First Nation purchases controlling interest in high tech company

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The Ochapowace First Nation has purchased controlling interest in a high-quality beef program.

The deal, agreed to during this year's Calgary Stampede, was finalized during the recent Canadian Western Agribition in Regina at the end of November.

The deal gives Ochapowace's cattle company, The Thunder Beef Cattle Co., 48 per cent interest in the Consolidated Capital Corporation, said Charlie Bear, manager of Ochapowace's beef program. The deal is worth $750,000, and gives the band controlling interest in a company with world-wide marketing rights for this technology.

"The company has developed ultrasound technology and software which will allow us to scan the animal while it is alive in order to see where the fat deposits are, and to what extent marbling occurs within the animal," Bear said. "That's a tool which will give us a marketing advantagewhen it comes to selling.

"We've invested in this industry because we're in it for the long run," he added. "We want to stay one step ahead of the competition."

"Marbling" is when fatty deposits are located within the muscles (the red meat) of cattle. This is highly desirable, since marbling means a juicer and more tender steak or roast from the animal.

"Being able to see where the marbling occurs gives us an advantage. We can sell cattle which don't fit in, and it also allows us to show we have consistency in the cattle we sell.

"Down the road, if the grading system for selling beef changes, ultrasound will be a real benefit."

Most of the beef raised on the Ochapowace range are for restaurant chains such as The Keg, and some Japanese restaurants in Regina, Bear said. They're able to do this with an exotic breed of cattle known as Wagyu. This breed, which is native to Japan and was first introduced to North America in 1976, is known for its high level of marbling.

"The consumers are the one who are telling us what we should be selling," Bear said. "The Keg buys from us, because their customers like the beef we produce. So we stick with the cattle and the technology which got people like The Keg buying from us."

About 900 cattle run on 24,000 acres on the Ochapowace reserve. A 10-month beef management course co-sponsored by the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology is offered on the reserve, to teach others the fundamentals of beef production, Bear said.