OUR STORY
Always a draw to the LAND——
that PULL to the SOIL and the ANIMALS,
The PLANTS and the PEOPLE
Craving to be on the Land
Ingrid and Ty Johnston have enthusiastically followed their dreams and ranched together for 20 years. Right from babies, on their respective family ranches, they had dirt squishing between their toes and animals were always near. Passionate about the land, with soil running through their veins, they both have a common thirst for taking care of the land. They first became friends in a university agriculture class. Ranching and growing food brought them together. How fitting! Then they became soul mates with a blazingly, single minded vision, to one day own their own ranch and raise their family the same way they were brought up. To have an appreciation for good livestock, soil, —with healthy, homegrown food as the centre and heart of their family.
So with barely a penny to their names, they struck out with youthful energy, a small cow herd, and lots of ideas. They moved to a very remote wilderness ranch, off the grid, with no power or running water, where they spent 11 years. Grizzly bears, moose and wolves were a common sight in the front yard. Their tiny little cabin, (woodsmoke curling into the air), straddled a narrow strip of land between a lake and a major meadow system, and was a wonderful life for newlyweds. Nothing seemed too daunting: carrying buckets of water, working late into the night with cattle, or fencing with flashlights. Their energy knew no boundaries. It was a wild land that couldn’t be manipulated. You had to work with it—let nature teach you. Their herd of cows grew, as their family flourished on that old back BC goldrush trail. They become a small family with two tiny baby girls. To make a bedroom for the little ones, they pushed a wardrobe and a piano into a corner, for a makeshift room just big enough for a little crib and a tiny toddler bed. The years were happy but very demanding and rugged. They had many adventures---some scary—some exhilarating…always raising and growing their cow herd. They worked themselves silly, but experienced extreme happiness and a way of life that few people have the chance to. It is a way of living where you are so tied to the earth’s subtle nuances, where each change is noticed, and every drop of water is valued! They formed strong ties to the land and a strong healthy relationship , forged on relying on each other (no other humans for miles around), and unwavering love.
Ty & Ingrid see ranching as an extension of nature. The days become weeks, month, then years---they see the land and the weather patterns that change from year to year, with ramifications on how you treat the land---it is your teacher in the end. The seasons change but their values remain constant. Animals First everyday. And they know that you care too, that’s why you are seeking out grass fed beef!
Making Onward Home
But alas, life is fragile, Ty had a major health scare that threatened his very life. After surgery all was well, but it made them reconsider living so far away. By now their dear little Lucia was in Kindergarten, and the drive was long on gravel roads in all seasons. Sitting down at their humble wooden kitchen table, with a couple pieces of paper, they made seperate lists of what was most important to them. When they compared notes, both of them had their children and family written at the top. They started their search for another ranch right away. Once they looked at the magnificent Onward Ranch, they just couldn’t get it our of their heads and hearts. It pulled and gnawed at them; the beautiful sunshine yellow 1886 house, green valley set in a microclimate, blue skies (that the Cariboo is know for), abundant virgin pasture lands that had never met a plow, balanced with plenty of productive hay fields & meadows, the San Jose flowing through, with lakes and ponds sprinkled throughout the ranch— It was paradise! There was a moment when they climbed up the rickety ladder into the old 1911 barn and the shivers raced over them. Goosebumps raised as they looked upward into the Cathedral timber beam ceiling, with the sunshine picking up the bits of dust and debris, creating a luminescant haze. That was the moment they reached for each other’s hands, and decided for sure to make Onward their home.
And they never looked back. They rounded up cattle on snow shoes and dropped them off on green grass the same day. Ingrid could be closer to Williams Lake for her fiddle teaching and now host square-dances and concerts in the barn. “The Onward is Alive with Music” stated one newspaper article. Ty was able to grow his environmental consulting business. He has always had a passion for not only all things agriculture, but all things biology, forestry, and especially anything to do with soil or riparian (that’s his specialty). They couldn’t be happier! Two more little babies were welcomed to Onward Ranch. The kids are heavily involved on the ranch and they love it just as much as Ingrid and Ty do. Milking cows, horses, ponies, their own little gardens; they are raised in the dirt and sunshine---watered by love and healthy farm food. The Johnstons want to share that healthy Grassfed Beef with you! They are living their best farm life, their best GRASS FED LIFESTYLE. And you can too!
Grass Fed Life
They had always only ever enjoyed grass fed beef all of their married life. Friends and family also appreciated their delicious 100% grass finished beef. As they talked with other ranchers, old-timers in their 80’s they noticed a commonality. Those that know best, the ones raising the animals and having their hands right on the pulse of BC lands, have all along been saving a grass beef for their own families, and selling their calf crops every year to the prairies for conventional raised beef. As one gentleman rancher in his 80’s told them, “we prefer grass fat”. It’s a term you don’t hear often nowadays, as its a bit old-fashioned, but “grass fat” was how most families enjoyed beef before the 1950’s. It takes two to three years to fatten a beef on grass and only 18 months on grain. It’s definitely slow food! It can be difficult for a family to find grass fed beef directly from a rancher that they know and trust. Ingrid and Ty looked at what was was available in BC and believe that our beautiful province needs more ways to access premium grass fed beef. They want to share their healthy grass fed beef with you! They want to serve you!
