The Yaks of little Loaves Farm:
Why yaks in Alberta? Why not cattle like everybody else. Great question, and 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 we have. 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 and the yaks don’t get bored. The yaks do have a rich mental and emotional life with plenty of time socializing; we even provide them with toys and a play structure for them to engage with when they are getting water and resting at the main corral. This not only keeps them entertained but also stops them from getting so bored they they climb the hay bales, explore the farmhouse's deck and lick all our windows.
The final reason to have yaks is that they taste fantastic. Yaks are lovely from start to finish, and the finish off as one of the best pasture finished meats you could hope for. If you have had high quality grass finished beef than you have some idea, just remember that flavour and imagine it was "beefier", really, yaks are like an extra beefy-beef. If you haven't tried yak you should. The ground is just like dealing with lean ground beef and the steaks and roasts can be handled the same way. If you want to try it you can grab a steak or some ground from our online store over hosted by Happiness by The Acre.
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 we have. 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 and the yaks don’t get bored. The yaks do have a rich mental and emotional life with plenty of time socializing; we even provide them with toys and a play structure for them to engage with when they are getting water and resting at the main corral. This not only keeps them entertained but also stops them from getting so bored they they climb the hay bales, explore the farmhouse's deck and lick all our windows.
The final reason to have yaks is that they taste fantastic. Yaks are lovely from start to finish, and the finish off as one of the best pasture finished meats you could hope for. If you have had high quality grass finished beef than you have some idea, just remember that flavour and imagine it was "beefier", really, yaks are like an extra beefy-beef. If you haven't tried yak you should. The ground is just like dealing with lean ground beef and the steaks and roasts can be handled the same way. If you want to try it you can grab a steak or some ground from our online store over hosted by Happiness by The Acre.
Just so you that while we are not certified organic 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.