Grazing on reclaimed land

SRA actively representing the farmers,expropriation was no longer necessary.

The price paid immediatelyescalated the land prices in the area.What farmers were paid for land washanded over to another farmerfarther away for land to replace it.“There was no land in the country toreplace what you lost when theproject started,” Donna adds. “Thefarm was down on acres for a few yearsbefore anything became available toreplace the land,” adds Ron.

The reclamation of the land was ahuge issue. Ken, as well as all otherfarmers in the area, did not wanttheir land to look like Roche Perceewhen the mining was complete. They wanted the land to be returnedto a farmable condition so the landwould not become a wasteland andeyesore to the community. Theylobbied until it was contractuallyagreed the topsoil would be strippedand saved, to be placed back on thetop layer of the leveled land for saleor lease back to the community. Itwas a hard fought battle that unitedthe community and, in retrospect,probably saved it.

Before the project, Elders hadseventeen quarters of land touchingquarter to quarter. When the diggingbegan, their entire home quarter wason the list of the first land to be used.When the SaskPower Corporation(SPC) sold the mining rights to adifferent company, the Minolta Coalleases were in the NE direction ofCoronach so SaskPower didn’t take

the yard. The first digging used a halfsection out of the middle of theirblock of land, which made theirtravel time to the rest of their landquite onerous.

SPC owns all of the land and hassold the mining rights to variouscompanies over the years. Privatecompanies cannot expropriate land,so this is the practise for obtainingland for the coal supply.

When the top soil was droppedfrom the bucket in the miningprocess, the house shook. It wassymbolic of how the communityshook with the changes beingimposed upon it.

Elders had about half of their landbase strip‐mined over the years andwere able to buy a section back forthe first time in 2006. “The reclaimedland is not the best for grain becauseof the dips and dives it now contains.It is good for cattle,” Ron states, “the

stripped top soil was put back, but itwasn’t always spread equally. Insome areas, it is pretty obvious.”“There are hills where there were nohills before,” Donna explains.

Some of the reclaimed land was sofirmly packed by the cats or buggiesor roads for the mining trucks thatpounding fence posts was nearimpossible. Elders had one half milesection of fence that they had to usethe water wand to try to make theholes. Thus some of the posts werenʹtset as deep as they would have liked.

Sink holes in the land are stillappearing. They can be a couple offeet wide by four feet deep.”The landwas reclaimed in the winter, so therewere big frozen lumps that never gotbroke up. After 30 years there are stillsome showing up. Dad broke thefront axle of a tractor once in one,”Ron shudders at the thought of howserious the accident could have been.

More recently, the SRA was able toget a First Right of Refusal agreementpassed. This was something the firstSRA could not get accomplished inthe early years of negotiation. Thisallows the families affected theopportunity to purchase land backthat has been in the family. “If youlost a family homestead, you shouldbe able to have the first chance atbuying it back,” says Michael.

Now reclaimed land prices go onassessment. Elders have bought fourquarters back and lease another tenand are back to their original landbase plus some. They crop eighteen

They wanted the land

to be returned to a

farmable condition so

the land would not

become a wasteland

and eyesore to

the community.

36 Charolais Banner • August 2014

continued on page 38

Michael and the cows

quarters, graze twenty‐four quartersand hay six quarters. “It used to be ayear to year tender on the leases. Itwas just impossible to doimprovements because you didn’tknow if you would have it the nextyear. Now five year leases areavailable, so you have incentive toinvest in land improvements sinceyou know it will be yours longenough to see a return on theinvestment,” Ron explains. “We paiddearly for the first time bid on thelease. But when it comes up forrenewal, it is at a renewal price,which makes it more reasonable.Now it is feasible to fence it and useit however we like.”

SPC still owns the land withdewatering wells. “The coal was fullof water, so they started pumping itoff. When the first pumping began,

our well was the first home well thatwent dry and the water negotiationsbegan,” Ron remembers. Elders hadexcellent quality water without anyfiltration system and an abundance ofit. After the well went dry, the SRAstarted negotiating and it was agreedthat SPC had the responsibility tomake sure the farm had a watersupply forever. “Grandpa foughthard for this,” states Michael.

“We had such good water, now wehave more water filtration equipmentin the basement than you canimagine. They have dug five or sixwells on Elder land to find asufficient supply. The current wellsupplying the farm is a half milesouth of the yard and is 130‐140 feetdeep,” says Ron.

“Now if we have water trouble,after checking the obvious things, we

call SPC and they have a contractorcome to investigate and repair anyproblems at the well,” Donna adds.

When the digging began, Ken wasfarming with four sons. During the1980s drought and the start of theSaskPower land purchases, there justwasn’t enough land base to supportall the families. Lloyd got a job at themine, Carl got a job at the powerplant and Floyd farmed with hisfather‐in‐law for a few years beforebuying a restaurant in Coronach. Ronstayed on the farm with Ken. Donnastarted with SPC in 1979 at the campoffice during construction of thesecond power plant. She transferredto the mine, then the plant, where shehas spent the majority of her 35 yearsof service. Judy worked as a labtechnician for fifteen years at theplant and is now an Electrician

Above: Reclaimed land and water - This photo shows the rolling hillsand ponds of the reclaimed land being used for pastureLeft: The rolling hills and water holes on the reclaimed land

38 Charolais Banner • August 2014

continued on page 40

Apprentice within the company. Thisis common with many families in thearea. There was employment forgood money close to home and itkept people in the area and kept thetown alive. Without it, Coronach andsurrounding towns would be next tonon‐existent. All in all, it has beengood for the area.

