For them, ranching isn’t just a job. It’s a family legacy, a way of life they’re determined to pass on to the next generation and a lifelong passion.
At just 16, Shiana managed to convince the bank to give her a loan to buy 10 cows — and her success began when she managed to pay off the loan a year early. Rob had a similar early start, buying a group of cows just after college. With this early start in their herd, they soon combined and started building the ranch piece by piece. They bought Shiana’s family farm in 2004, added land purchased from Rob’s dad a few years later and expanded from there.
Today, their daughters are the fifth generation to live and work on the land. Each girl has her own small herd that started with a heifer they were gifted when they were little — and they help with everything from daily chores to grazing management.
Challenges in the Prairies
Like many ranchers across the Prairies, the Youngers have faced their share of tough years. Shiana mentioned one year with some pesky grasshoppers, but the thing that has really stood out recently is lack of adequate moisture. Maybe not this year though, with the rainy and stormy early summer providing some relief.
“The last four years, it’s been drought,” says Rob. “That’s probably the biggest challenge lately.”
Access to land also isn’t easy, with high competition from grain farmers driving prices up. Equipment costs have climbed, adding to the challenge of building a livelihood. These pressures have been an extra nudge for the Youngers to look for ways to work with nature and think differently.
Finding a Better Way
They had always rotated pastures to some degree — Shiana’s family used cross-fencing long before it was common — but things shifted after they took a Holistic Management course in 2015. Taking this course gave them new inspiration and the confidence they needed to try something new.
“One of the guys in the course said he was able to run 40 per cent more cattle through rotational grazing,” Rob says. “That stuck with us. We started trying more experimenting with grazing methods and diversifying our grazing crops.”
Today, most of their quarters are split into a minimum of four paddocks with electric fencing so that each area gets a rest between grazing. They also practice no-till seeding, plant polyculture blends and keep living roots in the soil as much as possible.
Buying a used no-till drill in 2023 was a “game changer,” Rob tells us. “It lets us diversify what we seed, how we seed and into what residue. We can keep living roots in the ground for more days of the year.”
Just by looking at their lush pastures, you can see that these changes have really paid off.
“Water retention is huge. In some alkali areas where nothing used to grow, now we’re getting productive cover and better soil health.”
Protecting the Water
One thing you notice quickly on the Younger ranch is the absence of cattle near the creeks and river. All riparian areas are fenced off, and the herd are trained to drink from troughs. Fencing cattle away from waterways helps protect plants, wildlife and water quality downstream. Conveniently, it gives the Youngers more control over where the herd grazes too — they can encourage cattle to graze certain areas by changing access to the troughs.
The Power of Networks
Alongside running the ranch, Shiana works as the Lab Manager for Rural Routes to Climate Solutions’ Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL). The Regenerative Agriculture Lab is a social innovation lab that brings together producers, researchers, food retailers and organizations from across Alberta to explore ways to grow Alberta’s regenerative agriculture system in a way that preserves its integrity while maximizing the positive social, environmental and economic impacts for communities.
The role in RAL perfectly compliments their regenerative journey on the ranch and Shiana brings her ranching expertise to the rest of the team at RR2CS. Shiana told us how valuable the peer-to-peer learning has been through RAL, bringing producers together from all across the province.
“The networking has been huge. We’ve met people we never would have run into otherwise — people who have so much experience and knowledge.”
Changing Attitudes
When they first started down the regenerative path, not everyone understood. “Ten years ago, people probably thought we were bonkers,” Shiana laughs. “Now, more people are trying it.”
Nowadays, more people are trying similar things. Lots of smaller producers are trying regenerative methods, and mainstream media outlets are talking about it too — helping to spread awareness and shift perceptions. The availability of research, data and producers sharing their own results is also helping producers have confidence in shifting their approach.
“When you look down the fence line between someone who rotationally grazes and someone who doesn’t — the difference you can see is wild,” says Shiana.
Passing it On
Looking ahead, the Youngers hope to expand the herd enough to sustain their daughters if they choose to work on the ranch full-time. Already the girls manage their own cows and help out as much as they can. Shiana and Rob are setting them up for success and passing on the important values of hard work, responsibility and stewardship.
“In Holistic Management, they talked about planning so the next generation doesn’t have to take out big bank loans to take over,” Shiana says. “Why have every generation paying interest on the same land? We want to set our family up for a smooth, non-stressful transition.”
Advice for Others
Shiana’s advice to anyone beginning the transition to regenerative agriculture is simple: start small.
“If you normally turn cows out on a quarter for the whole summer, split it into four paddocks and see the difference,” she says. “Go to field days, ask questions, see what others are doing and adapt it to your own place. You don’t have to flip the switch overnight.”
Rob adds that trial and error is part of the process. “Every farm or ranch is different. Do the research, but figure out what works for you.”
And above all, connect with others trying the same thing.
The Younger family’s story shows that regenerative ranching is more than a set of practices. It’s a mindset — one that blends traditional stewardship, innovation and family legacy. In the middle of Alberta’s grasslands, that mindset is keeping the pastures lush, the water clean and the legacy strong.
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