Onward Ranch is grass strong, with acre after acre of prime pastures, with a hard grass that fattens cattle nicely. After getting to know this land better and better each year, they understand the beauty of what they are stewards of. The Beef they raise is a reflection of their excellent grass pasture and wild landscape —rich in diversity. This is truly a protein that has sprung up from the earth. They are proud to offer this healthy, tasty beef to you!
A New Day Dawning
Ingrid & Ty had spent many years (their whole lives) learning and striving for ranching excellence. They are continually growing with their skills, honing their craft and becoming better at sustainable practices. Now it was time to learn about shipping frozen grass fed beef. How to get it to the families who will appreciate it and really care what they eat and really care about the planet! They invested in several hands on courses, in the US, learning about premium packing materials, shipping logistics, dry ice, freezer labels. All the best safest practices for a fantastic customer experience and top notch protein source. They looked at what other ranches were doing and noticed that besides meat distributors, there were no other ranches shipping beef conveniently to your door quickly and hassle free directly from the ranch. This was very important to them, not to use a middleman, and lose touch with quality. It’s also important to be transparent about Onward Ranch. They want you to feel confident that you are fueling your body with the healthiest beef, but also being kind to the planet at the same time. After all, that’s what you leading a Grassfed lifestyle is all about. They support our many farmers markets across BC but know that not everybody can access the market every week. Can you close your eyes and imagine a box of healthy grass fed beef landing right at your doorstep, packed with dry ice, and ready to be savoured by you and your family. Can you taste the difference? Can you feel the difference?
Ingrid’s Childhood on the Ranch
Ingrid has vivid memories of checking livestock with her dad—and weeding the garden with her mother—-every inch of her childhood ranch is imprinted on her soul. Each creek, and tree and gully—It all sits in her heart. It was a childhood spent collecting eggs, sitting on a tractor, fiddle lessons, and playing in the creek. The word homegrown was imprinted on her consciousness---many meals the kids would sit down to find absolutely everything home grown on the farm…from the green beans and squash, to the beef roast, cups of cold Jersey milk, and hand crafted butter formed by her mother’s own hands----(loving patted by more then just a few little children’s paws).
Her dad’s ranching wisdom rings in her ears as Ingrid and Ty make decisions even to this day. Her dad’s way with animals and crops, his advice on farm machinery. Ingrid’s dad had a love of charcuterie. He had a big old recipe book with things like bratwurst, and bacon. The smoke house has many delicious memories for Ingrid—-Oh! The aroma , the flavour! Her dad taught his family to respect the animals. To harvest thankfully. Ingrid was taught at a young age to help her dad with cutting and wrapping meat. She still remembers her dad guiding her hands as she counted up the ribs to make the cut for beef quarters.
Her mother fiercely farmed in her own way, producing amazing organic vegetables, saving seeds, using advanced gardening skills ----She had a PHD in plant ecology. This had an impact on Ingrid, as they talked about insects, ecosystems, noxious weeds, the way that lightning fixes nitrogen, plant life . Ingrid was always captivated and intrigued about natural wonders—curious about plants and living creatures. This led Ingrid into Natural resource sciences where she met Ty. She also kept studying music on the side. This led her into directing a fiddle group of 35 children in the Cariboo Chilcotin. Community is important to her and she now hosts Old-time dances in their 1911 barn. She invites fiddle kids onto the ranch where they can run and jump on the bales of hay, play in the river and visit the ponies.
Ty’s Early Farm Years
Ty always remembers his roots on his family farm---always aware of the fragility of life---that we must look after the animals. They eat first. Give them an amazing life. Childhood memories of climbing up the hill everyday to gather the milk cows, being in charge of watching each little pig being born, racing back to the house to report to his mother. Moving cattle with his dad---building fences, barns—always watching—-always listening. Using his hands to build and fix. His Dad was an inventive genius always thinking outside the box. Ty’s dad is his hero and best friend.
Ty had a passion for hockey, he was a hard worker in everything that he tried —-all heart—lots of spunk—and always enthusiastic and positive. He was a busy bee and a bundle of energy.
They were a family that had a garden, ate their own meat, made butter and cottage cheese. Ty’s mother was always busy, always making something or outside with her precious animals. She shared her deep love of animals with her children. Chicks hatching, horses foaling----an enchanted childhood with the bitter-sweetness of a farm kid’s awareness of life and death. This drew him towards a Natural Resource Degree…where his fascination with living beings, plants, and soils led him to not only become an agrologist (The study of agriculture) but also led him to become a professional biologist and forester. His Science based views are evident on the ranch where he keeps a trained eye on grazing, animal health, haying, irrigating ---and above all else, his love for the livestock and for the land. He is a natural herdsman who deeply cares for the animals that he is responsible for. He doesn't take his job as steward of the land and the cattle lightly. It doesn’t matter if it is the middle of the night, he is always there for his animals.