Elders had between fifty and sixtycommercial cows in the lateseventies. Now they are breeding320, half purebred and halfcommercial. The family operationnow consists of Mel (Ron’s Mom),Ron and Donna, Michael and Judyand their three children, Cassidi,Keanan and Klay.

They bought their first purebredsin 1991 and the KLR tattoo was born.It stands for Ken and his two sonsLloyd and Ron. They were lookingfor a Charolais bull and talked totheir neighbours, the Planz family,who were using Charolais bulls andwere pleased with the results. Theywere sent to Darneth Charolais tobuy a bull. During the conversation,they mentioned they were looking fora few more commercial cows. KenPlewis suggested they buy purebredsand they ended up with ninecow/calf pairs and ten bred heifers.

Michael had been working inAlberta and came home to help withharvest in 1999 and got a job in townat the machine shop for the winter. In2000, he leased some cows from Kenand Mel, his grandparents, and hasbeen a full‐time part of the operationever since. Ken died unexpectedly in2001, but Mel continues to beinvolved in the operation. She helpswith the food at the bull sales and isoften out checking on the newborn

There was employment

for good money close

to home and it kept

people in the area and

kept the town alive.

Top & Center: Roche Percee, where the land was never reclaimedBottom: Haying on reclaimed land, there were no hills here before the mining

continued on page 4240 Charolais Banner • August 2014

42 Charolais Banner • August 2014

calves or the crops. Her interest in theoperation has not wavered. If youstop in for coffee, you can bet thebaking on the table came from thehands of Grandma Mel.

Lloyd decided to keep only hiscommercial cows and sell hispurebreds to Ron and Donna in 2000.He is a strong supporter of the ElderCharolais Bull Sale each year.

After the commitment to start inthe purebred business, Elders boughtmany females across the countryfrom many sales. Those who sharedRon’s keen eye for quality cattledidn’t own them without payingwhat they were worth.

The first high profile bull theypurchased for their purebred cowswas A‐Jay’s Mercury 73D (HTAWhitehot 105A x NOR Mystique14X). He was a high performance bull

and produced some very powerfulcows in the herd. There are still a fewin the herd. He was the GrandChampion Bull at Ag‐Ex in Brandonin 1996, the Elder’s first appearanceon the show road. The success didn’tstop there. At the same show, theyalso had Grand Champion Female,with KLR Elder’s Diamond 701F, thefirst Mercury calf born on the ElderCharolais Farm.

Although the success of two GrandChampions has not been matchedagain, Elders have been verycompetitive on the show road. Theyhave bred and exhibited manywinners including Reserve Grand

Elder Charolais received the 2009 Saskatchewan Charolais Breeder of the Year Award

He was the Grand

Champion Bull at Ag-Ex

in Brandon in 1996, the

Elder’s first appearance

on the show road.

A-Jay’s Mercury 73D, Grand Champion Bull at Ag-Ex 1996 and Reserve Senior Champion at Agribition

KLR Elder’s Diamond 701F, Grand Champion Female at Ag-Ex 1996

continued on page 44

Champion female at CanadianWestern Agribition. Over the years,their cattle have always brought topprices at the sales too. You buy topend cattle, you sell top end cattle.

Over the years, they have ownedand used well‐known bulls likeSilverado, Kaboom, Wahkamo,Canyon and Playboy, to name a few.

This spring they held their 4thAnnual Bull Sale on the farm withgreat success. The sale has beenbuilding with many repeat customersand purebred breeders from acrossCanada and into the U.S.A. being onthe buyers’ list. They clean out theircalving barn and have a power pointsale the end of March, which hasworked very well for them.

They enjoy the show road andmeeting all of the people in theindustry. It has been a good way to

build the profile of their herd. “Wespent a lot of time getting really goodpictures of the cattle we offered forsale and it always paid off. BrentThiel came up to me at Agribitiononce and commented on the quality

of our pictures. A few days after thecatalogue goes in the mail, we alwaysget a call from Adolph Hollus in BC,”Ron and Donna state. The pictureshave been a key part in theirmarketing success.

In 2001, Michael showed his firstanimal. He had never participated in4‐H and was pretty leery about doingit. Donna just told him to go watchsome of the best in the ring and seewhat they do. He started in a jackpotclass where everybody was walkingthrough the cattle, so it wasn’t veryintimidating.

Now Michael and Judy’s childrenparticipate in 4‐H and Cassidi isattending her fourth CCYA.

This year Keanan’s steer weighed1280 lb. and was purchased byRocking W Machine Shop, ofCoronach for $4 at the regional showin Swift Current. Cassidi’s weighed

Poplar River Power Plant

Grants Playboy 3X, a main herdsire at Elder Charolais KLR 20Y - one of their typical two-year old females

The SCA Board of Directors elected Donna asPresident in 2013

44 Charolais Banner • August 2014continued on page 46