Recipient of Northlands Farm Family Award

Athabasca County’s Olson Family has been recognized with a 2018 BMO Farm Family Award. The award was presented at the Farm Fair in Edmonton on November 9, 2018.

Ole Farms Ltd. is a mixed farm that raises purebred commercial cattle and a variety of crops on 60 quarters of land they own and 40 that are rented.

Can you imagine producing 1,500 calves in one year? The Olson family did it in 2007 and has developed a way to continue this type of success until today.

How did it all get started? Kelly and Anna Olson own the homestead quarter that Kelly’s grandfather, Alfred Olson, purchased over one hundred years ago. The couple has three children – Graham, Cheryl and Travis.

The couple started out by building a feedlot in 1979, shifting focus to purebreds and beef cows in 1996. Today they are one of the largest producers of Purebred Angus cattle in Canada.

This size of operation takes a great deal of coordination, communication, expertise and use of technology to stay on top of day to day operations while planning and maintaining growth.

Ole Farms practices rotational grazing, and intensive corn and swath grazing, to save on fuel/equipment and make efficient use of its land base including no-tillage seeding.

Preservation of existing trees and riparian areas is also important. Instead of allowing cattle to enter these areas, wells have been drilled and water piped to the cattle.

Ole Farms has held a “Family Day Sale” of Angus bulls and commercial females annually for 13 years. Livestock from the sale has been sold to buyers from British Columbia clear across to Prince Edward Island and into the United States.

“All members of the extended farm family continue to contribute to the overall success and growth of this operation,” says Warren Griffin, chair of the Agricultural Services Board.
“The Olson family is a strong example of what can be done when determination, hard work and family come together.”

Athabasca County’s Agricultural Services Board advertises for nominations and selects a farm family every two years. The final nomination is submitted to Northlands to receive the award.

They are selected according to eligibility guidelines set out for the award, one of which is the farm family units must be actively farming and consider agriculture as a major source of income.