The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) is pleased to feature the provincial stewardship award recipients in the running for the 2020 The Environmental Stewardship Award (TESA). The recipient of the CCA’s national award will be announced through a virtual presentation during the Canadian Beef Industry Conference in August. As always, a common theme among recipients is a profound sense of obligation to care for land and animals. Through sharing their stories, insights, beliefs and values, readers can gain perspective about the relationship between stewardship and cattle production, and the benefits of conservation to society.
In this issue, we feature Alberta Beef Producers 2020 Environmental Stewardship Award recipient, Creek Ranch, owned by Deer Creek Livestock Co. Ltd.
Alberta Beef Producers 2020 Environmental Stewardship Award recipient, Deer Creek Ranch By: Janet Kanters
As caretakers of the land and animals they manage, this country’s beef producers may not consider their work worthy of note to others. And yet as they preserve and enhance soils and co-exist with wildlife, they leave a legacy for future generations.
And so it is with Deer Creek Ranch, located near Milk River, Alta., recipient of the Alberta Beef Producers 2020 Environmental Stewardship Award. Deer Creek Ranch has been in operation prior to the 1900s and has continued to grow ever since. It was in 1939 that the Gilchrist brothers purchased the ranch from George Ross. The Gilchrist family homesteaded at the Deer Creek Ranch until spring of 2011 when the current owners – Deer Creek Livestock Co. Ltd., comprised of Richard Visser, James Bekkering, Kyle Turner and Jeff Smith – purchased the ranch.
“Over the past nine years we have continued with the work that Tom Gilchrest and his family started by working very closely with MultiSAR, Alberta Conservation, Cows and Fish, Alberta Environment and Parks, and many other conservation groups, to help us improve the overall quality of the ranch,” noted Jeff Smith.
While utilizing new technology to enhance customer confidence and quality assurance, the ranch is still managed efficiently in utilizing the traditional style of ranching. The ranch is primarily a cow calf operation; however, in the past few years they have grazed yearlings during the summer months. Calves are fed out to finish at TFS Expanse where they are marketed on an Angus-based grid. The ranch operates no-till on its farmland, where they grow their own feed crops of hay, alfalfa and sorghum for the cattle. The goal is to produce beef while still caring for the land.
“Today the ranch has not only increased its ability to carry 1,200 cows along with 400 yearlings, we have also changed our scope on the cows we produce,” said Smith. “Beef quality is very important to Deer Creek Livestock and we feel that understanding cattle genetics, feed efficiencies and carcass characteristics we have improved the product we can produce.”
Deer Creek Ranch is located within the dry mixed grass natural sub region in southeastern Alberta near Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park. Approximately 12 miles of the Milk River splits the ranch in half. Situated in an extremely arid region of the province, the ranch usually receives around 407 millimetres of precipitation each year with summers being short with hot days and cool nights. The majority of the ranch consists of large open native grasslands with a few pivot irrigations closer to the Milk River valley.
The valley itself contains some lush riparian systems with hay land in a few locations. The Milk River valley also contains badlands, habitat important for lizards and snakes. Several larger wetlands also occur across the ranch that provide important watering sources for cattle and habitat for amphibians and waterfowl. Smith said there are about 103 different wildlife species on the ranch, some endangered. There’s elk, moose, pronghorn antelope, and various species of birds and toads.
The ranch’s collaboration with the MultiSAR program over the past nine years has allowed the ranch owners to take an in-depth look at the property in respect to vegetation, wildlife (including species at risk), soils and water systems. Baseline assessments allowed them to establish a benchmark as to where they currently sit in respect to the ranch’s resources, and team-based collaboration and funding support has allowed them to maintain and further enhance those resources.
The ranch conducts yearly monitoring of specific enhancements implemented to allow for adaptive management if the enhancement isn’t working the way the team felt it would. “We have improved our grass and water quality, resulting in more carrying capacity, healthier cattle and more pounds which have provided us a positive return on investment,” said Smith.
Enhancements at Deer Creek Ranch include installation of solar electric fences and water developments to improve cattle distribution and reduce pressure on riparian areas. The ranch has also installed three hawk poles, and converted barbed bottom wire to smooth wire 18-inches high to help facilitate pronghorn antelope movement.
“By minimizing the ‘environmental footprint’ of our operation where we work and live through support from our environmental groups, we aim to improve our environment,” said Smith. “You always want better for your next generation. We have to be stewards of the environment no matter what we do; we want to leave the land and environment in a much better place for the generations to come.”
Smith added that the current and future success of Deer Creek Ranch depends on the environment to produce the best quality beef, while its customers depend on the ranch to protect that environment. “We are determined to keep the ranch sustainable and we are striving to deliver the best in the beef we produce, striving to improve our land, grass and water quality, striving to make a difference,” he said.
“This ranch has been in operation for about 100 years, and I would sure like to see this ranch still operating in 100 years. They are not making more land, so what land we have we have to utilize and manage the resources we have for longevity.”
Smith said the ranch owners hope to share what’s been done over the past many years with the future generations so they can continue to make improvements and enhance the environment.
“We are proud of the animals we raise, and we feel that doing what is right and documenting it will provide our customers with the confidence in what we produce and how it is raised.”
*MNP is the Platinum Sponsor for TESA.
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