Rocky View County Presents 2023 Master Farm Family Award to Long Acre Ranch
Friday, September 1, 2023
Tracy Hanson and Earl Munro are the fourth-generation cattle farmers in the County’s Yankee Valley area and are the latest winner of the esteemed Master Farm Family Award. Candidates for the Master Farm Family are nominated by peers in the community, and applications are reviewed by Rocky View County’s Agricultural Services Board. Since 1989, the County has been presenting this award to a Rocky View County ranch or farm family who shows excellence in community service, agriculture business and industry involvement, team farm management, and technical farm production and sustainability practices.
Long Acre Ranch Ltd. has roots dating back to 1913 when Tracy’s great-grandparents immigrated from Sweden. In 1947, Helmer and Mae Hanson purchased the section of land bordering Graeme Dam – part of the Western Irrigation District.
Helmer and Mae raised four sons: Bob, Bonar, Murray, and Gary, who all farm in Rocky View County. Bonar and Sandra Hanson, stayed on the original farm, and their daughter Tracy, along with husband Earl Munro took over the reins to the ranch in 2000, continuing with a commercial cow/calf operation and retaining ownership to raise grass-fed yearlings. Bonar’s passion and understanding of low-stress livestock handling has been instilled in the operation and continues to be adopted by Long Acre Ranch. They use horses to work with the cattle and swath grazing in the winter which reduces the need for bale production. With their location at the end of the Western Irrigation District, the family was able to install an irrigation system initially with side-rolls now a centre pivot, which has allowed for a more consistent feed system year-round.
In recent years, Rocky View County acquired some of the Long Acre Ranch land for the construction of the East Balzac Water Treatment Plant, which provides water to Cross Iron Mall and East Balzac developments.
The Hanson’s ranch evolved into what is today known as Long Acre Ranch Ltd. The name is a tribute to the countless hours Tracy and her three sisters spent in their years growing up, grazing cattle along the ditches - or as they say in Australia, grazing the “long acre.”
Rocky View County congratulates Long Acre Ranch for their hard work, determination, and unwavering commitment to family and community.
Photo features: Rocky View County Reeve Crystal Kissel, Tracy Hanson, Earl Munro, Sandra Hanson, Dr. Brennan Munro, Bonar Hanson
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