KISBEY - Sarah and Jim Anderson, along with their three children, Morgan, 8, Quinn, 6, and Cole, 3, live southeast of Kisbey on a ranch.
The farm formerly was owned by Gerry and Betty Wyatt, who at the time built a sales barn for farmers to sell their purebred cattle.
The Anderson family bought the farm in 2010, and the sales barn was something that intrigued them to continue with the purebred sales.
Sarah was raised in central Alberta, while Jim lived two hours north of Yorkton. Both of them attended Lakeland College, Sarah - for animal science, and Jim - for agricultural production and welding.
They met at college and once school was completed, they wanted to start a life together on a ranch.
Anderson said, they chose southeast Saskatchewan as farms were more suited for cattle and upon viewing the Wyatt farm, felt it would be perfect for them.
Now almost 13 years later, they have a large piece of land and 450 purebred Angus cows.
Anderson said they have a commercial herd of black and red Angus. They are good mothers, calf on their own and the calves suck on their own and have good feet.
It is not often that assistance is needed with calving, but they still do their daily and nightly checks to ensure everything is going well.
The cattle are fed in the winter months a total ration which consists of silage, hay, straw, minerals and grain. Swath grazing is also done when the weather hits extreme cold, to add extra calories for warmth.
Right now, they are in full calving season. It is always hoped the weather remains fair during this time, but the calving pens always house a thick bedding of straw for the calves.
Anderson said the sales barn was a major attraction when buying and they have kept up the sales.
Their bull sale is set for April 7, when they will offer their own home-grown bulls once again.
They carefully select bulls when they are calves, and grow them until they are one and two years old, with two separate crops. They are housed together throughout this time, so they rarely fight.
The Andersons are very particular about their stock and only offer the very best in sales.
Beef for the freezer is another aspect of the ranch. They do kindness giveaways, as they want to show appreciation to the community and area.
This will be their third year with this project. People may be nominated through their website at Right Cross Ranch, and then the Andersons select several families to give them some free beef.
The first year 60 nominations were submitted, so instead of selecting three families, the Andersons presented 15 families with their packages.
Sarah is also an avid horsewoman. She took a one-year course on training horses, and now trains her own. Each horse is used for everything and is very versatile. Her children also ride the same horses and are becoming quite the horse people, so much so that her daughters can herd cattle with little help.
But Sarah's talents do not end here. She is a professional photographer as well, which is very helpful with the sales barn and flyers, as she videos all the bulls and takes pictures.
Although their children are young, they are very active with helping on the farm and are not afraid to get right in the middle of it all with the calving.
And the Andersons say that to their family ranching is not just a job, it is the best way to live.
