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Dallas Farms
Box 89 • Bowden, Alberta • T0M 0K0
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Charles Dallas
403/ 227-2610
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Brad & Kathy
Dallas
403/ 224-2162
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Copyright © Dallas Farms
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| About Us |
| Urban to Rural |
 Sisters
Who Denied the Trend
I seldom drop in for coffee; it has just never been something
I do without calling first or planning ahead of time.
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Kathy belonged to the Gladys Ridge 4-H beef club, and also rode horses
as much as possible. "Our family kept about 20 acres of our 100 acre
farm for pasture, and the remainder was hay or crop, and all of our
equipment was small and old compared to what we need today. We planted
approximately 1,000 trees around the perimeter of our property and
Karilynn and I would spend our summer school breaks weeding and tilling
the seedlings and painting fences," she remembers.
After Kathy graduated from high school in High River, she too enrolled
at Olds Agricultural College. She graduated with a Secretarial Arts
degree and returned home to work at a natural gas company in Blackie
for three years. While visiting Karilynn and Ian, Kathy met a young
Hereford breeder, Brad Dallas. It was on their second meeting though,
a weekend at the lake, that Kathy and Brad had an opportunity to get
to know each other better. After a day of water skiing, they had a
chance to visit around the campfire. Brad didn’t pass up the
opportunity to see Kathy again, and he invited her to the Calgary
Stampede two weeks later. Kathy and Brad were married in 1991 and
have two children, Karleen born in 1993, and Dawson born in 1995.
"When I was in 4-H," Kathy remembers, "my first steer was a Chianina/Angus
cross, and my second steer was a Limousin. There weren’t many
Herefords in our area, and the ones I did see in the club weren’t
very good." Although Kathy didn’t have second thoughts about
Brad, she did have second thoughts about his choice in cattle! It
didn’t take long though, for her to appreciate the Hereford traits
and the quality of cattle that Brad was striving to raise.
Brad Dallas, one of four children, and his family have been well known
in the purebred Hereford industry since 1972. Brad’s family have
lived from Houston to Halifax because his father Charles worked in
the oil industry for Shell Oil and later on for Pan Arctic Oil, but
they have always called central Alberta home. Charles and his wife,
Rosalie, also owned a New Holland machinery dealership in Innisfail
for a time, but have always kept involved in the purebred cattle industry
on the side. Charles was raised with Black Angus cattle, but in the
1970’s he couldn’t deny the growing popularity of the Hereford
cattle. The Dallas family sold their Angus herd, known as Toro-Negro,
and replaced them with Herefords. They became known as CGD Herefords
and began breeding some of the top genetics in North America.
When Kathy and Brad were married, they purchased a portion of the
Dallas family land base from Charles and Rosalie and became known
as Dallas Farms. Today, Kathy and Brad own six quarters of land, but
farm a total of 17 quarters. They grow barley, wheat, canola, and
peas. They stay self-sufficient by putting up hay and silage to meet
their winter feeding needs, as well as carrying on the 28 year family
tradition of growing pedigreed seed. If that isn’t enough, they
also custom combine and silage for area farmers.
On any given day, you can find Kathy and Brad outside working together.
"If tempers flair," Kathy laughs, "we just have a good chuckle and
carry on." They share calving responsibilities, feeding, vaccinating
and tattooing, halter breaking, fitting and showing cattle, office
work, and just about anything that needs to be done. Kathy feels at
home combining, hauling grain or baling hay and straw, and she even
mentions that she would like to learn how to weld. "Brad just doesn’t
have the time to do some of the little things like fix gates, so I
could do it!" They try to hire seasonal farm help, but if Brad is
away, Kathy is more than capable of handling the daily chores. As
Karleen and Dawson get older, they are also becoming capable help.
"Karleen lives for the cattle," Kathy says, "and Dawson lives for
the machinery." The children are members of the Canadian Junior Hereford
Association, and will no doubt follow in their father’s footsteps
by becoming avid supporters of the Junior Hereford program. As new
members of the Pee Wee 4-H Beef Club, both Karleen and Dawson are
feeding straight bred Hereford steers this year.
| Contact
Us |
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 Dallas
Farms
Box 89
Bowden, Alberta
T0M 0K0
Charles Dallas
403/ 227-2610
Brad & Kathy Dallas
403/ 224-2162
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