Stewarding the Land, Building the Future: The Story of Timber Ridge Ranch
Since well before regenerative agriculture became a buzzword, Glen and Kelly Hall have been quietly practicing its principles. At Timber Ridge ranch, near Stavely, Alberta the Halls are blending time-honoured traditions of ranching with forward thinking practices that put soil, water and biodiversity at the centre of the story.
Ranching in today’s agricultural climate come with its challenges – rising costs, extreme weather and difficulties with expansion and succession to name a few. That’s why the Halls, in partnership with conservation organizations and impact investors have embraced a bold alternative – steward ownership.
We spoke to the Halls about this innovate model, which flips conventional farm financing on its head. We discussed putting the stewards (producers) at the centre, how they set up collaborative agreements and how this is helping them plan for a successful future at Timber Ridge.
It’s clear from this conversation that connections underpin the whole system – connection to the land, the animals and their community. Glen and Kelly are living proof that when innovative thinking meets a deep rooted care for the land, anything is possible.
Cultivating Resilience Through Regenerative Agriculture August 17th, 2023
Join Rural Routes to Climate Solutions and the Data is Beautiful Initiative of the Regenerative Agriculture Lab as we discuss how regenerative agriculture practices can benefit you and your soils.
Polycultures: Harnessing Grazing Power August 10th, 2023
Join Rural Routes to Climate Solutions and the Train the Healer Initiative of the Regenerative Agriculture Lab in a hands-on polyculture learning opportunity.
EP51 Cover Crops
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
With fertilizer prices hitting $1,000 a ton, it’s no surprise that cover crops are a hot topic. It makes sense that non-synthetic inputs like cover crops are becoming more and more appealing to producers. There’s many benefits to cover crops – including feeding livestock and pollinators, improving water filtration, suppressing weeds, building soil carbon and improving soil biology. In this episode, we’re joined by Kevin Elmy, of Cover Crops Canada, to discuss the ins and outs of cover crops.
Planting the ‘Prairie Berry’ — Solstice Berry Farm, Crossfield, Alberta
The Gelowitz’s kept a garden on their farm where they grew several saskatoon bushes. Rick, who grew up in Calgary, but spent quite a few summer vacations on his uncle’s farms in Saskatchewan, has had a lifelong love for the native prairie berry. “It was my wife’s suggestion that we try to grow Saskatoon berries,” he recalls. “And that’s how it started.”
*BONUS* The Next APF
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
We sit down with agricultural producer John Kolk of Iron Springs, Alberta to discuss Canada’s next Agricultural Policy Framework or APF.
Farming With Nature — Redtail Farms, Castor, Alberta
While Ian Griebel grew up on his family’s mixed farm south of Castor, Alberta, he never thought he’d one day become a farmer. Griebel studied carpentry and pursued his journeyman certificate, and envisioned a life away from the farm. But in his late twenties, he and his wife, Dana, realized they wanted “to get back to the land”, and that his family’s farm in Castor presented an opportunity.
Evolving Sustainable Practices on a Fifth Generation Ranch — Valley View Ranch & Flying Heart Meats, Strathmore, Alberta
Sustainability is a shared family value at Valley View Ranch and Flying Heart Meats, a fifth generation family ranch located east of the town of Strathmore, a short drive from Calgary, Alberta.
Rod and Beth Vergouwen’s agricultural roots in Strathmore stem back to the early 1900s when Beth’s great-grandfather emigrated from Illinois with the vision to farm and ranch in southern Alberta. In 1909, he named the land “Valley View Ranch” — a name that Rod and Beth, along with their children, who represent the next generation of farmers on the family ranch, have preserved and continued to date. “We have a long, deep rooted connection with agriculture on both sides of the family farm,” explains Rod, whose own grandfather emigrated to southern Alberta from Holland in the 1920s.
EP47 The Regen Mindset
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Three Alberta agricultural producers discuss what the ‘regenerative mindset’ is and why it is important for those transitioning to regenerative agriculture.
Producing the Perfect Potato and Soil Health to Handle Environmental Stress—The Perry Farm—Chin, Alberta
If you’re enjoying a bag of potato chips in Western Canada, there’s a 1 in 5 chance the potatoes were grown by Harold Perry and his family at the Perry Family Farm, a fourth-generation operation located in Lethbridge County in southern Alberta.
Together, Harold and his brother, Chris, and his father, Gerald, work collaboratively as partners to manage 5000 acres of irrigated land producing potatoes—varieties of chippers, russets, and red Mozart potatoes—along with other field crops, including hard red spring wheat, winter wheat, barley, sunflowers, green peas, seed canola. The Perry family prioritizes environmental stewardship through their approach to soil management and a number of exciting renewable energy projects that they’re implementing on the farm.
