Ravenwood Ranch

Ravenwood Ranch

About Our Ranch
Ravenwood Ranch was established in 1986. Ravenwood Ranch is a mutli-
generational family run operation. We operate on a half-section of land on the banks
of the Raven River in central Alberta near the village of Caroline. We are nestled in
the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in some of the most beautiful land on earth. The
Raven River is renowned for its Brown Trout fishing.

We have an Environmental Farm Plan in place on our farm.
Our entire property bordering the river has been fenced to preserve delicate
riparian areas.
We minimize use of chemicals whenever possible. With the exception of 20
acres our entire 1/2 section has been chemical free for over 50 years.

We are blessed to have 4 generations working together to ensure the success of our
ranch.

Tamara Taylor
I am the primary herdsperson for the livestock operations. My qualifications include:

2005 - Parkland Laboratories as a feed and seed testing Lab Technician.
2004-2005 - Saputo Dairy Plant Quality Assurance Lab Technician.
2004 - Graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture majoring in
Animal Science with extensive courses in animal behaviour, nutrition,
veterinary anatomy, physiology, breeding, genetics, disease, management,
applied microbiology, economics and sustainable agriculture.
2004 - Awarded Speaker's Conference Award by the U of S College of
Agriculture for undergraduate thesis presentation on the use of ultrasound to
predict beef carcass quality.
2001 - University of Saskatchewan dairy farm hand.
2001 - U of S College of Agriculture Ag-Adventures Summer Camp leader
promoting agriculture to school-aged children.
2003-2004 - Hands-on anatomy and physiology labs on cattle, horses, swine,
sheep, chickens and dogs.
2001 - 2002 - Feeding trials with both swine and poultry at the U of S.
1998 - Cow/Calf Technician Certificate through Alberta Food and Rural
Development Green Certificate Program.
1996 - Present - Experience competing in dressage and 3-day eventing.
2000-Present - Experienced in training obedience, clicker training, tracking,
musical freestyle, tricks and competing in agility with rescue dogs.
1996, 1997, 1999 - Represented Alberta at the National Pony Club Quiz.
1998 - 2007 - Experienced as a volunteer riding instructor for Thompson
Country Pony Club and Little Britches 4-H Club.
Over 130 hours volunteer large and small animal vet clinic experience.
First Aid and CPR Certification for both humans and pets.
Extensive organization of seminars and shows for dogs and miniature horses,
including tracking seminars, the Wild Rose Miniature Horse Show 2007 (Olds,
AB) and the Miniatures in Motion Horse Show 2007, 2008 (Rocky Mountain
House, AB).

I strongly believe that continuing education is very important. The following is a list
of past, present and future continuing education experiences:

1992-1999 - Extensive training in dressage, stadium jumping and cross
country from Alberta's top trainers.
2000-2004 - D&S Dogs of Course and the Saskatchewan Agility Association.
2003-2004 - Agility Lessons - Kim Anderson and Cheryl Bartlett, P.A., SK.
April 2004 - Donna McLaughlin Musical Freestyle Seminar, Regina, SK
May 2004 - Carol Aitken Tracking Seminar, Saskatoon, SK
May 2004 - Carolyn Scott Muscial Freestyle Seminar, Edmonton, AB
November 2004 - Pet First Aid Provider Course, Calgary, AB
2004/2005 - Agility Seminars with Kiersten Lloyd, Edmonton, AB
April 2005 - Dr. Ian Dunbar Dog Training Instructor Course, Richmond, BC
April 2005 - Donna McLaughlin Musical Freestyle Seminar, Red Deer, AB
May 2005 - Suzanne Clothier Dog Training Seminar, Regina, SK
June 2006 - Miniature Horse Driving Clinic with Terry Francis, Rimbey, AB
Summer 2006 - Dressage and jumping lessons - Shelly Graham, Red Deer, AB
August 2006 - Alberta Horse Trials Association Clinic, Red Deer, AB
May 2007 - NCCP Coaching Theory/Learn to Teach Seminar, Edmonton, AB
June 2007 - Chelan Kozak Riding Instructor's Clinic, Rocky Mtn. House, AB
July 2007 - Eventing Clinic, Rocky Mtn. House, AB
August 2007 - Goats West Seminar, Olds, AB
November 2007 - Dairy Goat Judge's Licensing Clinic, Okotoks, AB
January 2008 - Meat Goat Producer Certification via Langston University
February 2008 - Dine Alberta Producers Seminar - Strathmore, AB
February 2008 - Penn State University Meat Goat Certification Course
April 2008 - Alberta Farm Animal Care Conference - Red Deer, AB
April 2008 - Mane Event Conference - Red Deer, AB
May 2008 - Safe Food Handling Course, Olds, AB
August 2008 - Goats West - Hay Lakes, AB
January 2009 - Dairy Goat Tour and Cheesemaking Course, ON.
February 2009 - Ag Choices Seminar, Red Deer, AB
March 2009 - Meat Industry Trade Show and Seminar, Calgary, AB
March 2009 - Alberta Farm Animal Care Conference, Red Deer, AB
April 2009 - Mane Event Conference, Red Deer, AB

I am a proud member of:

Mark Taylor
My husband, Mark, brings his plant experience and knowledge to our farming
operation. Mark's qualifications include:

Graduated with a Masters of Science in Biology from the University of
Saskatchewan in 2004 with extensive experience in plant breeding, diseases,
plant morphology, apiary, population genetics, agronomy and applied
microbiology.
Thesis successfully defended in 2004 for research conducted in floral nectar
production in Brassica rapa.
Employed by Agriculture and Agri-food Canada performing research in
biological weed control in 2002-2003.
Attended and presented at international conferences on soils, crops, nectar
and apiary.
Employed as Station Manager of AgQuest Research Center, the largest
independent contract research company in Western Canada, performing crop
research in the environmental fate of pesticides from 2004-2008.
Family farm experience in all aspects of crop production and harvest of
cereals, pulses and oilseeds.
Mark is now apprenticing under our experienced butcher, Dale Nash.

Mark's continuing education includes:

March 2009 - Setting a Profitable Price Seminar, Airdrie, AB
March 2009 - Meat Industry Trade Show and Seminar, Calgary, AB

Alice and Dayle Murray
Our partners in the business are my parents, the "landlords". They own the beef herd
and are instrumental in the day-to-day operation of the ranch. Dayle is a mastermind
when it comes to welding, construction and creation of facilities, feeders, fencing,
shelters, machinery...you name it. Dayle also completed the Environmental Farm Plan
for our ranch in September 2007 and the "Local Meats for Cities" workshop in
January 2008. Alice is the "planning committee", keeping the rest of us on task and
focused on the future. Alice is also heavily involved in the management of the store
and bookkeeping.

"Grandma Connie"
We are blessed to have the assistance of our Grandma Connie. She bring years of
experience to our farming venture. We've come to rely on her expertise and
sometimes the "good old way" doing things prevails when it comes to dealing with
livestock. Connie has excellent cow sense and has never been wrong about telling
when a cow is ready to calve.

Grant and Linda Taylor
Mark's parents, Grant and Linda, operate a large grain farm as well as the Eastend
Grain Company out of the old Pool elevator in Eastend, Saskatchewan. We are so
grateful for the assistance and feed we receive from Grant and Linda!

Wee William and Nathan
Our brightest blessings! William and Nathan are the 4th generation in our family
farming adventure. These little boys have a fierce love of John Deeres and enjoy
working outside helping their Mama with chores. These little guys will be some of
the few little kids in the world that knows a) where all of their food comes from and
b) accurate animal noises!! (Who has ever heard a pig say "Oink"?)

Where Quality Counts