Prairie Land & Cattle

About Prairie Land & Cattle

Prairie Land & Cattle Company’s Grass Fed Beef program started in 2011 and was developed by Ben Stuart in partnership with the Drever Family of Hardisty, Alberta.

Ben originated from New Zealand, moving to Canada in 2008. He has a deeply-“rooted” passion for Grass Fed Beef and Regenerative Agriculture, not only because of the high quality of beef produced by a well-managed Grass Finished system but even more importantly, the benefits it has for the soil, the land, the environment, the animals and our own health and well-being.

Ben along with his wife Sian and their two young children Ava and Sullivan, now work together with the team at Hardisty, along with their new venture where they have expanded their Grass Fed Regenerative program to a second location NE of Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Here, they are looking to expand their Grass Fed beef production and apply the same soil building techniques they have successfully developed and used in Alberta.

Much of the land at the new site has been under conventional crop management, some for over 100 years.

It’s exciting to be able to get livestock back on that land and see the benefits we can create.  — Ben

Winter is a challenging time to feed cattle in Alberta.

Harsh weather conditions usually mean cattle end up in feedlots, but not here! This is a time where the team grows another diverse crop, then lay it on the ground in rows. The cattle dig through the snow to find where the rows of feed are and they do a great job. It truly is amazing what cows can do!

Throughout the last 12 years of building the Canadian Grass Finished Beef model, Ben has been focused on developing a resilient farm production system, designed to handle the market challenges and climate extremes that come with Canadian Beef ranching – All while enhancing the environment, storing carbon and building soil. In order to achieve this, he has taken a whole-farm systems approach and joining both the cropping and cattle systems to have a fully integrated program.