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The Land


Before there were cattle in Western Canada, huge herds of bison roamed the West. Bison, like many grazing wildlife, traveled in close bunches as protection against predators. As it grazed, the herd would crop the grass short before moving on to another section of the prairie. The short-cropped grass would soon recover, growing back just as thick and lush until the next passing bison herd, or possibly a prairie fire, cut it back once more.

Canadian grasslands evolved under this cycle of growth and cutting back, and to this day native grasslands do best when they are periodically cut back. If allowed to overgrow, tall dead grass can choke out some plant species leading to loss of biodiversity. Now that there are no large herds of bison, controlled cattle grazing is helping keep Canada's grasslands healthy.

Grasslands are found mostly in the West, and so are the majority of Canada's cow-calf herds. Approximately 68 per cent of Canadian beef cows are located in the western provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan contains close to 51 per cent of the Canadian Prairie.

Across Canada, about 68 million hectares of land is classified as "agricultural land". Of that agricultural land, about 24 per cent is native grassland that has never been cultivated. Another six per cent is tame (cultivated) pasture land. Most of the grassland is not suitable (too sandy, rocky or uneven) for growing crops - through cattle grazing, it can still produce food for people.

Grasslands Prevent Soil Erosion
Erosion is the removal of surface soil by a force of nature, such as wind or run-off from rain storms. Erosion is a serious threat to food production around the world. When fertile topsoil is eroded, the underlying hardpan that's left behind can't support plant growth.

The interconnected root systems of unbroken grasslands help anchor topsoil against wind and water erosion. Croplands that are vulnerable to erosion are often seeded to grass and turned into pastures for cattle. While the type of grass that's seeded is often tame grass specifically developed for pasture, there is a growing interest in marketing native grass seed for reclaiming both cropland and land that has been disturbed by other industries, such as oil and gas production.

Seeding land to grass for pasture has been an important soil conservation tool in Canada for over 70 years. In 1935 the Government of Canada formed the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) in response to widespread drought, farm abandonment and land degradation of the 1930s. A key approach of the PFRA to land reclamation was reseeding prairie that had been broken then abandoned by homesteaders back to grass. Today the PFRA is still actively maintaining and enhancing the productive capacity of soils and agricultural lands for future generations, and manages 915,000 hectares of rangeland within 87 community pastures in Western Canada. The PFRA works with cattle farmers and ranchers to provide the necessary grazing treatment to conserve native prairie.

Manure Management
Manure is an important source of nutrients for growing plants. Manure deposited on pasture and rangelands by grazing cattle decomposes naturally and acts as a fertilizer for the growing plants. Cattle eat the grass and their manure fertilizes the grass - a perfect cycle.