Beneficial Rangeland Management Practices at the Perrin's Castleland Ranch

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Ted and Olive Perrin own and operate the 12,775 acre Castleland Ranch near Beechy, and it seems someone has noticed that the way they manage their rangeland is nothing short of exemplary.

The Society for Range Management (SRM), an international body governing the profession, thought their practices were so worthy of recognition that it named the Perrins recipients of a 2006 SRM Outstanding Achievement Award.

The official citation mentions how “Forward thinking and conservative range management on Castleland Ranch ensures sustainable grazing resources through extremes in climatic conditions over the short- and long-term. Many of the long-standing management approaches of Castleland Ranch are new technology for many producers.”

Asked how they feel about the award, Olive Perrin is quick to recognize that other ranchers in their area are as committed to sustainable grazing as she and her husband.

“There are a whole lot of people who are conscious of range management," she says. "As a rancher, it's your job, and if you don’t look after your job, it won’t be there long. The rancher who does not look after his grass will suffer for it, because that is what he raises his cattle on. It is a pretty sad thing to see grassland that is a table top.”

The basic formula the couple uses is: take half the grass, and leave half the grass. It is all the more important when you are running 800 head of cattle.

“Many ranchers look after their grass. If you don’t have enough grass to support wildlife, well, you probably don’t have enough grass to support cattle. In a dry year, if you overgraze, you have nothing. It takes grass to make grass. We sell a lot of grass-finished beef. In order to fatten them on grass, you have to have good grass, so we always make sure we don’t overgraze,” says Olive.

Ted Perrin believes their range management philosophy is nothing new in itself.

“Some of these practices have been around for 100 years, as far as winter and summer ranges goes," he says. "We have a couple of fairly good sized pastures here, on which we've run cattle in the summer maybe three or four times out of the last 100 years. They are kept for winter grazing. The grass is allowed to grow all summer, and we don’t have the cattle here on the winter range past the beginning of June, so the grass is allowed to grow for when they come back at the end of October. They are seven months on the winter range and five months on the summer range.”

Other ranchers do the same, Ted Perrin points out.

“I guess the award must have come for our rotational grazing on the summer range. We make six pastures instead of two, and we rotate the cattle around the six pastures all summer long. We try to graze each of them only once. That area is allowed to grow until June. It is all native pasture, mostly cool season grasses, but with a bit of warm season grass in there as well."

The Perrins are humbled and happy about receiving the award.

"To be recognized by our peers is a blessing after 50 years of working on this stewardship,” says Ted Perrin.

For more information, contact:

Ted and Olive Perrin
Castleland Ranch
Beechy, Saskatchewan
(306) 859-4925