The Cattle family of the Year award has been given to Barry and Irene Moore and their family of Paradise Hill.
Barry traces his agriculture roots in the area back to 1910 when his grandparents settled on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River on two war scripts which patriarch Alvin Moore had purchased.
Alvin and Amellia Moore raised five children on the ranch which had Hereford cattle and Percheron horses. Alvin had moved to Saskatchewan from Ontario in 1902 and homesteaded in Meota. He hauled freight from Saskatoon to Meota for homesteaders in the area. He helped load freight for the Bar Colonists who came out to Lloydminster.
In 1949 Alvin retired to Lloydminster and the home quarter was passed to Barry’s father Norman Moore.
Norman and Doris Moore raised five children. Over the years, the ag content evolved to include Horned Herefords, Charolais and Simmental, as well as grain farming.
In 1971, the family enterprise handed on the legacy again as Barry along with brothers Art and Loran transitioned the operation to ABL Farms raising Herefords, Charolais, Simmental and Red Angus. In 2014 ABL Farms was dissolved to allow Art and Barry to farm with their sons.
Barry Moore in receiving the award shared about overcoming challenges like BSE and the drought in the early 2000’s. He said the double whammy took a long time for them to recover and at least 10 years for prices to rebound. In the meantime the cost of farming continued to go up and many producers left the industry. He shared that the grit of farming instinct kept the family going.
“I say we are gamblers. We don’t have to go to a casino to do it because every day that we get up, we gamble. We hope for rain and the weather that we can get crops to whatever. It’s a big gamble. It’s a way of life that we love and we wouldn’t do it any different.”
Barry says throughout all these years his wife is his biggest cheerleader. They have three children. Irene Moore drove school bus for 30 years. This allowed her to take their children and even three of the grandchildren to school and sporting events.
She shared that over winter, her husband would go away for about three months to earn extra money for the family. During that time she was fortunate to have her parents come up to the farm to help especially with the children, not to mention the chores as she kept the home circle together. She says now even in retirement they still want to be part of the farm effort.
“I go out with him everyday. We go out and we wander together and try to keep up with doing some of the chores. That’s my part. I like that. I like going out. I don’t have to go in or outside, but I just really enjoy it.”
The farm has been in the family for 111 years and in 2010 was recognized for a century of farming in Saskatchewan.
Barry’s son Dean farms alongside his father and lives with his family nearby. Dean is currently a director with the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association.
The Moore family celebrated the births of two great grandchildren in March last year. The family expressed its collective gratitude to the community and the Lloydminster Exhibition Association as they received the Cattleman of the Year 2021 award on Friday.