Green Tag Angus Sale : Mankota, SK

Red Coat Feeders : A Saskatchewan Success

Red Coat Feeders

Red Coat Feeders alleyway.

Kyle Switzer

Sandy Bar Ranch is also a member of “Prairie Heritage Beef.” The Prairie Heritage Beef producers are a group of 14 family ranches utilizing native and tame pastures and by-products from the grain industry that are unsuited for human consumption such as straw and screenings. They maintain verifiable animal identity from birth to fabrication for each and every animal. The animals are fed in their Prairie Heritage Beef Producers feedlot, Hagel Feeders, Swalwell, Alberta using a vegetarian diet of hay, alfalfa, barley silage and barley. Strict adherence is given to never using growth hormones, steroids, antibiotics and animal by-products. The animals are humanely slaughtered and processed in a federally inspected plant conforming to C.F.I.A. standards and receive third party independent certification by the Quality Starts Here program for verification of procedure and protocol. The resulting product is marketed in British Columbia through Thrifty Foods and recently in Ontario at Farm Boy outlets.

In 2000, Bob and Gail, along with three other producers, formed Salt Lake Cattle Feeders. Their aim is to feed customers’ calves sired by the bulls they sell. Feeding all breeds, they maintain records and data from weaning to slaughter. After slaughter, all data from the carcass is tabulated and maintained for future use in breeding and feeding plans. Bob says, “It has been a big learning curve for us. The cost of feeding, gain and carcass values are traits that most breeders do not look at or care about. It has shown us that anyone who uses single trait selection is bound for ruin. The first question the slaughter buyer asks is, ‘How many days on feed?’.” Frank Linthicum, a Fir Mountain rancher, runs in excess of 500 cows and has been using Hereford and Angus Bulls since 1944, said, “I don’t know anything about all those numbers on the pedigrees and what they mean but what has helped me the most is Red Coat and feeding my calves here. Following the calves by different sires, how they gain and yield, helps with bull selection and profitability.”

Family and family life is the largest part of the Switzer heritage. In 1988, they had the misfortune of losing Sandra, Bob’s first wife. In 1992, Bob married Gail Kornfeld from Val Marie. Her family operates a large commercial cow-calf herd and was honored by the Saskatchewan Angus Association as Commercial Producers of theYear in 2006.

The Switzers are blessed with four children who have been raised in a “cowboy way.” Beau, the oldest, runs the Valley Blossom operation at Lac Pelletier. Kyle attended Dickinson State in North Dakota on a rodeo scholarship and achieved an Agricultural degree. He has been a member of the CPRA, specializing in Saddle Bronc with numerous titles throughout his career. He works with his father-in-law in Big Valley, Alberta, and on November 30, 2007, he started his own company, Fine Line Locating. Jane graduated from the university of Saskatchewan with a Degree in Commerce and is a Human Resources Officer for Phoenix Industrial at Whitecourt, Alberta. The youngest, Bailee, is in her third year of University at Stephenville, Texas, on a rodeo scholarship, majoring in Animal Science and of course … rodeo.

Bob Switzer is President-elect of the CanadianAngusAssociation, has been a board member and President of the Saskatchewan Angus Association, a founding director and President of Red Coat Cattle Feeders, a member of the board of theMankota StockmansWeigh Company, on the Saskatchewan Stockgrowers and has been a member of the council of Auvernge Municipality. He has judged virtually every breed of beef animal in Canada, most of the breeds at Agribition including the First Lady Classic, Toronto Royal, Farmfair, Saskatoon, Lloydminster and the PNE. The judging experience he most remembers is the National Angus show in Ireland but you must ask Gail or Bob Prestage for the rest of the story.

Sandy Bar is a household name in the livestock industry. Their influence can be found throughout the world as Southern Lane and Sandy Bar have sold cattle to England, Ireland, Scotland, United States, New Zealand,Australia, Brazil, Chile, Demark, Russia and every Province in Canada except Newfoundland.Although they have not exhibited cattle in the recent decade, the progeny of Sandy Bar sires remain dominant and competitive throughout Canada’s major breeding establishments.