Wheatland County family honoured with BMO Farm Family Award

Miriam Ostermann, 
Strathmore Times

Farming is more than just a lifestyle passed down through generations for Randy and Wendy Kaiser and their family; it’s a passion.
It was that commitment to agriculture and an innovative approach to growing their mixed farm just north of Hussar that attracted the attention of the Calgary Stampede and BMO Bank of Montreal, which awarded them with the 2017 BMO Family Award for Wheatland County this year.
“The BMO Farm Family Awards highlight the leading business and environmental practices of Alberta farmers and ranchers, said Susan Brown, senior vice president for Alberta and Northwest Territories Division, BMO Bank of Montreal.
“We’re incredibly pleased to recognize the leadership of these families in the agriculture sector – especially as we mark our bicentennial year – and their unmatched support of western tradition and the Alberta economy.”
Kaiser Charolais Farms came into existence in the 1940s when George Kaiser purchased the land in the Duck Lake area, where together with his wife Mary, he raised five kids. Shortly after his passing in 2003, his son Randy and wife Wendy called the farm home, expanded the operation, and continued the tradition by raising their three children on the farm.
The farming operation that now stretches across 2,200 acres is seeded to grass and alfalfa, and hayed every year, while a herd of award-winning cows make use of the space in the summer. The family uses no-till for their canola, wheat, barley and green feed rotation, and rents out an additional two pastures. Despite raising only purebred Charolais bulls – large white beef cattle – for their own use, the Kaisers did show and sell bulls in Highwood, Lethbridge and Calgary in the past. The Hussar 4-H club also selected numerous grand champion steers from the herd, that this year calved 160 cows to their Charolais bulls.
However, the farming operation is about family participation. During busy season, family members, neighbours and friends come together, despite full time jobs and other commitments, and dedicate their time to branding, vaccinating, tagging, cleaning pens, baling and working on equipment.
“For a family farm to survive anymore is becoming rare and we are very community minded and community involved,” said Wendy Kaiser. “It’s an honour and a privilege to be nominated and to receive this award is something very special for us. It recognizes what you’re doing and what you’re doing is important.”
But it wasn’t just their farm that caught the eye of the Calgary Stampede and made them one of 19 southern Alberta families to receive the award on July 10.
Randy and Wendy both served on numerous boards in the Hussar community, including the Alberta Charolais Association, the Hussar Fire Association, Waters of Wheatland, Hussar Ag Society, curling club and skating club, Home and School Association, and the Hussar Crisis Society to name only a few.
“We are trying to keep our community alive,” she said. “That’s how we were brought up and that’s how we’re raising our kids too. You have to volunteer to keep the community alive.”
George Kaiser’s son Herb also served as the director of the telephone system, was involved in the Hussar Lutheran Church council, Sundowner’s Senior Centre and is a 4-H beef leader, while Mary Kaiser was active in TOPS, Ladies Guild, Ladies of Unifarm and the Hussar Historical Society.
“The Calgary Stampede is grounded in western heritage and we are proud to help celebrate the achievements of these farm families,” said David Sibbald, president and chairman of the board at the Calgary Stampede. “The award recipients are not only showcasing traditional western values, but also driving the agriculture industry forward.”
On July 10, the winning families attended an award ceremony and brunch, and received a photograph session, a personalized farm gate sign and were treated to the afternoon Stampede rodeo.