Saskatchewan Attracts Alberta's Aspiring Livestock Producers

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

The current wave of Alberta residents moving to Saskatchewan, where agricultural land is more affordable, does not show any sign of waning, if one judges by the rewards the Last Cattle Frontier initiative is reaping in east-central Saskatchewan.

Gord Bulmer is the General Manager of the Good Spirit Regional Economic Development Authority (REDA) in Yorkton. His organization has joined forces with the Yellowhead REDA in Langenburg and the South Parkland REDA to lure Albertans to Saskatchewan's “Next Best West,” by visiting them and extolling the virtues of buying land in Saskatchewan.

“Each of the three REDAs had to chip in $3,000, and the province matched that with another $9,000," explains Bulmer, and to have a good lure piece on hand, he and his colleagues solicited advertising for a supplement produced by the Yorkton This Week and Enterprise.

Individuals who lived in the area and who wanted to list their property could place a free advertisement in supplements put out by Yorkton This Week or The Melville Advance. The cost of the ad was picked up by the three REDAs.

“We had over 100 listings from private individuals from the Yorkton area alone. We took the Yorkton This Week supplement with us and we dropped it on the table when we were out doing our presentations. We are talking about well over 100,000 acres. Every listing was for at least one quarter; most were for five or six. In addition to that, several of the realtors took advantage of the opportunity and paid for their own advertising in the same section.”

Does it bother Bulmer to have so much land for sale in this area?

“Not at all. Would it bother Esso to make a discovery and find out they have another billion barrels hidden in the ground? I don’t think so. I think they would be quite happy. What we have here is just a lot of opportunity.”

Asked about the results of the campaign so far, Bulmer answers: “One realtor in our area closed seven deals that originated from the trip we made a year ago last January. Seven ranch families are moving to our area. It has been a success, and it is snowballing. Two weeks ago, I received another unsolicited call from an Alberta realtor who couldn't keep up with the local demand for ranch properties and so was directing them to our region. It is now getting a momentum of its own."

The Last Cattle Frontier project specifically targets young farm families who are just starting off in livestock production. The influx of young children helps out the local school.

This year, it was the turn of Michelle Andrews, the Yellowhead REDA's Agri-Business Project Manager in Langenburg, to be Alberta bound.

“In late January, we hosted seminars in Fort McLeod, Olds and Vermillion," she says. "We spoke to over 250 people. I was amazed at the number of people who were looking into coming to Saskatchewan. The first seminar was mostly first-time lookers, taking up the idea to see what we had to offer. At the other two meetings, people had investigated the possibility already. They were looking at confirmation of what was out here. Some of them were looking at southwestern Saskatchewan, and with us coming, they wanted to see what the east-central area could offer. It was amazing that people were already thinking of coming over.”

Andrews says the initiative has generated a lot of media coverage in Alberta communities, which also contributed to raising the profile of Saskatchewan livestock production opportunities.

It seems it pays to go boldly and to show Albertans the way to the Last Cattle Frontier.

To find out more about the initiative, visit: http://lastcattlefrontier.com/

For more information, contact:

Gord Bulmer
General Manager
Good Spirit REDA
(306) 783-7332

Michelle Andrews
Agri-Business Project Manager
Yellowhead REDA
(306) 745-5176