Visit to Highland Feeders, Vegreville

On 18/19 July I spent two days at Highland Feeders at Vegreville (about an hour from Edmonton). I am extremely grateful to Mike Kotelko for allowing me to visit the feedlot, as well as the Growing Power Biorefinery and their Spring Creek Ranch.

Highland Feeders is amongst Canada’s largest feedlot operations and has received several awards for industry leadership and environmental practices. Highland Feeders has capacity for up to 36,000 cattle, and specialises in feeding 270-400kg animals to a market ready weight of 540-585kgs. It was great to get an understanding of the feedlot operations and look at their design and how they are set up for maximum efficiency.  I got to help with processing some of the steers that were going through the feedlot. The next day I rode out with the pen riders to check the stock and water in the feedlot pens. They were shipping some cattle out to the processors on this day, so I was able to see how this was done, the paperwork involved, weighing and shipping etc.

I was also given a tour of the integrated Bio-refinery, the first of its kind in Canada. Cattle manure from Highland Feeders' feedlot is processed through an anaerobic digester, which produces biogas. This biogas is burned as fuel to produce electricity and steam, which are used to produce ethanol from grain such as high starch wheat. The grain by-products from the ethanol production are then fed back to the cattle. Because the bio-refinery gets most of its energy from the anaerobic digestion of cattle manure from the feedlot, it is a cost and energy efficient method of producing fuel ethanol. The bio-refinery will generate an annual 40 million litres of fuel ethanol & 10 thousand tonnes of premium biofertilizer.

Finally I toured Spring Creek Ranch, where they raise premium beef without hormones or antibiotics. Spring Creek ‘s emphasis in on pure food production, the well being of their cattle, and environmental sustainability. I had a chance to learn about their operations, including their health practices, how they source their cattle & market their product. Next Wednesday, I will be visiting Spring Creek’s office in Edmonton and attend a beef promotion they are holding at a restaurant, which will be great to see.

Visit to Ole Farms, Athabasca

About Ole Farms: Ole Farms is located at Athabasca, Alberta (about 2 hours north of Edmonton). They run 650 Registered Black and Red Angus breeding females along with 1350 commercial females. Ole Farms produces cereal, forage and pasture crops, and has a 1200 head feedlot. This year they are celebrating the 100^th year of Ole Farm’s establishment.

It was great to be able to visit Ole Farms and I appreciate Kelly and Anna Olson taking the time to show me their ranch and talk about their operations. In the morning I got to help them check cows & calves, tag calves & put mineral out. After lunch, they toured me around the ranch and showed me their herd and commercial sires, embryo calves and commercial cows.

Jordan Burke

Jordan is Assistant Agronomist at Cargill, based at Vegreville near Edmonton, Alberta. She is coming to Australia for several months later in the year to look at Australian agriculture and pastures, and has arranged to spend some of that time with Lyn & Ian at Hollywood Angus Stud, Peak Hill. Jordan kindly offered to host me for this week while I visit Highland Feeders which are nearby, and will also be taking me north to visit “Ole Farms”. I also got to accompany Jordan for a day at her work, checking fields for insects & diseases and reporting to farmers. It was interesting to tour around with her and see lots of crops and pastures.

Calgary Stampede

I had two days visiting the Calgary Stampede on 15 & 16 July. I watched the judging of the Steer Competition and toured the stud cattle displays. Remington were representing the Angus breed, and it was great to see them again, as well as catch up with lots of other people I had met previously. I also got to see the Night Show which was great; there was a fantastic performance set to music and dance with acrobatic and aerial displays, the rodeo, and of course the famous Chuckwagon races.

Sorry the picture below won't load in vertical position, but this is a shot of the hindquarters of one of the steers in the competition!

Canadian Beef Breeds Council

On 5 July I visited Canadian Beef Breeds Council at their office in Calgary. It was great to reconnect with Brett Campbell, Executive Vice President, and Doris Rempel, Executive Assistant, whom I had previously met at Farmfair and Agribition last year. It was interesting to talk about different aspects of the Canadian cattle industry and I gained more understanding of the role CBBC plays.

The Canadian Beef Breeds Council (CBBC) represents, supports and promotes the Canadian purebred beef cattle industry. Members include national breed associations that collectively represent more than 10,000 producers of purebred beef breeding stock. Associate CBBC members are exporters and sector service providers. The Council helps individuals and organizations throughout Canada and around the world to access Canadian purebred beef cattle genetics and related services.

Six Mile Red Angus

 While I was at Peak Dot, they also took me to visit Six Mile Angus, who breed predominantly red and some black Angus. I had met the owners of Six Mile Angus at Agribition last year, so it was great to renew the acquaintance. Their Red Angus genetics are being used in Australia and it was interesting to see their herd and their impressive females (pictured below). I also visited JYF Limousins, where we looked at their salebarn and yard design - a fantastic setup.