Richardson Ranch

Don and Leslie Richardson are the fifth generation of Richardsons to operate Richardson Ranch, a property and business that has been in the family since 1919. Don and Leslie’s children are very involved in the ranch operations and are the sixth generation of Richardson Ranch farmers. Don and Leslie expect that their grandchildren will also one day join the family business. Don’s mother Alice, is still active in the ranch operations and provides a large lunch daily for twelve or more of the ranch workers. Somehow, word never fails to get out when Alice is making prime rib for lunch and friends and family just happen to ‘drop by’ for the lunch hour meetings and stories.

The farm originally produced beef, but Don, a veterinarian, decided to shift the focus to genetics and cattle production when he took over the family farm. He also started Haida Gwaii’s first and only veterinary hospital in 1980 where he was regularly called upon to treat a wide variety animals, including wild ones that had been injured.

Richardson Ranch still sells beef from time to time, but the ranch is even more well-known for its bulls, semen and embryos. These cattle genetics are shipped around the world, a fact that the Richardson’s are proud of. The family business currently includes the recently constructed Haida Gwaii Animal Hospital and a feed and pet supplies store.

While Don and Leslie’s daughter Jaimie lends her expertise in genetic selection and promotion of the ranch’s breeding program, their son, Dane, a 2013 graduate of Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, now owns and operates the new animal hospital . Don, now ‘semi-retired’ from the veterinary practice, provides off-hours and emergency support for the animal hospital. He and Leslie look forward to spending more time travelling and working on the farm with the extended family.