NEAR ANOLA — Calving season is a harbinger of spring at the Edie Creek Angus ranch, where 220 cows and heifers mosey about in a pasture dedicated to the mothers-to-be.
New calves scamper across the field, hind legs kicking playfully and tails swinging. In the distance, stands of budding aspen glow almost neon green in the early morning sun.
Third-generation ranchers Jonathan and Stefan Bouw head the operation, raising grass-fed cattle built to thrive on the Manitoba prairie.
Stefan Bouw drives through a pasture to check for any calves born overnight. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)
Since switching from winter to spring calving in 2015 (and by breeding for animals that give birth more easily and mother well), their calving season is less intense. Twice a day, they drive an older-model Jeep Cherokee or a quad vehicle around the pasture to check on the herd, stopping to weigh, tag and provide a vitamin and mineral shot to any new additions.
That doesn’t mean it’s all smooth sailing — as with any ranch, there’s always the unexpected. This spring, they’ve already had almost as many sets of twins as they had all last year, which means Stefan’s son, eight-year-old Micah, has a new responsibility. Since one cow didn’t have an adequate milk supply for both of her twins, Micah bottle-feeds a calf (now christened Bryce) three times a day.
Just like his dad, grandfather and great-grandfather before him, Micah is now taking care of cattle on a parcel of land where the family first put down roots nearly 65 years ago.
Jonathan Bouw checks on the status of the herd. More than 200 new calves are expected to be born this spring at the ranch. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)The birthing sac begins to expel. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)Calves play in the calving pasture. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)Calves play in the calving pasture. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)Jonathan (left) and Stefan Bouw watch as the cows and heifers feed. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)Stefan Bouw delivers a bale to a holding pen. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)Stefan Bouw checks on one of the twin calves in a pen with its mother. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)Jonathan Bouw draws selenium and Vitamin E, which is injected into new calves. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)Jonathan Bouw weighs a newborn calf. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)Motherly instincts kick in shortly after her calf is born. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)Micah, 8, and Alexa Bouw, 11, prepare powdered-milk formula for a bottle-fed calf. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)Micah and Alexa bottle-feed Bryce, a twin, because the birthing cow couldn’t produce an adequate supply of milk for both calves. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)Jonathan Bouw gives one of the ranch‘s bulls a friendly scratch. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)The ranch also sells breeding bulls. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)Jonathan Bouw works on a farm truck. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)Jonathan Bouw and his family pile into the Jeep to drop off a couple of square bales in the calving pasture. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)From left: Lucie, 12, Kian, 7, and Karis Bouw, 9, play in the hay bales. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)From left: Lukas, 7, Karis, 9, Jonathan and Kian Bouw, 7, play with Bryce, the bottle-fed calf. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)
Mikaela MacKenzie Photojournalist
Mikaela MacKenzie loves meeting people, experiencing new things, and learning something every day. That’s what drove her to pursue a career as a visual journalist — photographers get a hands-on, boots-on-the-ground look at the world.
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