The owner of a 25,000-acre operation in eastern Alberta that is focused solely on raising cattle is asking $45 million
It’s a big price tag for a ranch but worth it, says the owner of a massive everything-you-need operation located on the banks of Alberta’s Red Deer River.
Simon Schonhofer, who ranches near Jenner, Alta., in Special Areas No. 2, is asking $45 million for the operation.
It is definitely an eye-catching property with a more than 25,000 acre mix of deeded and lease grazing land as well as irrigated sections along with pens, a calving barn, several homes, a Quonset, hopper bins, a three-bay mechanical shop and 20 spring-fed dugouts.
Read Also
Manitoba beekeepers battle for survival
Honeybee colony losses have hit 43 per cent, making 2025 the latest in a string of poor bee survival years for Manitoba’s honey producers
And even though Alberta’s Special Areas have a reputation for being extremely dry, Schonhofer said his ranch produces a lot of feed.
“In this country, it’s hard to grow feed. It’s quite a dry area. But with the irrigation system, we always have enough feed for our own cattle plus the neighbours.”
Schonhofer said he moved to the property in 1969 in a pick-up truck with four kids and developed his Red Angus stock into a well-recognized and award-winning herd due to the bounty the property had to offer.
Located 80 kilometres north of Medicine Hat, the property was one of the first in the region with its origins going back to 1896.
However, it was far from developed when Schonhofer took over the spread. He said he spent most of that first year chasing yearlings because the pastures had no fences, while pivot irrigation was still a relatively new concept and virtually non-existent on the Red Deer River.
“We started from scratch,” he said.
“But I said, ‘this is cow country.’ It’s built, designed for it and it’s the best country in the world for cow-calves. It’s got everything you need for running calves. I said right away we would get rid of the yearlings and put together a cow herd.”
The land had been dryland cultivated, but Schonhofer seeded it to tame pasture that grows early in the spring. The property also provides an abundance of native pasture.
The land that is cultivated is under pivots that Schonhofer built.
“It’s all turbine pumps, permanent installation at the river so you’re never moving pumps out and away when it comes up or floods,” he said, noting the pivots can be run from anywhere off a cellphone and can be run off natural gas-powered generators or electricity.
Schonhofer said they have been growing cash crops such as canola off the pivots, but there are no limits to what the land can produce.
In addition to selling Red Angus breeding stock and replacement heifers, he said the ranch has a finishing lot that has been able to host the operation’s own cattle and has capacity for additional feeders.
“Cattle has made this ranch, and it is suited for cattle. It’s got everything you need,” said Schonhofer.
That includes sheltered areas along the river flats that can remain clear of snow even when higher spots above the coulee are covered.
“It’s saved us hundreds of calves during calving over the years from spring storms,” he said.
Between the river and the spring-fed dugouts, Schonhofer said the ranch has “water galore.… We’ve never had any trouble getting water.”
Unlike rivers to the south, he said, the Red Deer River does not have the same demand pressures.
Asked where he’ll be going once he sells the ranch, Schonhofer said, “anywhere it rains more than once a year.”
