Our family first started farming in Claresholm, Alberta when George Henry Lambe came to the area in 1904.
His son D.S. Lamb soon followed in his footsteps farming less than a mile from George Henry's original homestead - we still farm this land.
D.S. raised crops typical of the time, and raised purebred Hereford cattle while pursuing his hobby of raising oxen which he often drove in the Calgary Stampede Parade.
Threshing Crew
D.S. also had a trucking business that trucked livestock and grain to the larger centers around the are. He also hauled all kinds of consumer and farm inputs -coal, fence posts, fuel, etc.- back. Stan participated in this business for 13 years as a young man driveing a 1946 Chevy truck that we still own. The business ended up in the hands of D.S.'s nephew Orville, who eventually retired and sold it, it is now known as Watt and Stewart.
D.S.'s son Stan Lamb followed in his footsteps purchasing a farm 4 miles east of the town of Claresholm in 1965 predominantly growing cereals and flax.
In the 1980's Stan's 3 sons Cal, Ron, and Rick, and his son-in-law Fritz joined him, they later incorporated to form Lamb Farms ltd. This generation brought new ideas to the farm such as no-till farming, management-intensive grazing, new crops, and new cropping methods.
The early 90’s brought a big change in our cropping practices as Lamb Farms started no-till farming. The methods we used at that time were very primitive compared to what we use today, but it was a very big improvement in terms of stopping erosion and improving soil health. This also allowed us to start diversifying and growing more types of crops. We were then able to grow peas and canola. Changes in grazing systems and some of our first large water projects started to occur at this time.
In the early 2000’s the Alberta government in a partnership with Ducks Unlimited began filling Clear Lake. Being issued a water licence meant we could now develop our irrigation system, and further diversify our operation. Irrigation has brought further learning and opportunities to the farm.
Stan retired in the 90's, after living on the farm for many years Stan and Arlene graciously decided that the younger generation needed the big farmhouse for their growing families more than they did and moved to town. Stan enjoys playing golf, camping, playing pool and helping out on the farm and in the community when he can. Arlene loves being a great-grammy to her 20+ grandchildren.
Rick has retired to focus on more humanitarian goals starting Blessing the Children Canada.
Cal has also retired but can still be seen on the farm from time to time giving a hand when we need some extra help.
The 2010's have so far brought three of the next generation back to the farm Ron's son Ryan, and Fritz' sons Ben and Josh. As well as a number of possible future farmers that have started to once again fill our houses.
These additions have added many new talents and new perspectives to the farm and have insured that Lamb Farms will be here for many more years to come.
