Manitoba family finalist for cattle producers environmental award

A family in western Manitoba is one of seven finalists for a national environmental award honouring beef cattle producers.

Connor and Kyla English, alongside Connor’s parents, Brian and Leanne English, are nominated for the Canadian Cattle Association’s Environmental Stewardship Award. The 30-year-old award is presented to beef farmers and ranchers who explore innovative ways to protect, preserve and enhance their operations and the environment simultaneously.

This year’s recipient will be announced on Wednesday during a banquet at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference in Winnipeg.

The English family’s roots near Bradwardine — about 265 kilometres west of Winnipeg — date back to 1898. Today, Connor, Kyla, Brian and Leanne manage a herd of about 320 breeding cows on nearly 445 hectares (1,100 acres) of owned and rented pasture and forage land.

Their success is rooted in a grazing system designed to improve soil health, protect water, support biodiversity and build resilience, Connor English said. In his view, protecting the environment is just as important as making a profit.

“It’s so important as we continue to grow that we’re not just making positive economic decisions, but that we’re coupling that with ecological decisions to make prosperous businesses for generations to come,” he said.

The family employs a “total grazing” approach that involves moving cattle frequently through small paddocks to give grasses time to recover while maximizing forage production.

Pastures are managed as three distinct zones: productive grazing areas, buffer zones that act as drought protection in dry years or for potential to increase animal numbers in wet years, and stockpiled forage, generally used the next spring through to calving.

They’re also intentional about water management. Cattle are fenced out of the three creeks that cross the property to protect sensitive riparian areas. Water is pumped through underground pipelines to troughs and a winter watering system keeps water flowing throughout the province’s coldest months.

The English family shares what they’ve learned and how they approach farming with school groups, neighbours and international visitors who tour the operation to see regenerative grazing in action.

Being nominated for the stewardship award feels good, Connor said.

“I’m very lucky to be speaking with (some of the past recipients of this award in Manitoba) on a regular basis and I look up to them,” he said. “We’re always trying to work with Mother Nature.”

The Canadian Cattle Association has presented its Environmental Stewardship Award annually since 1996, said Mitchell Zoratti, environment and climate change manager.

The Canadian beef industry has set an ambitious suite of goals in response to climate change, including reducing primary production greenhouse gas emissions by 33 per cent by 2030 and reducing food loss and waste by 50 per cent from secondary processing to consumer.

“We believe we have a really amazing story to tell in the beef industry (about) water and soil and biodiversity and carbon sequestration,” Zoratti said. “(The award) is just a platform that we can use to share some of those stories.”

The award was last presented to a Manitoba farming operation in 2018 when the Harper family of Circle H Farms near Brandon were named the winners.

The Canadian Beef Industry Conference will bring together producers, industry leaders, government officials and researchers from across the country. The three-day, biennial event starts on Tuesday at the RBC Convention Centre.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca