In a letter to the Truro newspaper, Karl writes: “I was chased by vicious-looking ranch cattle six times, and once by a bunch of horses on the prairies around Fort McLeod”.
The ranch life espoused by Theodore Roosevelt in North Dakota was an opportunity equally ripe to flourish in Alberta. When the Canadian Pacific Railway stretched across to the west coast of Canada, access to markets further afield were now obtainable. There was a “beef bonanza”, and interest in land and ranching grew exponentially as this new economy thrived.
Appreciating the potential profits, the newly established Canadian Government sold land cheaply to promote the big ranches. Settlers could lease acres for very little money, and if they lived there for more than 6 months, they could acquire that land title.
In 1877, Fort Macleod was the first cattle town in the western provinces of Canada, with a herd of twenty-one cows and one bull. In the years that followed, herds of cattle would be moved from Montana into Alberta and at that time, only a few ranchers owned the majority of the ranches. Ranches were significant in size, allowing cattle to roam freely and feed on the grasslands.
However, the climate of Canada is not the climate of the United States, and when the winters are harsh, the grasses are not accessible and the cattle can’t eat. It took a while for ranchers to learn this lesson and they were slow to adopt more adequate feeding requirements, reserving food for winter and building shelters for the cattle. Consequently, this glory period of “big” ranching ended relatively quickly as there had been a considerable loss in cattle quantity and quality, which eroded ownership confidence. The expenses in these operations, plus a government change to lease arrangements, led to a decrease in ranch size with more owner/operators.
By 1888 right before Karl’s visit, ranch life was improving. Commissioner L. H. Herchmer of the North-West Mounted Police reported to the Government of Canada: “All ranchers, no matter what class of stock is their speciality, now cut large quantities of hay, and nearly all have shelter of some description for weak stock. Some of the more advanced cow-men are now yarding up their calves in the fall and feeding all winter. It will be found most beneficial to both calves and cows, and the calves of the following season will also be stronger.”
Ranch owners had no choice but to change their feeding practices to remain in an increasingly competitive marketplace. I’m not sure if in this competitiveness the cattle became more “vicious”, as reported by Karl. Perhaps though, compared to those carefree dairy cows Karl encountered tethered to the fence in America’s dairyland, the beef cows had a different temperament.
What is definitive is that there would have been many cows.
Alberta was then, and is now, “cattle country”.
There are over 18,000 beef cattle producers today, from generationally run family ranches and farms to more industrial feeding and breeding operations. It’s Alberta’s industry. Statistically, Alberta has 41% of all the beef cows in Canada, equating to over 3.6 million cattle. Although even with all these cows, Canada only holds a mere 2% of the beef market, the United States has the most significant share at 20%, and Brazil has 16%.
Yet, quality over quantity.
Alberta beef is world-class and consistently graded high. The producers would attribute this to the farming practices where cattle roamed the grasslands ––established during Karl’s time ––to ensure high standards.
As a Maritimer, the industry I’m familiar with and see when I’m travelling through my province is fishing. Watching colourful lobster boats, and oyster farms, stopping at random trucks in parking lots selling “fresh haddock cheeks”, and knowing that they are indeed fresh. Given Atlantic Canada has about 1% of the Canadian beef cattle market, I don’t see many ranches or beef cows. Consequently, this Maritimer pulled over many times while travelling through this area to watch and photograph the cows crossing over the fields, considering the continued practices of ranching from when Karl passed through.
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