Grazing and its likely availability is at the heart of every management decision at Jim and Barb Bauer’s Anchor J Ranch near Acme, in central Alberta. Even after 40 years of grazing on that land Jim still makes a grazing plan, usually in February.
“I don’t want two groups of cattle sharing a dugout,” he says. It also gives him time to see any complications that may come up.
Bauer’s approach began at a smaller ranch he had in the foothills farther west. He worked with other ranchers in the area to found the Grey Wooded Forage and Grazing Association (named for the soil zone). Bauer became the group’s first manager and worked with Allan Savory to design a grazing school that Bauer delivered for 10 years before he and Barb moved to their ranch at Acme. He put on more grazing schools for a time but does so less often now.
He still helps graziers with one challenge of intensive grazing — fencing. He’s a long-time dealer in electric fencing and helps his customers with the problems that can arise.
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At home, his perimeter fence is all barbed wire with major pastures fenced with electrified high tensile wire and temporary fencing as it’s needed.
Calving is all on pasture and starts April 20 and is virtually done in six weeks.
“A lot of people think the extra two months that March and April calves have to gain weight is worth it,” says Bauer. “I think May-born calves are able to gain weight faster. And it’s a good time to be calving — usually.”
Last year, a late snowstorm, high winds and then rain, made things miserable for a while. But moisture is always welcome in the fourth year of drought. Mother Nature played a particularly mean trick on some of the Bauer neighbours. Traditionally, in this part of Alberta, spring rains come in late May and the first part of June, but in 2024, the rains came late and in a few brief bursts. By August the crops were thick and lush, but some crops were very disappointing. It seems that much of the canola was blasted by the extreme summer heat and some of the cereals had passed critical periods for grain filling.
Feeding
The only crops Bauer grows are oats and spring triticale for swath grazing. He has tried some of the brassica blends for grazing, but they haven’t done well at his place on the limited moisture of the last few years. He’s turned back to the traditional cereals for swath grazing.
“It’s less risky,” he says. “Those mixtures are not cheap to seed.”
Calves are weaned in mid- to late November. “Some years, calves can do so well it might be tempting to wean later. But, that’s risky. If it turns cold, cows with calves on them can go downhill really fast.”
After weaning, the cows stay close for a few days so they and their calves can see each other and touch noses through the fence. The calves are six months old or more, but the ability to check on each other makes a big difference. Fenceline weaning means almost no noise and neither cows nor calves show any stress.
The cows can soon move on to swath graze. Usually, they can swath graze till spring with just their custom mineral available.
Calves, bred heifers and first calvers are fed at home on homegrown hay and greenfeed. Bauer feed-tests the bales, and heifers and first-calvers get feed formulated to their needs. Steers get a moderate backgrounding ration to gain a pound-and-a-half a day. Bauer tests all his feeds and has a custom mineral prepared for each group all year.
“It’s an investment that pays off in animal health. We were looking at the steers last summer and I realized I couldn’t remember the last time I treated an animal with pinkeye.”
The Anchor J is well supplied with water, as Kneehill Creek runs through some of the land. A five-acre dam has a wet well below it. An insulated culvert brings the water to the surface. The top foot or two does freeze when it’s really cold. Bauer simply uses a few gallons of hot water to get the well flowing again — no axe required.
As grass farmers, the Bauers’ default position is to background the steers and put them on grass for the summer. At around 900 lb. in fall, they sell well. But, especially with no sign of an end to the drought, they might just partially background them and play the market or sell them into the grass market in April. They might also sell some of the heifers and just keep the top end for themselves rather than breeding them for later sale.
If June comes in with no spring rains, Bauer starts thinking about destocking.
“You can’t feed your way out of a drought. And you can’t make it rain. The answer is to destock and it’s better to ship animals early rather than later. When you are out of grass, everybody is out of grass and nobody wants your calves. For me, my time to move is no later than the summer solstice, June 21, if things are still dry.”
Cows are next.
“In any herd, there’s always a bottom end. First, the ones that give you grief and those that bring you less money. Then, if pastures are still dry, it’s time to look again.”
Working with calves
Bauer enjoys the fall —he has time to build, fix fences and repair corrals. It’s also time to train calves.
He doesn’t stop at feeding and ensures there is clean fresh water and feed, with just pen checking to keep the calves healthy. He makes time to settle them into their new life and eating and drinking.
“Calves are used to going everywhere with their mothers. Somebody has to take charge of them. It’s not complicated. I walk with them, work with them either on foot or on horseback. It’s amazing how that calms them down.”
Bauer walks parallel to the calves on the side of the pen away from the bunk. At first, he takes about an hour morning and afternoon. After a few days, he takes them for a walk, first into the next pen and then around the corrals. He repeats the process, building on their lessons as they become comfortable with him.
Later, when the calves are well settled and used to being worked, he takes them through the handling system. He leaves all the gates and the squeeze open and sets out some hay in the last pen. They run through as fast as they can, but they find their reward. He builds on the process. Then, he holds groups of a few animals in the single-file alley until they all calm down. Eventually, he holds each one in the squeeze until it calms down and stands still. Eventually, they aren’t afraid of the squeeze — nothing bad happened and there was a reward of fresh hay afterwards.
“Training the calves is something I do on a nice day in the winter. Sometimes I walk, sometimes I ride, or bring one of our border collies along. As I’m training the cattle, I’m training the dog.”
Bauer enjoys working with the cattle, but he does it for the difference it makes to the cow herd.
“Working with the cattle, showing them where they’re going and that nothing bad is going to happen to them, pays huge dividends all through their entire lives. They’re easy to herd or handle any time, with horses or on foot, with or without dogs.
“Processing, whether it’s a simple vaccination or branding, is much easier and safer — really important when Barb or our daughter and the grandkids are helping.”
The cows move easily between separated pastures, crossing the creek. They walk quietly through the corrals during branding, although Bauer says that might be due more to the meloxicam they use now than his training.
“It’s a tremendous invention.” He noticed a difference the first time they used it.
“We give shots, put in ear tags, hot iron brand and castrate the bulls that we miss banding at calving time. Now, even those that get the full treatment just get up and stretch. Such a difference. All my neighbours use it now.”
