Grass-Fed Yak-Cross Beef

 

We presently have several yak-cross animals which have been strictly grass-fed and are ready for slaughter. If you are interested, please contact us at eat_more_yak@yahoo.ca to book your order now!

 



The Hobbit

Did you know that 450 miles of yak hair was used in filming "The Hobbit", playing in movie theatres right now?

You can watch some behind-the-scenes footage at the following link (watch for the yak hair mention starting at about 9:01):

http://www.youtube.com/embed/cTUQi8HBlg4

Springridge Ranch has yak tail hair for sale. For more information, click here.

The South End Of North Bound Yak-Cross Cows & Calves

Farm Fresh On Shaw TV Lethbridge

Shaw TV Lethbridge is in the middle of filming a new series called "Farm Fresh". Today, they came out to Springridge Ranch to interview us for one of the segments. What a great crew who instantly put us at ease.

 

Farm Fresh is scheduled to air this fall and anyone who has Shaw TV in the Lethbridge-Medicine Hat region will be able to view it. At some point, it may be available on their website as well. Stay tuned and we'll let you know the broadcast date(s)!

Heading For Greener Pastures

It was time to move a batch of cows to a new pasture.

What could be better on a beautiful day than to ride with your neighbours

and get some work done at the same time?

 

 

The gather...

 

 

The herd rushes for the gate...

 

 

...and heads down the road

 

 

...to much anticipated greener pastures!

Yak-Cross Beef Steaks

Yak-cross beef t-bone steaks on the grill for supper tonight!

Barn Raising

A few years ago, we moved to a new yard and began a building project, a combination barn/shop with some corrals. Believe me, this is no small task. It can be difficult to find the time to work on a development like this in between the regular farm chores: feeding, calving, moving yaks and cattle to fresh pastures in the summer, marketing and selling our yak-cross beef, haying, etc. There just aren't enough hours in a day, week, month or year! Therefore, it has turned into a multi-year project.

Here are a series of photos of the progress so far.

Preparing the area:

The footings are poured:

The pony wall is built of styrofoam blocks and filled with concrete:

The walls are framed and ready to set in place:

The walls are up!

Another angle:

The pile of trusses:

At this point, I missed taking a whole series of photos,

so here is the building with the roof and tin on:

Another angle:

The overhead doors are installed:

So far, we've just been using this building for storage and parking, but the next steps are to complete the inside, half with insulation and sheeting for the shop side, and turn the other half into a barn. Watch in the coming weeks, months (but hopefully not years!) as we continue to finish the inside of this building as well as build corrals so we can handle our yaks and cattle closer to home.

Good Old Number 5

At 16 years of age, she's still going strong. Here's her 2012 baby!

Click here to read a bit about her and see some photos of past babies.

Slow Cooker Yak-Cross Beef Stew

2 lb. Springridge Ranch yak-cross beef round steak, cubed

Mix together:

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp paprika

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the meat and toss to coat

Add 1-1/2 cups beef broth

1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp minced garlic

3 medium potatoes, cubed

4 carrots, sliced

1/2 onion, chopped

1 stalk of celery, diced

Mix it all together:

Cook for 4-6 hours on low.
Enjoy!

Yak Burgers at Farmer's Market

C'mon down to the Pincher Creek Pioneer Market
this Friday, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm for some yak burgers, hot off the grill!
These patties have no fillers, they're straight yak meat.

Watch this space in the future to see what else we'll be cookin' up!

2012 Farmer's Market

You can find Springridge Ranch Yak-Cross Beef at the
Pincher Creek Pioneer Market
starting tomorrow and most Fridays throughout summer from 
11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the
Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village

See you there!

Blackjack

Remember Number 21?

As he's been growing, one of his horns took a south turn.

Recently, it started to look as though it could grow right into the side of his jaw.

It was hard to see with all the hair in the way what was going on so we put him in the handling chute to take a closer look. The horn is growing underneath his jaw so we don't have to trim it.

Not only does this guy have a unique color, now he has a unique headpiece.

Happy First Birthday Duke!

Looking at a litter of pups, it's really hard to figure out which one will
grow up to become a good working dog.

Five weeks

Duke came from a litter of seven, four were male and three were female.
We knew we wanted a male, so that helped us narrow it down.

Eight weeks

But still, how do you know which one will be good with cattle?

Thirteen weeks

One was obviously shy right off the bat and wouldn't even come out of the barn to socialize with the rest of the pups.

Four months

The other three males were pretty even when it came to their personality,

but Duke was the only tri-coloured male.

However, you can't judge a dog on looks alone.

Six months

Duke was the first one to come up to his new master, stay and socialize with him. As this dog would be spending most of his time with him, it was important that the two of them got along. So far, our choice seems to have worked out.

One year old!

Duke is turning into quite the handy "cattle-yak" dog. He has a lot of natural instinct and is very effective, but not too aggressive, when moving the yak and cattle. Some of the yaks are pretty snorty when he's around and he handles it like a gentleman. It's hard to believe he's only one year old as he seems like an older, level-headed dog already!  

P.S. He'll be getting a special birthday treat tonight :-)

More Calving Photos

The Faces Of Our Food Directory

Springridge Ranch is excited to be part of "The Faces Of Our Food",

a free directory published by Slow Food Southern Alberta.

 

You can read our profile on Page 29!

Calving

Calving started with a bang on April 20 when three heifers calved!

 Here are a couple of shots of some of the new babies.

I haven't been packing my camera around as much this year, but will try to share more photos as the season progresses.

Ryan's Meats

We are very excited to announce that Springridge Ranch Yak-Cross Beef is now available at Ryan's Meats in Calgary! They are located at #14, 1916-30 Avenue N.E. and they are open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm and on Saturday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. See Noel or Bruce to assist you with your Springridge Ranch Yak-Cross Beef needs!

Horizon Meats

We regret to announce that we will no longer be supplying Horizon Meats in Calgary with our yak-cross beef product due to the closing of their store. We want to thank Horizon Meats for their years of patronage.

Watch this space for an exciting announcement about a new location in Calgary where you can buy Springridge Ranch Yak-Cross Beef!

Horned Yak Skulls

Another happy customer recently purchased these two yak skulls from us:

If you're interested in buying one or more horned yak skulls,

click here for information on sizes and prices.

Springridge Ranch Yak-Cross Beef Menu Items At Vimy's Lounge And Grill

We recently took the short drive out to Waterton Lakes National Park 

to sample some of our own yak-cross beef, skillfully prepared and served at

Vimy's Lounge and Grill. 

We sampled all three of the current yak items on the menu.

Yak Cross Beef Dip served on a pretzel bread bun with au jus for dipping

and your choice of fries, salad or soup:

Yak Meat Balls (Appetizer Size)

served with Madeira sauce and creme fraiche with garlic bread:

The special of the day was

Yak Meat Balls with Pasta in a Marinara Sauce with garlic bread:

It's hard not to be biased, but these dishes were absolutely scrumptious!

If you're looking for stunning scenery, a quiet place to unwind

and some fabulous food, we highly recommend Vimy's Lounge and Grill.