Local fourth-generation, pioneer family-run ranch provides healthy, secure food source option

Calgary, AB (June 18, 2020)—Burke Creek Ranch is celebrating a major milestone this year. Since 1890, Burke Creek cattle have been bred and hand-raised in true farm-to-table fashion along the rolling foothills of southern Alberta by the Burton family.

“Since the ranch’s founding, some things have remained the same,” said said Kim Wachtler, fourth generation rancher at the Ranch. “We have always prioritized the health of our herd, our land and the wildlife we share it with. We are committed to providing clean beef, full of optimal nutrients and essential vitamins—the grass fed, grass finished way.”

However given disruptions to cattle processing due to COVID-19 outbreaks at meat packing plants, ranchers say the pandemic has brought food security and local suppliers to the forefront.  Enabling consumers to buy direct from the source is a way to ensure local food security, the highest nutrient value in beef, and help local farmers and ranchers. 

“The rise of coronavirus hit small farms and ranches hard,” said Wachtler. “Outbreaks at large meat facilities seriously impacted beef processing capacity resulting in delays and uncertainty for ranchers. This means as an industry we all have had to keep cattle longer, driving up operating costs. Combine this with the 10-year low beef commodity prices hit—not reflected in the supermarket—the ability of small farmers to stay in business is fragile.” 

“To add fuel to the fire, a typical beef producer only sells their product a few times a year,” said Wachtler.“When the pandemic hit, the average Southern Alberta producer wouldn't have had any cash inflow for four to six months.”

On the flip side, with grocery shelves cleaned out and health and safety becoming a priority, new conversations about local food security and the reliance on a global supply chain are now taking place. “People want to know where their food comes from,” said Wachtler.  “This is an opportunity for consumers to learn more and meet the people producing the top-quality beef Alberta is famous for.” 

Burke Creek Ranch is expanding their curbside delivery in Calgary offering their customers the highest grass finished beef not available in stores. Free to roam and pasture raised in southern Alberta’s foothills, Burke Creek grass fed herd is born and raised on a 100% grass diet their entire lives. There is no question of food origin here. The cattle are born, raised and finished on an Alberta family ranch with a history—four generations deep.  

“Not only is pasture-raised grass finished beef good for the land, better for the animals and great for our health, consumers taste a noticeable difference in the leaner beef yet richer, more complex quality that boasts up to five times the amount of heart-healthy omega 3 acids,” said Wachtler.

“We know that in today’s one-day delivery culture, many of us have been thinking less about the distance our products have traveled and the implications it has for our health, and more about instant gratification,” said Wachtler. “However, we see this current environment as an opportunity for change—to educate consumers on Alberta-based nutrient-rich protein they can feel good about feeding to their family, instead of the highly-processed packaged goods or food with difficult-to-trace origins.” 

As COVID-19 crisis reshapes our lives, it is essential to protect Albertans’ basic right to nutritious food. This crisis has exposed the critical need to support community-based farmers, ranchers and local business. 

About Burke Creek Ranch
Burke Creek Ranch is VBP+ certified, fourth generation, 130-year-old family ranch located just off Highway 22, Alberta’s Cowboy Trail where their grass fed and finished, hormone-free cattle are raised.

Media Contact
Jo Williams
Cell: 403-827-9820 jo@notyouraveragejo.com