Pieschel Farms located just east of CrossIron Mills in Balzac has been in the cattle business for over 100 years, but ten years ago the farm underwent a transition from commercial production to purebred bull breeding.
Current owner Rae-Lee Erickson, who farms with her husband Devon, said her family has enjoyed the transition into the seed stock side of the cattle business.
“We enjoy raising purebreds and trying different genetics and other things,” said Erickson. “You know, playing around with the market a bit. We also show a lot in the fall and the late summer. It was something that always kind of interested us, and we find it is more exciting to try to stay on top of the industry. We try to provide commercial producers with the best bulls in the business we can by raising the best.”
Pieschel Farms has been slowly and methodically building up its business to ensure only the highest quality of animals come off their farm to support commercial cattle industry needs. Their main bread and butter stock is purebred Black Angus bulls, but they have also increased their presence in Simmental and Hereford breeding in recent years.
While their bulls are purebred, Erickson acknowledges most of their commercial customers are looking to crossbreed the strong traits of these animals together to increase the potency of their herds.
“Angus is definitely our main focus, but our Simmental are definitely growing (in popularity) as well,” she explained. “Guys like to use Simmental because they are a bit more powerful. Angus is maybe known more as a maternal breed and for calving ease, whereas Simmental is our power breed. So guys might be getting their calves to market a little sooner with a Simmental than they would with an Angus.”
Hereford cattle were once the dominant breed on the prairies among cattle producers 35 years ago before the rise of the Black Angus breed to dominance. Erickson said the breed is making a strong comeback among today’s producers.
“Herefords are making a big comeback because there are things on that breed which are more beneficial than both Angus and Simmental.” Erickson explained. “For example, Herefords have amazing feet, and that is something which is huge when it comes to longevity.”
She admitted there also seems to be a bit of an aesthetic preference at the heart of the current Hereford resurgence.
“People like the colour,“ she said. “You are guaranteed to get the white in your calves, and a lot of guys like that. I am not sure what the reason is but people just like the look of it. It also drives the price up when you get some white on these calves.”
For Peischel Farms, it’s all about meeting the needs and desires of its customers, said Erickson, and having what those customers want in stock with purebred bulls available in all three breeds.
“It’s something that is always changing because we are trying to get better for the commercial guys so they can get more money for their animals in the fall,” she said. “In the last couple of years, about 75 per cent of our bull buyers were repeat buyers. So, to us, that’s everything. They are coming back because they are happy with what they got.”
On March 9 at the Innisfail Auction Mart, as part of the Red Deer County Bull Sale, Pieschel Farms will have the opportunity once again to put all its hard work of the past year to the test. The annual bull sale is much like “harvest” for the Erickson family, and is a major event for showcasing and selling the young bulls they have grown for the last year.
A cross between a community gathering and a competition, local bull breeders always try to put their best stock forward for the sale.
“(The bull breeding business) is a long term game, and you always have to be on top of it,” Erickson said. “You always have to be on top of the newest and greatest genetics. You have to make sure you are paying attention to what other guys are doing, and following what a lot of the bigger breeders are doing.”
For more information on Pieschel Farms visit the farm’s Facebook page.