Times have changed and Ty and Ingrid are raising their own babies, with the mud squishing between their toes, and their hands always helping, minds always learning, and eyes always seeing— the difference that homegrown makes, both for your health & happiness, and for the environment.
Lucia
A heart of gold—-An old soul!. She’s a 15 year old that is a natural with animals. She's the one in our family most likely to be milking the cow, the one most likely to then be making some mozzarella cheese or butter—and then experimenting with sour dough bread. Lu has a couple horses that she works with, a halflinger and an old roping horse. She is amazing at chasing cows and is a wonderful help around the ranch—She is filled with compassion and really goes the extra mile. Lucia has an uncanny memory for every cow in our herd. She can tell them apart just by their profile, she also seems to have a photographic memory for cow tag numbers. She has her own herd of 10 cows and is actively involved in 4-H. Lucia’s nick name is Wild Rose (each of our kids have a wildflower nickname). Fiddling and piano are her two instruments, but she’s been very interested in banjo lately. She likes woodwork, art and is one heck of a gardener. She’s started helping with the bees and can single handily catch a swarm and relocate it into a new hive.
Scarlett
Scarlett is our brave one, always ready for an adventure—Always ready to jump on the quad and chase cows. She is always in the right place at the right time with positioning when moving cattle. She is very soft and loving towards animals. Her nickname is Scarlett Paintbrush, but we also call her little mommy and for an 11 year old, she is amazingly trustworthy and capable. She’s neat and tidy and has a wonderful heart for little ones. She already talks about being some sort of teacher. She has her own animals including a cow named Minnie and a cow named Polka Dot. She watches and is very observant then copies what she sees exactly. She is sporty and enjoys basketball and volleyball. She has an amazing sense of humour! If there was one stand out passion for Scarlett—it would be singing hands down. We all like working near her as her voice and songs are just gorgeous. She is in singing lessons but also plays fiddle and piano.
Jeremiah
JJ is our little wild man, a busy bee with a sweet little personality. He is living the perfect 8 year old little boys’ life; always playing outside with sticks and forts. Jeremiah likes to take things apart. Ingrid started teaching him fiddle and then he took it apart—so —they moved him into guitar lessons. He has a fascination with picking wild berries, he rides his bike to find those juicy saskatoons. He has also tried chasing cows on his bicycle. He is the early bird in our household. 5:00am is perfectly normal every day. JJ is fascinated how things work—what the inside of salmon looks like for example—he has 5 million different questions about nature—some tough to answer. They call him Peter Rabbit, as he is very interested about planting and growing gardens. He patiently plants seeds, and helps water all summer. He can be found in his own little plot, eating peas and carrots…little grubby hands holding little dirty carrots and eating them without a care for the soil consumption. He has a special love for the Jersey milk cow Chamomile. He has figured out how to climb up on her back for a snuggle and they enjoy a special bond. Jeremiah is also in charge of feeding the pigs garden and table scraps—he loads up his bike to head down to the barn along with a calf bottle or two for a baby that needs it.
Ivory
Though she be but little—-she be mighty! She’s taking life by storm! She’s always been 1% on the growth charts, but she has a cheeky lion personality! She’s an earthy soul…and the patter of her little 4 year old feet can be heard running through the house on the 100 year old creaky flooring, or dashing outside to run barefoot in the dewy grass. Her little legs keep up pretty good with the big kids. You can find her in a mud puddle happy as can be. Ivory always asks for a job so we give little tasks such as painting the Aloe Vera onto each calf as it is branded. She’s meticulous and thorough. Or we give her a handful of seeds to plant, She is our little buddy; always with us. Her best friend in the whole world is her big brother. Together they are the eyes of the ranch. Mom MOM! There’s a bull out! There is a cow that started calving! Dad! Listen! the bees are swarming again. They race around and and keep track of everything—they miss nothing! We’ve learned to stop and listen when they squeak away, because they often have something of value to say! They also have their own little toy farm yard with a wooden barn, vintage tractor collection and many cows, pigs and sheep. They play hard and often imitate what they saw in the farm each day. This makes for some hilarious moments! Ivory is happiest with us doing what ever we are doing.
Family is Legacy
We’d like to dedicate this beautiful ranch to our four beautiful children. They are what keep us going, keep us working, when the times get tough and we face walls. They’re our greatest joy! We’d also like to dedicate this land and ranch to those before us, our parents & grandparents, and various other relatives that have helped us along the way. They worked hard to give us a better life. They were all involved in Agriculture in a major way on each side of the family. The farming roots run deep and strong. We’d lastly like to dedicate this ranch to God our Creator. He has made this land we call home and these precious creatures that are in our care.