Rock Piles are maintained for wild life habitat
This 3500-acre ranch produces certified organic meat rich in vitamin E, beta-carotene, and two health-promoting fats called omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid because the ruminants are totally grass-fed and finished on forage as opposed to finished on grain in feedlots.
Contact:
Felix and Jasmin Schellenberg
Melanie, Barbara, Dominique and Fiona
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Jasmin and Felix emigrated from Switzerland in 1979 to settle on Rafter 25 Ranch in the beautiful Chilcotin valley 150km west of Williams Lake. Until 1994 they raised cattle for the commodity market. Since then, they have gradually converted to their current biodynamic organic practices and started direct marketing their frozen and dried meats through their website and at Vancouver Farmers Markets. Their operation is totally chemical-free. Akbash guardian dogs help prevent predation of their livestock. Labour-and-feed intensive calving in April has been switched to unassisted calving in June on 150,000 acres of leased Crown Land. They use electrically-fenced paddock grazing. Felix considers cattle as a necessary ‘tool’ to manage grassland. Since the Schellenbergs quit using machinery, mowing and fertilizing and began managing grassland, the biodiversity on their land has increased dramatically. To them, ‘the bottom line is land stewardship”.
A tour of the ranch with Felix is a real education and very heart-warming. Cattle, sheep, pigs and bison freely roam and graze on grass, but are fenced out of wetlands, forest, and a riparian area along the Chilcotin River. Cows love dust so bare areas are mulched or fenced if necessary. Even the rock piles are fenced from livestock in order to maintain snake and bird habitat. Felix’s philosophy about weeds? “Weeds are a symptom of severe cause – weeds come in when preferable grass cannot grow. Graze less and healthy grass will come in to displace the weeds.”
During the last ten years, the Schellenbergs have attended seminars, conferences and schools all over North America to learn about low stress animal handling, cell grazing, precise mineral supplementation, mineral-water-energy cycles, grazing vs. winter-feeding ruminants, drought planning, diversification and direct marketing.
They are planning to develop an on-farm-community as ‘home’ to their daughters, their families, and workers. Schellenbergs also offer yoga-and horsemanship retreats on the ranch.
