To be good stewards of the animals in our care

About Us

Rices Coulee Bison Ranch established in 2020

Pursuing our dream one step at a time and trusting God to lead us in our journey.

John was born in Olds and raised on the home quarter. He spent his childhood helping out on the farm with cattle and horses (mainly) as well as helping his dad with custom bailing. By the time he graduated high school he was ready for a life off the farm only to realize over recent years that full time farm life is what he really wants.

His dream of raising bison came to light over 10 years ago and we've been slowly working at realizing his dream ever since. It just so happened that his dad shared that same dream so it's been an added blessing to work together with his parents, Norm and Lynda Rice, on the ranch.

I (Jackie) was born in Calgary and raised in the city and later in the town of Olds. The thought of living a farm life sounded nice in theory as a child but I never expected to be experiencing said life myself. It's been a steady learning curve for me. I'm enjoying the process and am working at earning the 'farm-girl' badge.

Our first big step towards becoming a bison producer was in 2014 when we found a great deal on some used bison handling equipment that we couldn't pass up. At that point, we still had no idea how or even if we would ever own any animals ourselves but we took a step of faith, bought the equipment and got it back to the farm. There it sat for 5 years before our plans came together and we set it up in its permanent place in 2019 in preparation for animals of our own.

Also in 2014, a friend of ours had opportunity to meet a local bison producer who was willing to mentor people in raising bison and she gave us their contact information. This is how we first met Peter and Judy Haase of Buffalo Horn Ranch (www.buffalohornranch.ca) who invited us to tour their ranch and help them as they tagged and vaccinated their herd that fall. It was a fun experience and a great way to see what working with the animals was like.

A few years passed and John noticed Buffalo Horn Ranch was looking to downsize into a retirement phase. Raising Plains Bison was how he wanted to focus and he really liked their breeding program as well as the dark colouring of their animals. We decided this was our opportunity and so took another step of faith, contacted Buffalo Horn Ranch and were able to purchase a starter herd of 10 yearling heifers in the spring of 2020. In May, we picked up the heifers and moved them onto the home quarter at Rice's Coulee.

Since then, we've been able to purchase the remainder of the Buffalo Horn Ranch herd and continue to develop those bloodlines as well as rent some additional pasture space at their ranch so the animals haven't had to move locations. Peter and Judy continue to mentor us as we grow with our herds and establish our programs. We intend to continue to focus on raising pure bred Plains Bison with minimal, low stress handling. Their main feed supply is pasture grass in the summer/fall and quality hay for the winter/spring.

As we're still working at establishing our core breeding herd, we will continue to update our offerings as far as meat products, skulls, hides, breeding stock, etc. become more available. Please keep in contact with us or refer back to our site for updates over the next few years as our product availability grows. If you're looking for something specific, let us know and we will try to accommodate you. Also, consider joining our mailing list for updates through our newsletter.