About Us
In 2018, J.C. (Jack) Anderson and his daughter Wynne Chisholm (the W and A of the ranch name) generously gifted the University of Calgary their family ranch near Cochrane, Alberta. Their transformative gift, W .A. Ranches at the University of Calgary, continues to be a working cow-calf ranch with a land base of 19,000 acres for cattle, farmland for feed production, and wildlife habitat. The ranch has three main sites with associated facilities to support ranching, research, teaching, and outreach activities, as well as land west of the main sites that is leased from the Alberta Government for seasonal grazing purposes. Our herd is composed of approximately 900 Angus-based mother cows, 60+ bulls, and an assortment of staff and ranch-owned horses used for ranch work. The herd is typically managed to calve in mid to late spring, natural breeding over the summer, and late fall weaning.
Strategic Priorities
The strategic priorities of the ranch are:
Fostering
Fostering an empowered and connected community of scholarship, research and service.
Expanding and Integrating
Expanding and Integrating our global community through One Health, Indigenous engagement and internationalization.
Strengthening
Strengthening our clinical and diagnostic community.
Enhancing
Enhancing the learning experience of our postgraduate trainees.
Long-Range Development Plan
The Long-Range Development Plan (LRDP) is the result of 2 years of extensive community collaboration. It sets overarching guidelines and parameters to ensure W.A. Ranches develops in a holistic manner, responds to changing needs, and engages the communities UCalgary and UCVM both serve and lead. It provides a framework to support the vision of research, education, and community outreach.
The Team
The operation of the ranch and associated activities is due to the support of the W.A. Ranches community. This includes a group of dedicated staff members:
Dr Ed Pajor
Director of W.A. Ranches
Shane Royal
Senior Director of Ancillary Services
Jonny Bennett
Ranch Manager
Jonny started working on a dairy farm at age 9, loved working with cattle and being outdoors, so eventually headed west and started in ranching. He most enjoys calving through weaning, and the outside-of-the-box thinking at W.A. Ranches. Jonny takes pride in being reliable under any situation.
Heidi Bennett
Cow Boss and Activity Coordinator
Heidi got into ranching keeping cows on the trail with her trusty pony at her family ranch in the mountains of B.C. She enjoys the unique adventure each season brings throughout the year, especially being able to keep cows happy and healthy. W.A. Ranches is extra special due to the challenge of research, visitors, and students on top of the tasks of running a ranch. Heidi takes pride in bringing positivity and patience to work everyday, and appreciates research that supports fellow cattlemen and the industry.
Ryan French
Ranch Hand
Ryan grew up in ranching, looking after cows and helping with day to day activities at a large ranch. He enjoys seeing the newborns take their first steps during the calving season and being a part of progressive research and agriculture at W.A. Ranches. The ability to blend horsemanship and stockmanship to ensure health and welfare of livestock is a source of pride for Ryan.
Markus Brauns
Ranch Hand
Markus grew up on his family farm in Germany, getting into ranching as a teenager on a family ranch in B.C. He appreciates the challenge and reward of the calving season. Participating in animal welfare research makes W.A. special to Markus, who takes pride in stockmanship and continually learning about low stress cattle handling.
Heather Mitchell-Matheson - Community Engagement and Outreach Coordinator
Originally from Calgary, Heather grew up riding horses from a very early age, following that passion she graduated with a B.Sc. in Equine Studies from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana in 2006. After working in many facets of the horse sector in Canada and the United States, in 2008 she shifted focus to equine industry development and education in Alberta. In 2013 she developed an affinity for research work and has been involved in large animal In Vivo field trials and veterinary contract research projects ever since. Areas of interest include livestock welfare initiatives ranging from pain mitigation, husbandry practices, behavior, traceability, antimicrobial resistance and disease surveillance. Wanting to expand her horizons, Heather joined UCVM as a Necropsy Technician for the Diagnostic Services Unit (DSU) in fall 2020. Yearning to be more involved in connecting with the next generation of animal professionals, Heather pivoted to be the Community Engagement and Outreach Coordinator in June 2023.