Laura Plett and her husband Ryan own and operate a cow-calf operation in Stead, Manitoba, alongside her family’s fourth generation grain farm. She started this cow herd in 2014 with the purchase of 30 bred heifers while based near Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. Laura has since returned to her homeland (with the cows), gotten married, had a baby and retired from her previous career as a professional Hunting & Fishing Guide and Manager in the outfitting industry. She now works full time on their farm, raising cattle. They grow and put up their own feed, and background their calves each year. They also have added a sheep enterprise to diversify and better utilize the land and resources they already have to work with. A large part of the operation is within a Provincial Forest. This land is a mix of forested areas and tame pasture, which was cleared by Laura’s family’s logging ventures in the early/mid 1900’s. Laura and Ryan’s operation, named “Sawmill Creek Livestock” after these historic endeavours, has seen aggressive growth in its lifetime so far, with plans for continued expansion. 

In today’s episode, Laura shares her experience transitioning from working full time as a hunting and fishing outfitter, alongside her husband Ryan, to now owning and operating their farm full time.  We discuss some of the challenges and opportunities they have faced growing their farm, which has grown to include both cattle and sheep herds.

We also chat about Laura’s journey with Cattleman’s Young Leaders and some of the valuable learning and opportunities she gained as a finalist of the program. 

Later in the episode, Laura gives some amazing advice and encouragement to women in agriculture who are balancing raising a family and building their business.  

You can find Laura and Sawmill Creek Livestock on Facebook and Instagram.

The research programs and daily operations at MBFI would not be possible without the funding from the Province of Manitoba, Government of Canada, and Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, as well as the partnership with Manitoba Agriculture, Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) and Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC).

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