THE POST-WAR PERIOD

Based on statistics gathered by the British Columbia Beef Cattle Growers' Association in 1948 there were 49,300 head of beef cattle in the Cariboo-Chilcotin-Lillooet districts. Over the next ten years there was a steady increase in cattle raised in the area. The Dominion Bureau of Statistics recorded that there were 57,463 head of cattle in the Cariboo-Chilcotin in 1951 and 71,801 head of cattle in 1956. The dominant breed was Hereford and fully two thirds of all beef cattle were of this breed. The remainder was pure- or cross-bred Shorthorns, the general feeling being that the Shorthorn cows provided better milk and faster weight-gain for calves. There were also scattered herds of Aberdeen Angus.

Near Alkali Lake Ranch, 1969.

Up until the mid-1950s, the typical herd of the Cariboo-Chilcotin consisted of breeding stock, yearlings and two-year olds with occasional three year olds being marketed off the more isolated ranges. The cattle were marketed as two-year olds finished on grass and shipped directly from the ranch with most of these cattle going by rail to the Greater Vancouver area from stockyards like those at Williams Lake. But a significant change took place in the ranching industry for all of western Canada in the mid-1950s. The year 1956 saw unprecedented grain surpluses on the Canadian prairies. This surplus could only be disposed of as livestock feed. The resulting grain-finished beef was well received by consumers because the meat retained a brighter colour and remained firm with less leakage of moisture when packaged. Moreover, the fat tended to appear whiter in a grain-fed cow and maintained a fresher appearance. The resulting consumer demand was duly noted by large grocery chain stores who began to market "grain-fed beef" as a superior product. This resulted in a market for "feeders" or young cattle that could be finished on beef. As a result, the demand for grass-finished beef virtually disappeared.

Branding at a Chilcotin Ranch, 1954.

By 1957, the demand for grain-finished rather than grass-finished beef meant that calves and yearlings were shipped to feed lots for finishing. Since the Cariboo-Chilcotin was not a grain-growing area, the cost of importing grain together with the expense of equipment for feeding meant that the vast majority of cattle had to be shipped to feed lots to be finished. Ranches only kept breeding stock, calves and "long yearlings". During 1957 and 1958 ranchers sold their grass-finished cattle as well as yearlings, until they could establish themselves on a "yearling basis." By the early 1960s, less than ten percent of cattle were grass-finished and these were primarily in the Chilcotin, including the Gang Ranch, the Alkali Lake Ranch, and the Chilco Ranch. But for most of the smaller ranches, to return to selling two-year olds would have meant a loss of a year's income, which few could afford.

Before the mid-1950s, the typical herd would have consisted of one-third breeding stock (cows), one third yearlings and one third two-year olds ready for market. But after the change in market, a herd of say 400 cows would produce approximately 360 calves, of which 180 would be steers sold as calves or yearlings and, of the remainder, 50 would be used as replacement heifers for the breeding herd and the remaining 130 heifers would be sold. The usual practice was to sell half the calf crop in the fall and winter the other half to be sold as "long yearlings" the following fall. The number of calves held over the winter would depend upon the market prices; the available winter-feed supply and the condition of the range.

Cattle Sale at Williams Lake, 1950.

There were a number of advantages to the marketing of yearling cattle for the ranchers of the Cariboo-Chilcotin. Because only mature breeding stock was kept on the ranches, calving was easier than when yearlings were left in the breeding herd. Also, because grass was no longer used for finishing cattle, the demands on precious grass resources were lessened. Where the most lush grassland areas had formerly been used to finish cattle before shipping them to market, after the change to feedlot finishing the best pastures could be saved for breeding time and calving.

Cattle Sale at Williams Lake, 1950.

Ranch Sales to Americans

Another significant aspect of Cariboo-Chilcotin ranching during the post-war years was the large number of ranches that were purchased by Americans. Beginning shortly after the war and peaking in the 1960s, Americans, driven from their native land by high taxes and land prices in the United States, purchased many of the Cariboo-Chilcotin's ranches. This interest in the reasonably priced British Columbia ranchlands, coupled with high estate taxes and tendency for the younger generation of ranch families to want to move off the land, meant that conditions were right for both buyer and seller. Most of the Americans who purchased Cariboo-Chilcotin ranches were, first of all, businessmen who were looking for an investment more than ranchers looking for a better ranching environment. Their acute business sense convinced them that the investment in B.C. ranch land made good sense. One buyer paid $500,000 for a ranch and then promptly took $500,000 worth of timber off his land, leaving the land, animals and improvements as profit. This trend continued until, by the late 1970s, it was estimated that fully two-thirds of all British Columbia ranchland was owned by Americans.

Although the purchase of ranches had been underway since the end of the war, one of the first large ranches to sell was the famous Gang Ranch, originally owned by American, Thaddeus Harper. It was purchased in the early 1960s by F.G. Skelton of Idaho. About the same time Colonel Victor Spencer sold his 35,000 Circle S ranch to Allerton Cushmands of Bonita, Arizona and, the following year, Dog Creek Ranch, established in 1866 by Joseph Place, was sold to George Denning of Los Angeles. Also in the 1960s, Fred Hilton Davis, himself from California, sold the 28,000 Highland Ranch near 105 Mile House to Robert Monical of Redmond, Oregon. In 1969, the famous 150 Mile House Ranch was bought by John B. Luv and sons of Union Town, Washington.

Alkali Lake Ranch, 1979.

The selling of prime ranch lands to Americans continued well into the 1970s until British Columbia land prices, taxes and a fall in the price of beef stemmed the flow. Another factor was the new policies regarding sale of ranch land instituted by the New Democratic Party government of Premier Dave Barrett. These policies restricted foreign ownership of lands and, to strengthen the government position, indicated that the government would conduct a review of all leases and permits for grazing at the time of sale. If the review suggested that the crown land was needed for wildlife and recreation needs, large areas of land would revert to the crown. Furthermore, the government adopted a policy of leasing crown lands only to Canadian citizens or landed immigrants. To back up its position, the government began to purchase ranch lands for its own uses. In 1974, it bought the 3600 acre WM Ranch north of Prince George and later purchased the Gifford Ranch near Stoner, south of Prince George.

The defeat of the NDP government in 1978, brought about an easing of these policies, but the days of large scale American purchase had passed. But the environmental issues that first were brought forward during the early 1970s continue to put pressure on ranchers who utilize crown land for grazing leases. The issues of environmental damage, native land claims and public access to crown lands are very much a part of the political landscape today and threaten to remove more and more crown grazing land from the ranching community. None-the-less ranchers in the Cariboo-Chilcotin continue to remain optimistic that compromises can be reached and the ranching industry can continue to play a major role in the economy of the Cariboo-Chilcotin.

History of Cariboo Ranching
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