Day in the life

STORY BY LYNN HALEY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROTH AND RAMBERG

In the toughest of times, this ranching family is proof positive— Albertans are survivors.

You know what they say about corporate culture?  It defines the spirit of a company and it is the driving force that gets employees to perform everyday. In this company, the culture is a unique fusion of Wall Street and Bonanza.

No Starbucks here—the Chairman of the Board (a feisty 80 year old) brings home brewed coffee in a thermos for the senior strategy meeting that’s held each morning in the shop. On a typical day you’ll find the president wearing mud splattered jeans, the Chief Financial Officer covered head to toe in engine grease and the inventory mooing in the background.

Welcome to Woodwind Ranch—a large corporate farm that runs on hard work, solid family values and a brand of team spirit that would make professional sports franchises green with envy. And, it’s this spirit that is getting them through the toughest patch Alberta’s beef industry has ever seen.

Owned equally by brothers Dave and Ken Solverson, Woodwind is a corporate farm that includes 2000 head of cattle (from birth to finish) on 3000 acres of stunning land adjacent to the Battle River just west of Camrose and some leased parcels of grazing land in Athabasca and Peace River country.

In business terms, this is a big operation that runs with a lean management team, expensive inventory and a bundle of operating risks including everything from the weather to international trade issues.

FAMILY TIES

Farming is clearly in the gene pool. There’s a pure love of the land and for the animals who graze on it in every family member—from Dave’s wife Billi and their four daughters (each of whom is an accomplished show jumper), to Ken’s wife Laureen who does the farm’s accounting and their two daughters who raise pure bred Pomeranian puppies.

It stems from Dave and Ken’s parents—Bill and Mary Solverson, a delightful couple who radiate warmth, family pride and a work ethic that is second to none. Bill works everyday on the farm and gives himself a hard time if he needs to stop before 5:00 PM. Mary (who is in her late seventies) teaches fitness to seniors in town, maintains a garden that is simply stunning, and is clearly the apple of her grandkids’ eyes.

Dave knew he was destined for farming from the word go. “As a teenager, all my buddies were driving motorbikes after school to fool around,” he chuckles. “I got one so I could get home faster to see if I was missing out on anything. I was just itching to get farming. Thank heavens, Dad had the foresight and the patience to let me make management decisions early on. Of course, he had to put the brakes on now and then!”

“I had the little guy on the tractor when he was 8 years old,” says Bill. “Couldn’t keep him off it. In fact, he used to drive along the back roads during harvest and I’d have to tell him to keep his eyes peeled for the police!”

Ken—who has a natural bent for machinery and engineering, spent a couple of years exploring different options before returning to the farm. The two brothers complement each other well. Ken manages the finances, business relationships and equipment while Dave looks after the production end of the farm handling operational management, crop decisions and the cattle inventory.

COMMUNICATION IS KEY

How does this corporate farm make decisions? “We talk everything through,” says Dave. “One of the benefits of a family business is our basis of trust. We share common goals for the business, and we operate with the same personal values. There are no secrets and decisions are made in the best interests of the farm and our families’ needs.”

The move to summer calving is one such example. Like most Alberta ranches, Woodwind has calves appearing early spring, however they also have new calves in June and July. “We staggered our calving for a couple of reasons,” says Dave. “It started the year Ken and I both had new babies (the human kind) and a bunch of young calves in the field. We found ourselves running 24 hours a day and spending more time with the calves than we were with our baby girls—which wasn’t going over too well on the home front. By spreading our calving season out, our workload got easier to manage, we now produce animals that are just the right size for grass conditions and we’ve opened up a new market.”

Like any well managed company, the Solversons work with a business and financial plan. A solid relationship with their banker has helped enormously in the last year as BSE has wreaked havoc with their balance sheet. “Our bankers have been terrific,” says Ken. “They’ve given us enormous flexibility and that’s been so helpful because it’s provided the breathing space to explore other revenue opportunities.”

“We’re not afraid to try new things,” he adds. “If we learn about something that might enhance our operation, we’ll give it a try. A few years ago, we tried growing corn to feed the cattle—even though this really isn’t corn country. To our surprise, it’s worked really well and it’s saved us a bundle on feed costs. We like to think of ourselves as innovators and early adapters.”

THINKING BEYOND THE FARM GATE

“In this business, you have to be willing to think beyond your own yard,” says Dave. “By investing in our own cattle liner (a truck for transporting cattle) for instance, we can transport our cattle to grazing leases (land that is rented for cattle to graze on during the summer months) that are farther away—but much less expensive.

“BSE has hit us hard in so many aspects of our business,” he adds. We’ve had to go back to the drawing board to reduce our costs and find new ways to make money. This year for example, we planted 300 acres of canola that we’ll sell for cash.”

“Because our farm is located in what is essentially grain country, we have some real advantages with our cattle feed supply. We grow our own hay and corn and we crop share (trading harvesting services for a share of other farmer’s grain). And often, we can pick up grain from a neighbor whose crop may be wind damaged and not suitable for the food market but is perfect for our cattle.”

They’re also creative when it comes to managing the environment. Manure is composted and spread on fields, water is distributed using solar energy, fields are zero tilled (leaving the stubble from the previous year’s crop standing to trap snow moisture and keep top soil from blowing away) and everything possible is recycled and re-used.

“We have pretty heated discussions about some things,” chuckles Ken, “but the caring for the environment isn’t one of them.” Father and sons are in complete agreement that protecting the environment is more than just good business sense—it’s the only thing to do.

BATTLING BSE

Like many other Alberta ranchers, BSE has hit the Solversons like a bolt of lightening.

“It’s pretty hard to watch 10 years of equity get diluted in less than a year,” says Ken. “We like to think we’re good businessmen who know how to manage the normal risks of farming like the weather. But, this is something completely different—we have no control over the border situation.”

While Dave and Ken both agree it’s been the toughest business challenge they have ever had to face, neither one believes it means their company is doomed. “It’s going to take us several years to get us back to where we were— but you know, this is a strong industry and we will survive.”

In January 2003, Woodwind sold 13 cows for $17,000. This year they sold 75 cows (same quality, same size) for $22,000. When the first BSE cow was diagnosed, Dave and Ken moved quickly to sell 150 calves right off the bat. That move and support from the federal and provincial governments got them through the first year.

“The funny thing is, there have been some good things to come out of this,” says Dave. “Now, we work closer with our neighbours to share equipment and services. None of us can afford to be buying new pieces, so we’re finding ways to help each other out. And, our kids have learned the value of money through this. As families, we’ve had to make some sacrifices but that’s life. I like to think our kids have become stronger.”