Hi Folks, we are the Shapka family!

Doug and Barb, along with our 4 daughters, Cindy (20), Penny (16), Becky (13) and Jamie (9) have been ranching in the Wasel area of Alberta for the past 23 years. Our 2500 acre operation consists of a cow/calf production of approximately 500 ranch raised cows and backgrounder calves.

Our girls are involved with all of the ranch work, as well as Ukrainian dancing and many other school and community activities. We have also been actively involved in the local 4-H beef club for many years.

One of our favorite things to do as a family is to hitch up the horses and go for a sleigh ride in the winter or for a long trail ride on a hot summer day. We also love to work as a family on everyday ranch chores, like moving the cows.

11 years ago we attended a Holistic Resource Management (HRM) course, which has entirely changed our lifestyle and way of life. To us ranching is not just a business; it has truly become our way of life. It is extremely important to us to do as many things in cooperation with Mother Nature as we can, such as calving in the spring.

As part of our commitment to our lifestyle and willingness to learn new things, our entire family has taken a low stress cattle handling course by Bud Williams. In addition to maintaining our HRM principles, our family has belonged to a beef marketing group called Ranch Pride Beef for the past 7 years.

We are exceptionally excited and proud to be a part of Prairie Heritage Producers.