The Hansons have deep roots in Alberta agriculture

on,” explains Wayne. “I try to get that gain in there for [the client] for as cheap as possible. At 800-900 lbs. they go to the feed lot and they’ll finish them at 1,200-1,400 lbs.”

Wayne says he expects to work with as many as 1,500 head from one client alone, with another 400 to 500 from other clients.

The Hansons have deep roots in Alberta agriculture. Ron’s grandfather introduced the Bell L brand 100 years ago, but didn’t ranch from 1925 to 1943. In 1943, the Hansons reentered the ranching business out of Symons Valley (commemorated by the Calgary neighbourhood of Hanson Ranch).

Wayne’s wife, Rhonda, also has a longstanding connection to the area: her ancestor is Thomas Fletcher, who came to Alberta in 1890, and her mother’s family, the Kolstads, arrived in 1914.

Despite the challenges – few other industries are at the mercy of weather and markets as much as agriculture – Ron says he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“It’s a great way of life,” he says while sitting across the table from his wife, Renie, and Wayne and Rhonda, at the family home just northwest of the city. “It’s a great place to raise a family. It [teaches] a work ethic and sense of responsibility.”

Raising cattle is the epitome of responsibility. Far from simply leaving the animals to their own devices, responsible ranchers need to keep close tabs on them.

“The No. 1 thing is keeping them healthy,” says Wayne. “We are responsible for other people’s cattle and we do our best to keep them healthy. And different cattle have different problems – usually it’s simple things, like pink eye and foot rot and occasionally pneumonia.”

Some of the hard work has involved erecting 70 miles of electric fencing around the property to keep predators out.

Wayne and Rhonda have three children: Caitlin, 22, Travis, 20, and Wyatt, 17. The couple says that their eldest lives on a farm south of Calgary, Travis has expressed interest in combining a welding business with running cattle out of the Hansons’ Caroline property, and Wyatt is studying international business and hopes to someday start a hobby ranch.

Ranchers and farmers are renowned for their community spirit, and the Hansons are no different. They have longstanding ties with the Airdrie and Balzac 4-H beef clubs, with Ron a veteran of the Balzac club in the early 1950s, and Wayne and Rhonda recently concluding a four-year stint as leaders with Airdrie.

“We focus on learning how to raise cattle and do the books,” says Wayne.“You also learn to communicate with public speaking and the kids have to volunteer … in their community.”

The local beef club also gives a lot back.

“A big thing for the Airdrie Beef Club last year was recycling; we recycled over 11,000 tires and donated $2,000 to the Airdrie Ag Society to go toward their [new facility] building fund,” says Rhonda.“We also set up the first scholarship in Alberta for our beef club.”

For Wayne, the people he meets in his work, and the opportunity to have the wide outdoors as his office, can’t be beat. “And we have the ability to be involved in the community a lot,” he says.

Adds Ron:“You work long hours, but they’re flexible. And if you’ve got to be gone all day, you can always work all night!” life