The Kotelko family has gained a reputation for traveling a different road.
As owners of the 36,000 head Highland Feeders at Vegreville, Alta., brothers Mike and Bern are interested in more than fattening cattle. Among their ventures is a branded beef program, involving rancher partners, that offers consumers a natural product free of growth hormones and antibiotics.
The program has enabled them to maintain family ties. Bern’s daughter, Kirstin, manages the Spring Creek Ranch Premium Beef program.
As young men, the brothers spent time building the feedlot business and amassing enough volume to be competitive so they could develop projects like this.
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“Our goal over the last 10 years has been to add value to what we do rather than more of the same,” Bern said.
The program comes with specifications from the time the animal is born to the final boxed beef product. Participating ranchers are paid about five cents a pound over the market rate.
Ranchers keep complete health records and cannot use antibiotics. All cattle must carry individual identification for complete tracking. The cattle stay on the farm after weaning to reduce stress.
“If cattle are handled in a low stress situation where they are not hauled to an auction market, chased, transported and processed at the feedlot, they do better,” said Bern.
The cattle arrive at the feedlot weighing 600 to 900 pounds, and are segregated in their own pens. Fewer animals are placed in each pen than the norm but they receive a regular feedlot diet.
Bern figures the no drugs policy saves $40 per head. However, these animals also stay on feed longer to achieve market weight without growth hormones and probably cost 10 percent more to raise compared to those outside the program.
Processing is done at Ranchers’ Beef near Calgary, where about 50 head every 10 days are handled. The beef is aged 21 days and is boxed and stored before distribution in Calgary to white tablecloth restaurants, cafes, butchers and a Safeway on the west side of the city.
Stores that receive the boxed beef break it down into cuts according the customer requests. Every package comes with the Spring Creek label that includes a website address for more information. Restaurants carry the brand name on their menus.
The program is gaining followers.
“There is a shift in a lot of restaurants that it is the trendy thing to use more organic and natural products, so a lot of them are looking for something unique to distinguish them from the norm,” said Kirstin.
Chefs have been invited to the feedlot to see where the beef comes from. In return, the chefs have reported that Spring Creek beef has a finer texture with more evenly distributed marbling not commonly seen in animals that receive growth implants.
This program is a small part of the business’s total revenue stream and it may be a while before it stands on its own. However, the Kotelkos believe in producing wholesome beef with a different approach that earns everyone in the chain a profit.
“It is not an easy process for anybody to jump into but that is what marketing is all about. You have to want to do something that is harder to achieve and differentiate yourself. Then we will be able to charge more for it,” said Bern.
