About
Our History.
Alan G. Sparrow was born on July 25th, 1927 in Saskatoon. His family homesteaded west of Delisle and later moved to settle in the Vanscoy area in the 1930's. His father died in 1937 when Alan was ten years old leaving him and five brothers to farm. After completing his schooling at Bedford Road Collegiate in Saskatoon, he worked as a plumber for Crane Plumbing & Heating and farmed with his brothers as well.
He met Nancy Weedon of Paddockwood, SK and they married on July 21, 1956. Nancy was a trained school teacher and taught in St. Catherines, ON; Laura, SK and Arelee, SK. In 1958, Alan and Nancy started their own homestead where the farm now operates today.
After hearing about a new breed from France, Alan thought perhaps Charolais may be a way of increasing profits in his commercial Shorthorn/Hereford based cowherd. He read in the newspaper about an organized meeting to form the Saskatchewan Charolais Association and thought that would be the best place to find a bull. Before long, Alan was steeped in the Charolais breed and was one of the first importers of Charolais from France.
Farm Today.
CK Sparrow Farms Ltd. encompasses 3,500 acres. The continuous cropping of 2,000 acres is made up of peas, canola, wheat, and barley.
The cows graze on a mixture of tame grasses and alfalfa from mid-April (weather & grass permitting) until late November at which time, they are switched onto oat swath grazing until they are ready to come home for calving. The calves are weaned on average around early to mid September depending on the grass quality. The bull calves are weaned at pasture and left on grass. They are brought home around the first part of October and started on feed. The heifers are taken off the cows and brought home directly.