WHO WE ARE
The three founding partners in the project they are calling “Blackshirt Feeders” are Kee Jim, Calvin Booker, and Eric Behlke. They are all three veterinarians and managers at Feedlot Health Management Services, all three grew up in production agriculture, and all three are actively feeding cattle in their own personal lives.
Kee Jim was raised in a family ranch that produced purebred Hereford cattle in the rugged interior of British Columbia.
Calvin Booker was a farm kid in rural Saskatchewan. He’ll tell you that all he ever wanted to do was farm, but his parents made him go to college and made him promise to keep an open mind. His path ended up leading him to join efforts with his vet school friend, Kee Jim, in creating a feedlot consulting practice that started with just a few employees and now has a team of over 80, stationed at various places around North America.
Eric Behlke grew up in Benkelman, Nebraska, but nowadays he divides his time. He and his wife, Carrie, have two young daughters (Hoxie and Cordelia), and the family has a home near High River, Alberta. Eric’s main office is at the Feedlot Health headquarters in Okotoks, Alberta. But he spends approximately 2 weeks a month traveling mostly to Nebraska, but also to Kansas, Texas, Colorado, South Dakota, and Kazakhstan. Eric spends a weekend or two each month on the Nebraska family farm, and longer periods during planting and harvest. When he’s not physically in Nebraska, he spends a portion of his free-time, remotely managing the business of the family farm – planning seed purchases, chemical applications, crop rotation strategies, land acquisitions, grain marketing, tax planning, bookwork, etc.
OTHER PARTNERS
Doug & Helga Price are owners of Echo Sand Ranching Ltd. and related companies. Echo Sand is a major player in the Canadian cattle industry through the management of 75,000-head feedlots, ownership of three ranches in Alberta, running 5,000 cow-calf pairs, and part ownership of a grass operation at Stockholm, Saskatchewan. Doug & Helga’s five kids (and spouses) are all involved in the industry and operations at various levels.
Trent Adams & Peter Adams - Adams Ranch Ltd. is a 3rd generation family agriculture company that celebrated its 50th anniversary on March 31, 2016. The origin of the operation started in the 1930’s with W.G. (Pete) Adams farming in Birch Hills, Saskatchewan. In 1954 at the age of 40, Pete moved to Czar, Alberta, with the objective of becoming involved in the cattle business. Following completion of a B. Sc. in Agriculture and an M. Sc. in Agricultural Economics, Peter Adams (Pete’s son) returned to the farm, and the company expanded into cattle feeding. In 2000, Peter’s son, Trent Adams, joined the company after completing a Business degree and is the current President.
Adams Group of Companies feeds cattle in Canada and has 50,000 acres of ranch land east of Calgary. The family also has extensive operations in feedyard facilities and cattle ownership in Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nebraska.
Glen Thompson - Thompson Livestock