The Pasture has been operated by the Ochapowace Nation for over thirty years. It has a wide variety of grasses and woodlands that accommodates cattle as well as horses. On average the pasture provides summer grazing for 2500 head of livestock, utilizing approximately 19000 acres of land. The grazing season generally starts in June and ends in late September, early October. The Pasture continues to improve its land utilization by adding more cross-fences, dugouts, and implementing them with a rotational grazing system ensuring the land’s sustainability. The company employs two full time seasonal employees and numerous casual workers throughout the season. Recently the pasture has joined the livestock industry by purchasing their own livestock consisting of cattle and bison. The company goal is to become a reputable producer in the livestock industry, and have our pasture lands utilized by our own livestock herds.
The Pasture dept. currently has over 140 miles of fence lines to maintain, which some of these were built over 25+ years ago and will need to be replaced soon. There are some paddocks that could use more cross fences to create smaller paddocks. This would help to better manage grazing in certain areas. Band Livestock
The cattle herd is 121 head with 35 new calves. The bison herd is 60 head with 13 new calves. There were approximately 760 000 lbs (630 bales) of feed used by the band livestock. We began providing feed for the livestock in the last week of October and was made to last till the end of March. Bale feeders were used on the cattle for the majority of the winter to minimize waste. The bison wasted a lot of feed as bale feeders were not used. The Band will need to purchase Bison handling equipment. The bison will need more grazing area for next summer and fall as the herd is out growing their current pasture.