Tradition Fueled by Innovation

Tom and Danika of Warnyca Land and Cattle merge traditional beef and functional market cattle.

Thankful, respectful, responsible and practical. These simple yet powerful words kept coming to mind as I spoke with Tom and Danika Warnyca of Warnyca Land and Cattle. These ideas hold a magnified meaning for Tom and Danika, based at Montmartre, Saskatchewan, and after my conversation with them, it was easy to see why. Our discussion reflected their respect for the past and an acceptance of the responsibility to use your abilities in the most practical way possible, especially as they pertain to agriculture.

The operation that Tom’s parents started in the 1950s, WTK Polled Herefords, is now home to a herd of 200 purebred and crossbred Hereford, Angus and Black Galloway cows, interspersed with a smattering of Speckle Park cattle. Pastures, trees and wetlands run alongside a rotation of oats, pulse crops and oilseeds. Of course, none of this happened overnight but rather through a gradual process of introspection.

Warnyca's 100% Traditional Branded Beef line includes several dry aged products.

Image by Darryl MacKillop

In 2000, the Warnyca family dispersed their purebred polled Hereford herd, and they had important decisions to make. They formed the foundation of their next commercial venture with ten Hereford females bred to an Angus bull, plus a collection of select semen and embryos. They also purchased a percentage of Haroldson’s 37H Mira ET 62K, a purebred Hereford female originally raised in Wawota, SK. Mira was the National Junior Champion Hereford Female at the 2002 National Western Stock Show in Denver.

“This Hereford female we bought in Denver, via Wawota, in 2002 was coming a two-year-old. The largest number of registrations out of one Hereford cow in North America are out of her, and we own half of her. Through the propagation of that influence in our Hereford end, we have been given a huge advantage in our genetic base,” said Warnyca.

They breed most of their cowherd through artificial insemination, using top-quality Hereford and Angus genetics, and they cover the rest of the breeding season with natural service. In 2010, the couple added a third ingredient to their commercial breeding program in the form of a Black Galloway sire, Diamond B Mozart 16M.

Through a methodical approach to improving their genetics, opportunities arose for Warnyca Land and Cattle that extended beyond producing seedstock. Warnyca’s extensive judging career has taken him from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and at times he’s noticed a disconnect in the steers placing high in shows and what he sees as the reality of the beef industry. While attending the 2013 Calgary Stampede Steer Classic, where a 1,450-pound Hereford claimed the Grand Champion title, he made a conscious decision to produce more practical show steers.

“When I looked at that steer, I knew his producer would have made some money on him. His mother would have had him without problems. He would have weighed enough at weaning time to make a buck or two, or if you sold him as a background steer at 800 or 900 pounds, finishing at the right weight range and age, you would have made money on him.”

Tom and Danika began marketing about a dozen realistic crossbred prospects at Canadian Western Agribition under the Prospects with Purpose banner. Over the last few years, junior exhibitors from Vancouver Island to Nova Scotia have taken them home to show at their own Achievement Days.

Later, when Warnyca judged a Speckle Park show and was impressed with the quality of one of the bulls exhibited, Codiak Acres Avery Creek Banjo 01B, they decided to breed a select group of heifers Speckle Park. “Those Speckled calves are easy to sell as prospects, but we have to be selective. Kids seem to gravitate to them, but we want to make sure they get the right ones.” Their first set of Speckle Park calves are on feed now at the farm and will be processed throughout the summer and fall.

Tom judges the Speckle Park show at Canadian Western Agribition.

Image by Show Champions

In line with their prospect calf program, Warnyca Land and Cattle began to solidify their own personal philosophies. Warnyca explained how thankful they were to see their small 1950s acreage turn into approximately 4,000 acres of family-owned land.“We have a responsibility to look after it and the animals on it with the grasses we are planting, the crops we’re growing and the minimal amount of diesel we’re using. We’re doing something positive for the environment. See how many trees this family has planted over the last 60 years. We’re trying toimprove the land. It’s so important we have wetlands, deer, moose, every animal under the sun wandering around here. They can all live together, and we can still farm it.”

Backing up their beliefs, the couple began marketing their own beef under the name “100%Traditional Beef by Warnyca Land and Cattle.” This brand features everything from ground prime to tenderloin, roasts and ribs. They were already growing gluten-free oats for a processing company in Regina, Saskatchewan, and to sustain the product’s integrity they phased out all grains with gluten, including wheat, durum and barley. At present they grow a rotation of oilseed, pulse, oats and flax on their croplands, with the gluten-free, non-GMO crops grown on the farm making up the bulk of the finishing ration for their 100% Traditional Beef product.

“There is a strong desire from a consumer standpoint to know where their food is coming from, that it’s being raised responsibly. I understand that,” said Warnyca. “Right from the time the animal is conceived to when it goes to processing, everything is done on our farm, so we have control over the environment these animals are raised in, tracking each one individually.”

Their beef is processed locally at Western Prime, a government-inspected plant in Weyburn, and is currently sold online, by word of mouth and through Agribition, advertising to friends, neighbours and customers from as far away as Banff and the Maritimes. The high-quality beef is featured in some smaller, reputable restaurants in Regina. “We did a 6-ounce sirloin nutritional panel at a laboratory in Saskatoon comparing it to a Triple A sirloin. The protein level was higher, the fat content was less, it had fewer calories, a higher iron content and was better tasting,” he said. In fact, it had half the calories of the other sirloin, coming in at 200 calories. The other sirloin was 411 calories. “We believe it’s got a distinct rich beef flavour because of the genetic blend we have, specific to the infusion of the Galloway influence, and the fact our finishing ration is a gluten-free oats and peas ration, plus we age it for 21-30 days minimum. It’s been extremely popular.”

Without children of their own, Tom and Danika still seek to benefit the youth of the industry. They believe kids sometimes receive too much misinformation, causing them unnecessary stress and anxiety. Their goal for the juniors involved in their prospect program is for them to have fun, make a little money and understand thegenetic behind the cattle and the future opportunities for the industry.

Peyton Haslam shows her 2018 steer purchased from Warnyca Land & Cattle

Image by Erin Campbell

When I asked how they envisioned their operation in the future, Warnyca shared a lesson from his mother after careful consideration.

“She taught me that we all have an expiration date, so if we’re going to do something, let’s make the most of it and do the best we can, enjoy it and have some fun. If we’re going to raise cows let’s raise the best ones we can. If they are going to be purebred or commercial, let’s raise the best we can. If we’re going to raise beef, let’s raise the best we absolutely can. That’s the thought process of what we’re attempting to do here.”

Considering the potential health and sustainability of beef cattle on a global scale, Warnyca believes they have a major responsibility as producers to the well-being of humans. He sees their 100% Traditional Beef by Warnyca Land and Cattle brand gaining traction, and they will continue guaranteeing the security and quality of their beef by finishing their own cattle.

The couple also sees the prospect branch of their operation continuing, although it could eventually become secondary. “The main thing for us overall is that we see the continual progression to improvement, that our young stuff is better than our old stuff. I’m confident that’s going to happen if we make the right decisions through selection,” said Warnyca.

“We are so fortunate to be involved in an industry, a natural setting like we have here today, to be able to contribute to the well-being of other people, a healthy nutritious product that is grown on our property, and that we’ve actually improved the soil’s fertility and health by these animals being here,” he said. “And when it’s all said and done, that we will be one of the leaders on a very specific high-quality beef protein with traceability and accountability.”