Game Ranch Produces Elk Meat, Bison Meat and Reindeer Meat for Restaurants

By Libby Platus
Published on January 28, 2010
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iStockphoto.com/Rick Partlow
Grassfed bison is one luxury enjoyed by visitors to the Canadian Rocky Mountain Ranch.

CALGARY, ALBERTA – In the rolling hills south of Calgary, the Canadian Rocky Mountain Ranch (CRMR) raises game for its herd of resorts and restaurants.

These hills are a special place, visited by chinook winds, called the “snow eater” by locals as warm winds come over the mountains, melting the snow and exposing the grasses. Once the wintering ground for bison, this Southern Alberta region became a ranching hotspot about 120 years ago.

The CRMR was organized in 1996 on 550 acres, now surrounded by 8-foot game fences. The owners, Pat and Connie O’Conner, now have additional land to raise hay feed for 500 to 600 animals, making the operation essentially self-sufficient.

“It was natural to start raising our own elk, bison and reindeer to get the quality and consistency we wanted,” Executive Chef Alistair Barnes says. Before the ranch, “we would get great product one week, then we’d order again, and it wouldn’t be the same quality. Now, we have Alberta lamb, duck, chicken and quail, but game is definitely our big seller. It makes up more than 50 percent of sales in our restaurants.”

When visiting the ranch, Terry Church, the director, will tell you the cold-adapted animals live outside year-round. They are moved around, depending upon the amount of grass and forage available, and as pastures start declining in the fall, they are fed hay.

Young, weaned calves 5 to 7 months old find it hard to get enough energy out of hay to grow to their optimal level, called “good body condition.”

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