Bison Producers' Panel

Stew is a partner in MFL Bison Ranch Ltd. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1992, getting a degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1996 and earning his pilot wings in 1999. He served as a military helicopter pilot in the RAF and the Canadian Forces until March 2017. In 2018 he attended Holistic Management with Roland Kroos at Durham Ranch in Wyoming and the Ranching for Profit Business school with RMC in Harrisburg, PA in January 2021. He attended RFP again as an alumni in Saskatoon earlier this year. MFL Bison Ranch Ltd has a pure Plains bison herd running a cow/calf enterprise, heifer backgrounding and finishing enterprises, a bred heifer enterprise and a breeding bull enterprise. MFL has been taking steps toward restoring soil health since 2016 and will be fully AMP grazed for the 2025 season.

Bruce along with wife Avis, son Brock & daughter Britney operate two family farms raising over 300 plains bison, elk, and registered Black Angus cattle; along with grain and forage enterprises. He previously worked for Alberta Agriculture as a district agriculturalist then as a provincial game farm specialist after obtaining his graduate degree in Animal Science from the University of Alberta in 1993 specializing in Wildlife Productivity. A real numbers guy, Bruce has authored many industry periodical articles and helped coauthor 3 versions of the Elk Farming Handbook and has done over 140 industry presentations throughout Canada, the US, New Zealand, Korea, & Taiwan on the diversified livestock industry.

Bruce's current goal of “Finishing on Farm” focuses on finishing superior plains bison genetics on pasture (with supplemental brown oats) and having them reach slaughter weights by 19 months!

I run Sunset Bison Ranch with my wife Becky and two daughters. We run a small cow/calf operation and have been finishing our heifers for a couple of years, with the intent of having part of the herd that we can disperse in times of drought and allows us to have some control of the value of our females. Concentrating on improving our land base allows us to keep our overheads low and is giving us a more resilient landscape over time, which should increase our bottom line and ensure a better future on the farm for years to come.

I am a fourth-generation rancher and second-generation bison producer, dedicated to preserving and advancing our family’s agricultural legacy. Alongside my parents, David and Lori, and my wife Laura and daughter Sophie, We manage Sugar Hill Ranch, which encompasses a 130-head cow/calf and finishing operation in addition to our grain farming activities. Our passion for raising bison is driven by their natural resilience to the environment, and we are committed to integrating bison into our operations to enhance soil health and foster synergies across our agricultural operations.

In addition to our ranching endeavors, I work with Federated Co-op Limited, where I focus on agronomy and support farmers across Western Canada. I am honored to be a part of the producer panel, and look forward to discussing and promoting the bison industry.