really good!!!).