Plateau Cattle Co. wins Alberta Beef Producers Environmental Stewardship Award

John Smith and Laura Laing of Plateau Cattle Firm are the winners of the 2025 Alberta Beef Producers Environmental Stewardship award.

“It was a shock for certain,” mentioned Laing, who lives along with her husband, Smith, on the ranch within the foothills close to Nanton.

The Environmental Stewardship Award acknowledges distinctive dedication to sustainable ranching practices and contributions to the meat business.

Digestate can now be stored and applied as an organic fertilizer

Amendments to Alberta’s Agricultural Operation Practices Act (AOPA) now permit digestate and “select organic material” from non-agricultural businesses to be stored or composted in manure storage facilities before being applied to land.

The couple discovered that they had gained in the course of the Summit occasion on the Calgary Stampede.

The occasion was attended by federal and provincial agriculture ministers, in addition to Alberta Beef Producers members and representatives from Canadian Cattle.

Smith’s grandfather began the ranch in 1958 and was closely concerned in Herefords. He was the Canadian president of the Hereford Affiliation and ran a check centre in Innisfail. He was additionally concerned within the creation of the Waldron Grazing Co-op. Smith’s mother and father, Dan and Serena took over the ranch in 1971, and Smith and Laing took it over in 2016. Smith’s mom, Serena, attended the award ceremony together with Smith’s brother, Lloyd.

Smith and Laing are members of the Spruce Grazing Co-op and the Waldron Grazing Co-op. They’ve Savanna Creek and higher Livingston grazing allotments which might be facet by facet, over a spread of mountains. Their ranch, which is known as for Plateau mountain, is a habitat for a lot of species, together with grizzly and black bears, cougars, bobcats, lynxes, foxes, raptors resembling eagles, hawks, owls and even wolves.

“We ship 160 to 170 cows to the mountains, after which the stability goes to the Waldron. And we now have one other couple small, rented pastures down right here, the place late calvers and stuff that wants just a little extra consideration can keep near dwelling,” mentioned Smith.

Smith and Laing are operating 450 black Angus and black Angus cross cattle. There may be nonetheless a little bit of Hereford affect in a few of the animals. They’ve fully switched to black Angus bulls and use Herdtrax to gather knowledge on the cattle.

“That’s actually helped so far as treating animals, every time attainable,” mentioned Smith.

Animals are weighed at beginning. The weights of the cattle are tracked and stored correct.

“That actually helps with medicine and stuff,” he mentioned.

“Working with our vet, we’ve acquired a full protocol e book, and it’s hooked up to our Herdtrax. So it offers you first and second therapy sort protocols,” he mentioned.

Fashionable ranching practices

Smith and Laing have additionally been working with Désirée Gellatly, a Analysis Scientist on the Know-how Entry Centre for Livestock Manufacturing at Olds Faculty.

The couple has been engaged on utilizing lidocaine bands with Gellatly. Smith and Laing band their steers at beginning.

They’ve additionally been working towards tactile stimulation (therapeutic massage) on their calves as a part of the analysis trials. Smith describes it as like imprinting a colt.

“The way in which most individuals tag and the best way we used to tag, is to tug up in your facet by facet, or in your horse, and also you leap off it and soar on them and put a pair tags of their ears after which stand up and go away. As you possibly can think about, the animal doesn’t look very favourably at you the following time he runs into you,” he mentioned.

Smith and Laing nonetheless put tags on the animals, however after they do that, they spend a while mimicking the cow’s motion of licking the calf. They therapeutic massage the calves, primarily on the hindquarters.

“We’ve form of discovered that they just like the shoulders and neck stroke too,” he mentioned.

“We’re seeing plenty of enhancements in herd well being from the tactile stimulation, which is exhibiting improved well being as a result of there’s much less stress and fewer stress response when that calf sees a human,” mentioned Laing.

The couple now not manufacturers their cattle.

“We discover that we will have higher high quality management at vaccination and processing time for the cows fairly than branding. It was a troublesome custom to kick as a result of we actually loved the social facet of it, however we’re discovering that for our operation, it really works effectively. And we did see a achieve within the calves of someplace between 18 and 21 kilos that first 12 months,” mentioned Laing.

The couple are additionally taking DNA samples of the animals. As a part of their DNA work, they’re collaborating in an Angus/Hereford genomic examine on alternative heifers.

“Getting that parentage again has been nice for the therapeutic massage examine, as a result of then you possibly can isolate that sire impact. We’re getting that double band out of the parentage, after which only for our personal info — like what bulls are breeding, what bulls are working, and what ones aren’t working,” Smith mentioned.

The couple has fenced off all their creek and riparian areas and put in a moist effectively watering system.

“We’ve completed two zero vitality off-the-creek watering programs, plus one other photo voltaic water system that we’ve acquired now, and we’ve truly acquired yet one more ordered,” mentioned Smith.

Laing and Smith are engaged on seeding your entire ranch again to grass.

They’re looking forward to the longer term and would like to get extra vegetation on the creek sides they’ve fenced off. They’re working with Geese Limitless on this venture.

“We’ve undoubtedly spent plenty of time on stockmanship within the surroundings through which the cattle are, and we’re taking a look at working with Prairie West to plant some extra vegetation and willow to assist with financial institution erosion on our waterways,” mentioned Smith.

Environmental advocacy

Laing and Smith have been a part of a grassroots group combating to cease coal mining within the Jap Slopes for the reason that provincial authorities rescinded a decades-old coal coverage in 2020. Folks working of their grassroots group embody singer Corb Lund, native residents, organizations just like the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, civic leaders and anxious individuals from throughout the province.

“That’s the most important factor from an environmental standpoint. And I believe one of many causes individuals have spoken in regards to the submission, and it’s form of controversial, is as a result of we’ve clearly been concerned with the coal situation for about 5 years,” mentioned Laing.

Ranchers are environmentalists, and it shouldn’t be a foul phrase, she mentioned.

“That’s been a five-year full-time deal for us, and never plenty of enjoyable, polarizing. However we now have had success, like the federal government just lately bought again these leases that had been going to be open for coal improvement in our grazing allotment. Despite the fact that it was in our grazing allotment, we weren’t combating for that motive. We had been combating as a result of we understood what that may imply for many individuals of their headwaters,” she mentioned.

“I’d say, from an environmental standpoint, that’s the greatest risk and situation that’s confronted this ranch in any technology,” mentioned Laing.

“The coal situation was a giant one for us. Making an attempt to make environmentalist into phrase, and dealing with conservation teams was a constructive, to attempt to change that narrative. As ranchers, we’re on the forefront as a result of we stay, work and play right here and that’s a troublesome burden,” she mentioned.