A cattle operation from southern Alberta practises regenerative agriculture and has a strong direct-to-consumer brand
Glacier FarmMedia – Brothers Daniel, Lorin and Barry Doerksen are Alberta’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2024.
The Doerksens, fourth-generation farmers, work with their father, Arno, and their uncle, Tim. They run purebred Hereford and Red Angus cattle, as well as a commercial cow-calf operation near Gem. The brothers do a lot of cropping on irrigated land in the Eastern Irrigation District.
“We grow a variety of cash crops and forages, and we have a grass finishing program,” said Lorin.
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Beef from the grass finished cattle is marketed under their brand, Gemstone Grass Fed Beef, which the brothers started in 2018.
“We started small but grew quite fast,” said Lorin.
Much of that growth came during the COVID lockdown.
“We had secured some slaughter spots and had our logistics worked out right before that happened, so we were able to expand quite a bit during that time.”
The farm used to be more conventional, but the younger Doerksens are driving the farm into regenerative agriculture practices. They use rotational grazing and move some of the cattle once a day on irrigated pastures.
“The idea there is to improve soil health, improve carbon storage in the soil, and ultimately improve nutrient density of our forages and our beef,” Lorin said.
The brothers have shifted their cattle genetics with the purebred herd to forage-finished cattle, and they’ve found that the cattle work well in a grass finishing program. They’ve also steered away from monoculture.
“We’ve switched now from monocrops to polycrops for silage,” said Lorin.
He prefers to have about 15 different species in the crop, including legumes, grasses and forbs. This increases the nutrition available to the cattle, which influences the nutrient density and flavour of the beef, he said.
The brothers have an online store, and in 2022, they set up a vendor station at Calgary Farmers Market West. The Doerksens have a full butcher shop in the farmers market and can do full customization of cuts for customers. A window into the cutting room allows customers to see the process.
They also have a small kitchen kiosk at the market, where they sell smash burgers and gourmet beef sandwiches, and carry a range of cuts such as deli meat, sausage rolls and jerkies.
“One of our most popular products is called ancestral blend, for mixing organ meat with ground beef,” said Lorin.
He sees a lot of benefits to being a family operation. He and his brothers grew up watching their dad and uncle farm with their grandfather.
“We worked while observing them work together,” he said. “That was a big influence on us wanting to come back and continue working together, as opposed to having our own individual operations.”
The brothers each have different strengths and areas of focus.
Daniel, the oldest, has an interest in purebred cattle and managing the herd and cow-calf operation. Lorin is interested in the grass finishing side of things and in developing the Gemstone Grass Fed Beef company. Barry, the youngest, was the last to join the farm.
“In addition to farm work, he does a lot of the logistics and operations of Gemstone Grass Fed beef,” said Lorin, adding that the brothers have a similar vision about direction of the farm and often discuss it.
They have also gained valuable experience by farming with their father and uncle, who remain part of the operation.
The brothers were nominated to be Alberta’s Outstanding Young Farmers by a past winner of the award. As part of the competition, they had to do a 15-minute presentation about their farm and speak with judges.
Lorin said meeting all the other people involved with the program is a valuable part of the process, including this year’s other nominees, Lee and Lisa Simanton of Crestomere Holsteins.
The Canadian Outstanding Young Farmers for 2024 will be chosen at the national event in Lethbridge Nov. 27 to Dec. 1. The Doerksens will again be required to make a presentation and talk to judges at the national event. Lorin said it is nice for he and his brothers to be recognized.
“I got a little familiar with some of the previous nominees and watched some of their stories,” he said. “It was encouraging and inspirational to see other peoples’ stories going in. That made me excited to be part of it.”
Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers’ program is an annual competition to recognize farmers that exemplify excellence in their profession. It is open to participants 18 to 39 years old who make most of their income from farming.
