Burke Creek Ranch featured on CBC
We are proud to have recently been featured on CBC Calgary where they profiled the five generations of women actively involved in operations at Burke Creek Ranch. Please take a moment to read our story and view the video.
Generations of strong ranching women part of Burton family history
Today, fifth generation helps carry on Burke Creek Ranch's farm-to-table traditions
(July 10, 2020) The Burton family is heading into a fifth generation of women working the land.
Kim Wachtler, a fourth-generation rancher, likes to tell her daughters they come from a line of strong ranching women at Burke Creek Ranch.
"My intention is to really generate that love for the land so that the children are inclined to carry on as the fifth generation with their cousins, rather than be the generation to sell," Wachtler said.
The Burton family founded the cattle ranch, 40 kilometres west of Claresholm, in 1890.
"If there's anything I know about my matrilineal heritage is that the women in my family … [have] all been recognized as strong, hard-willed, hard-working, stubborn, and they never back down," Wachtler said.
The mom of two hopes her daughters will carry on the tradition.
"It's not unique to my family, but the women in my family, starting with my great grandmother Minnie — she was out here working alongside my great-grandfather Fred [Burton], breaking horses, milking cows, raising the calves," Wachtler said.