Birch Creek shows visitors where their food comes from

BARRHEAD – Birch Creek Farms opened its doors to visitors on Aug. 17 as part of Alberta Farm Days.

“We have been part of Farm Days for the past three years,” said Jacquie Hamoen, co-owner and host at the Birch Creek Farms.

“It’s important to learn where does your food come from and how is it raised.”

Birch Creek Farms is a bison livestock farm.

Fred, the bison calf, is one of the main attractions, and he is three months old.

“Bison mothers raise only one calf at a time, so when they have twins, they pick the strongest calf,” said Julia Aikema, a farm worker.

“The mother abandons the weaker of the two calves.”

Fred was the weaker of the two calves born to his mother and the Hamoens are raising him until he is two years old and then Fred will join the herd.

They have been bottle-feeding him and spending lots of time with him.

While Hamoen showed Fred to visitors providing information about bison and their calves, Fred sucked on her fingers.

A wagon ride into the field to see the bison herd allowed visitors to see bison up close.

The herd has both Plains Bison and Wood Bison. The Woods Bison are the largest of the two types of bison.

In the Hamoens herd, the largest bison is 2,700 pounds.

The bull is nine years old, and the cows range from five to 13 years old.

An average cow weighs 1,500 pounds.

Hamoen explained that bulls can be as wide as four feet across their face.

The vet visits the herd yearly to ensure all the bison are healthy.

The Hamoens got into bison farming because of their health challenges and have found marked improvements in their health by eating bison meat. The family raised hogs prior to switching to bison.

Visitors saw fur products and how the farm produces its meat products.

Hamoen is certified for food production and inspectors are on sight to inspect the meat products on a regular basis.

Bison meat is low-fat, lean meat that is high in Omega-3 oils.

There is a store onsite at the Birch Creek Farm where you can buy meat products, and you can see the Birch Creek Farm products regularly at farmers' markets.

There was a hot lunch of bison products available at the event, selling bison burgers and hot dogs for anyone who wanted to give bison meat a try, and it was delicious.