The Yaks of little Loaves Farm:

It has been a delight to discover just how well suited the land and these animals are to each other.  Yaks are adapted to survive at high altitudes and our pastures are high altitude being in Bearberry - up on the plateau North West of Sundre.  There are also lots of wetlands with abundant sedges (grasses that grow in wetlands) which are a favorite for yaks, both as a way to cool off and because in their home ranges those sedges represent an important nutrient dense food source.  This allows them to spend their whole life on pasture, eating grasses and forage from start to finish.  They are also well adapted to resist predator pressure while surviving cold dry weather with minimal food and water.  This makes them ideal for the foothills, reducing potential conflicts with coyotes, wolves, bears, and cougars; all of which they share our land with. The yaks also utilize the grazing and water sources we have available better than the cows that occupied the land for decades before them.  They are, in fact, healing the land from compaction and overgrazing as we manage the heard with a Modified Adaptive Multi-Paddock Grazing system. What does this mean? Well it means that we have the land broken up into multiple paddocks that we move the herd through. We can move them to ensure the grasses can flourish (so not overgrazed) and that the yaks don’t get bored. They do have a rich mental and emotional life with plenty of time socializing; we take even one step further providing toys and even a play structure for them to engage with when they are getting water and resting at the main corral.

We take a chemical free holistic approach to the herd and pastures.  We increase depth and breadth of life to increase our yield of grasses, utilizing careful observation and timed rotations, targeted pasture seeding, and a good deal of physical labour to make it all come together.  

Yak cuts, whole, half, and even live animals can be purchased from us directly, online on our store page hosted by Happiness by The Acre (HBTA will deliver your order in Calgary and area*), and through YYC  Growers and Distributors in Calgary, Alberta.  

*In case you were wondering, no HBTA will not deliver a live yak to you an Calgary, but if you want live animals please let us know, we do live animal sales early Spring and Late Fall when the weather is cool enough to work the herd.