About our Livestock

Here at Fossil Ridge Farms we raise several different kinds of livestock. Mainly we raise beef cattle, meat goats, pigs and some poultry. All of our animals are raised with one purpose in mind and that is to provide food in the short and long term. Our breeding standards and philosophy are the same for all these animals.

• Sound Structure (topline, legs, feet etc.)

• Efficiency on forage based diet / pasture

• Mothering & Fertility

• Hardiness & Vigour

• Parasite Resistance

• Meat Quality

• Docility

All of these combined points come together to create an animal that not only produces the most nutritious meat but also excels at it while being outside raised on pasture. We use a minimal input system to bring forth an animal’s true genetic potential rather than overfeeding with expensive supplements and grain to make them “look better”. We have found over the years of breeding that a lot of big names will feed extravagantly to either hide genetic flaws under a layer of fat and/or get unrealistic growth numbers on their stock (that would not be achievable through normal practices for the average farmer in real world circumstances). To us this never made sense and it is why we value our grass-fed & pasture raised approach to raising our animals and breeding selection. We let their genetics do the talking for us.

When we talk about a minimal input system, I refer to a way of raising animals that was similar in the development in the Kiko and Kokinui breeds. When I was in college I had the pleasure of having the oppertunity to speak with Garrick Batten about development of the breed and the philosophy behind it. Essentially by eliminating those that need our “help” - animals that require extra work from us such as frequent hoof trimming or helping kid/calves suckle (because of poor udders), etc. - and mimicking nature (survival of the fittest) we only retain the most fit animals to contribute to the gene pool. By removing the low performers you are raising the bar for each subsequent generation and increasing the value and efficiency of your herd.

All that is easier said than done - so how do we know we are raising the best animals we can? Well the proof is in the pudding as they say - we work with these animals each and every day. We see how they grow, how they interact with others and their environment. We also take concrete measurements of our animals such as physically weighing them as they grow. We evaluate their body condition scores, FAMACHA scores and check fecal samples to gauge parasite loads. We have classifiers that come to our farm and judge our animals. We assess every aspect of each individual breeding animal to ensure that each new generation is taking a step in the right direction. This however also means that we cannot be afraid to cull. As a meat producing farm any animal that doesn’t perform to our ever-evolving specifications is removed from the breeding prospects list and will eventually feed a family - that is after all the greater purpose of raising livestock. By doing so we ensure only the most outstanding individuals are kept for breeding.

So what breeds do we raise?

Fullblood Limousin I was originally drawn to Charolais as that’s what we had, however after some researching I fell in love with the Fullblood Limousin. This breed is not only very feed efficient, but they are also known as the carcass breed - having the best yielding carcass of all breeds - meaning more edible meat per animal and less wastage (non-edible byproduct). In addition the majority (96%+) of Fullblood Limousins (and roughly 60% of purebreds) boast an amazing gene called F94L which is a myostatin inhibitor unique to the Limousin breed. Long science short - having the F94L gene allows their muscles to grow bigger and more tender compared to non-carriers (even more delicious meat) on less feed! Best of all; unlike other myostatin inhibitor genes found in other breeds such as the Piedmontese, Belgian Blue and Charolais that only increase muscle size - this gene does not have the negative effects associated with those other genes such as calving difficulties, lowered fertility and lowered longevity. Free from these negative effects our cows can easily breed and calve without intervention and can therefore stay in our herd for a very long time as well. What more could a herdsperson want for their cattle?

Boer Meat Goats When I first looked into raising goats I was initially looking into getting Kiko goats - after all the whole philosophy behind the breed is what sparked me to raise livestock the way I do now. However getting my hands on good foundation stock proved to be almost impossible. Therefore after further research I decided to start my goat venture with Boer Goats. Originally developed in South Africa by Dutch farmers in the early 1920s this relatively new breed (officially less than 70 years old) is considered the most productive meat goat breed in the world. Known world over for their carcass quality, size, stockiness and growth. The breed itself isn’t the end all solution for what I was looking for (they were developed in an arid hot climate after all... it doesn’t exactly scream Canada). However, I’ve been very happy with the foundation stock I started with as their breeder shared the same production based selection values as myself. I raise both a handful of Full bloods (100%, all ancestors can be traced back to Africa) and Canadian Purebred (94-99%, meaning some cross-breeding with other breeds was done in the past). We continue to select for Boers that are the most productive in our minimum input system and as well as our Canadian climate. We are also not agains’t doing some selective outcrossing for the longterm improvement of our Boer herd. As with our other ruminants the Boers are raised on a grass-fed and minimal input system.

Pigs: Berkshire / Tamworth cross I’ve raised quite a few batches of pigs over the years before deciding to breed our own. I’ve raised everything from Kunekunes to commercial pink pigs. Each breed has their own pros and cons. However with experience I landed on two breeds that I particularly liked: Berkshire and Tamworth. These two heritage breeds are both on the slower growing side, however they both have unique meat qualities to make up for that. Our focus is of course quality over quantity. The Berkshires are well known for their beautifully marbled meat. On the other hand the Tamworth is known for their very flavourful darker red meat. Crossing the two creates pork that is well marbled and very flavourful! Not only that but the pigs themselves are quite a delight to work with as well. I’m very happy to finally be breeding my own pigs so we can now call ourselves a “Farrow to Finish” operation.

Poultry I’ve had chickens probably longer than any other livestock on our farm. I’ve had them as a small child and again when I was a teenager. The best thing with chickens is they are such easy keepers. We are currently working on developing our own chicken “breed”. We are several generations into this project already and seeing good results. We are working to stabilize the genetics before we let them become available to the public.

Unfortunately due to the 2022 avian flu pandemic we decided to part with all of our birds other than our chickens. It was too risky to have the ducks, geese and turkeys around - especially since we have an abundance of wild ducks, geese and turkeys living around our farm. The risk was just too great that they would interact and potentially become infected with this (95%) fatal virus. We decided to let them go to protect the chickens we have worked so many years to create. We will continue to raise meat turkeys as we have in the past but will be outsourcing the poults from a different farm.