Site Background
Who We Are
Riverview Ranch is a century-old, sixth generation family farm owned by the Torrie family of Grassy Lake in Southern Alberta.
The ranch runs approximately 350 head of red Angus and is situated on close to 7,000 acres of native prairie land dominated by inland bluegrass, silver sagebrush, snowberry, blue grama, prairie onion, cushion cactus, prickly-pear, slender leafy spurge, western wheatgrass and slender wheatgrass.
The family is looking at implementing the Gallagher eShepherd Virtual Fence Program and will acquire around 400 collars to do heifers and bulls.
Land Characteristics
The property ranges over approximately 7,000 acres of predominately native grassland. The area has several wetlands which are home to a number of amphibians and birds. Pronghorn and American white pelican, bank swallow and sharp-tailed grouse are among the many species located on the property and which are classified as sensitive in Alberta.
A wildlife study identified the potential for 29 bird species, three reptile, two amphibian and three mammal species. Additionally, studies have shown 23 fish species potentially live in the area.
The land profile include both regosolic and chernozemic well drained soils.
Why Virtual Fencing
Virtual fencing will help protect sensitive areas and species as well as protect the cattle from areas where there may be hazards such as areas with cliff faces, long coulees and valleys.
The Riverview Ranch touches 11 kilometers of the southern bank of the Old Man River including where it meets with the Bow River and becomes the South Saskatchewan River. This area of the river is a sturgeon-spawning ground and home to other endangered species both in and out of the river.
The property also features multiple wetlands which need to be protected from the cattle. To fence all these areas and to maintain them is simply not feasible.
Additionally, given the size and geography of the property, wild animals can break or get caught on fences. Broken fences can lead to cattle escaping and maintaining that amount of fencing is a constant job with fences being replaced every five to eight years.
Utilizing the eShepherd will allow for more efficient grazing for the best grassland health. With 7,000 acres, each pasture is too big to use all the grass evenly which causes more frequent pasture rotation. This doesn’t allow for proper growth and maintenance.
The virtual fence will resolve all these concerns by protecting sensitive water areas, putting in off-site watering while keeping cows away from other water sources and using the land in a much healthier and sustainable way.
Map showing Riverview Ranch with current fence lines HERE.
Funding for this project in part has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Agricultural Climate Solutions – On-Farm Climate Action Fund.
