GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alta. — It may be one of the newest bison ranches, but the Kleskun Hills Bison Ranch is on some of northern Alberta’s oldest prairie grassland.
With the help of ranch manager Aaron Peck, the original prairie grass-land will be sustained for another generation.
“It’s my job as ranch manager to maintain bison production while maintaining the integrity of the land,” Peck said during an Agricultural Service Board tour of the ranch east of Grande Prairie.
Part of the ranch’s 3,200 acres in the main block of land is original prairie grassland, where dinosaur fossils are found in the grass and exposed badland.
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“Bison fit here perfectly in the environment,” said Peck.
During the summer, he rotates the 500 bison throughout the ranch’s pasture.
“They thrive on the native grass. It’s beautiful to see the bison on the native flowers and mixed vegetation on the ranch.”
The three ranch owners, Dean Swanberg, Ric Peterson and Dave King, established the ranch in 1999 and all have connections to the area and a desire to retain the original prairie.
Peck and another employee spend much of the summer baling hay for the bison’s winter feed. This summer, they expect to bale about 2,000 bales to add to the 800 round bales on reserve from last year.
“That’s a good position to be in.”
The calves are weaned in October and kept over the winter on a high energy, high protein ration.
The bull calves are sold in the spring, and the heifers are kept on grass over the summer. Replacement heifers are kept, and the rest of the heifers are sold as long yearlings.
Peck said he is amazed at the athleticism of the bison, which can often out run a horse and give an all-terrain vehicle a good chase.
The bison are rotated through the pastures every few days, which means rattling the chain on the gate and letting out a holler is enough to have 200 bison hurrying for the gate.
“A bison wants to keep moving,” said Peck.
It may seem like there is still plenty of grass in the pasture, but the bison naturally want to move quickly be-tween pastures.
“To be successful, you have to have a lot of land that bison can graze fast.”
Fewer people are raising bison despite high prices, which Peck said is a shame.
“It would be wonderful if more young farmers could get involved. It’s a wonderful lifestyle for families and communities.”
