| Bar C Cattle Ranch is one of
Alberta's oldest
working ranches. It has been in operation
since 1904. The Bar C runs approximately
three hundred head of cattle each year. The
ranch is a cow-calf operation, which means
that the cattle are kept for beef production as
opposed to milk production. The cows are
mainly Herefords and Red Angus and are
bred with Beefbooster Bulls. Beefbooster
Bulls are noted for their ability to produce
good quality beef at the fastest daily weight
gain. In the early spring, in the months of April and May, calves are born. This is a busy time for the Cowboys, tending to the newborn calves and then branding them with the Bar C brand. By the end of June the calves are old enough to enable the main herd to be moved to the summer grazing area. There is a lot of excitement and preparation for the Cattle Drive which will move the cattle to the Bar C lease of 35,000 acres in the Ghost River Wilderness Area of the Provincial Forest Reserve. |   |
| During the summer months, the Cowboys must put in long days checking the condition of the main herd. Several times a
month the Cowboys ride out to the summer grazing area to see if any of the cows or calves are either sick or missing. If a cow or calf is sick, they will need to
rope it to give it treatment. If any of the herd is missing, they will spend hours searching the surrounding area until it is found. Working a cattle herd requires a specially trained horse and the Cowboys are always proud of their intelligent and hardworking partners. Each Cowboy has several horses and they change horses periodically to give each horse a period of rest. The remainder of the herd, approximately 100 head, stay at the main ranch for the summer. These are young cows being bred for the first time and are known as heifers. The cowboys must perform several "mini cattle drives" throughout the summer to move the herd to different location on the 40 thousand acres of the main ranch. In the fall all the cattle are brought back to the main ranch. This involves another major cattle drive with even more challenges, as now the cattle are spread out over a larger area. The cowboys must ensure that all the cows are in the herd before beginning the journey home. Once all the cows are back at the ranch the calves are weaned from their mothers. The cows are then tested for pregnancy and a selection process begins to see which cows are good enough to stay in the herd and which will be sent to auction. The remaining cows will graze at the main ranch until there is snow on the ground. The cowboys will have to feed them daily until the spring. The Bar C Cattle Company grows some of their own hay but also buys hay, green feed and oats to feed the cattle throughout the winter. The cattle need a total winter feed of between 1.5 and 2 million pounds. | |
| Bar C Ranch Resort |  |
| Box 1720, Cochrane, Alberta Phone: 403-932-2665 | Fax: 403-932-6392 Toll free: 1-877-932-BarC email: info@bar-c.com |
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