Coulee Crest Farms in Alberta: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Coulee Crest Farms is a purebred Hereford and commercial cow-calf operation in Red Deer County, east of Bowden, Alberta, homesteaded by the Radau family in 1929. It was named the 2019 Alberta Beef Producers Environmental Stewardship Award winner for rotational grazing in Spruce Coulee, an area the county designates as environmentally significant. At 3,500 acres, it blends grain, hay, pasture and cattle.
| Location | East of Bowden, Red Deer County, Alberta |
|---|---|
| Founded | Homesteaded by the Radau family in 1929 |
| Sectors | Purebred Hereford, commercial cow-calf, backgrounding, grain |
| Scale | 3,500 acres: about 1,500 grain and 2,000 pasture and hay |
| Why it is elite | 2019 Alberta Beef Producers Environmental Stewardship Award |
| Ownership | Randy and Sandra Radau, ranching there since 1989 |
| Official website | Canadian Cattlemen article on the 2019 Environmental Stewardship Award |
History of Coulee Crest Farms
The Radau family first homesteaded the land in 1929. Randy and Sandra Radau have ranched there since 1989, taking over management of the purebred Hereford herd that is now the core of the farm.
Randy later doubled the farm's size by buying neighbouring land. That expansion made cross fencing and rotational grazing practical and allowed the herd to triple. Most grazing now takes place in Spruce Coulee, designated an Environmentally Significant Area by Red Deer County.
Alberta Beef Producers presented the Radaus with its 2019 Environmental Stewardship Award at its annual general meeting banquet in December.
What Coulee Crest Farms Grows and Raises
The farm runs a purebred and commercial cow-calf herd and backgrounds its own calves. About 1,500 of its 3,500 acres are in grain and about 2,000 are in pasture and hay. Cattle graze crop stubble, and composted manure goes back onto cropland.
Stewardship projects, funded in part through Growing Forward 2 and Ducks Unlimited, include developing and fencing springs as water sources and restoring a wetland. Solar-powered systems pump water from a fenced dugout, keeping cattle away from the source and reducing runoff. Fenced native tree plantings provide wildlife habitat and windbreaks.
The farm supports deer, elk, moose and many bird species, and Randy Radau has said his goal is one or two significant sustainability improvements each year.
How Coulee Crest Farms Makes Money
Purebred and commercial cattle
The operation raises both purebred Hereford and commercial cow-calf cattle. The sources reviewed do not describe bull sales, prices or revenue, so none are stated here.
Backgrounding
Backgrounding its own calves lets the farm capture additional weight gain before sale rather than selling calves at weaning.
Integrated grain and grazing
Grain land provides stubble grazing and returns manure nutrients, while pasture and hay support the herd. Using one land base for crops and cattle reduces purchased inputs.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Coulee Crest Farms
Expanding land to make better management possible is the central lesson. Doubling the acreage allowed cross fencing and rotational grazing, which in turn supported a herd that tripled. Growth was the means to better stewardship and productivity, not an end by itself.
Another lesson is to use cost-share programs for environmental work. Growing Forward 2 and Ducks Unlimited funding helped pay for spring development, wetland restoration and solar watering. A steady annual goal of one or two improvements is also a manageable way to build a record that stands up when award judges visit.
A farm where a recently sighted grizzly bear is just another neighbour has a tougher job than most. At farm.FM, our farm satire staff admire the Radau family for keeping Hereford cows happy next to cougars and moose. Farm humor usually calls for a punchline, but a solar-powered dugout pump is already funnier than anything we could write. Our ranch humor and farm jokes about Spruce Coulee will stay respectful, mostly because the elk are listening.
The outlet behind those laughs, farm.FM, is the nation's first satirical farm site, complete with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers. A farm.FM humorist's archive shows what a week of it looks like.
How to Contact Coulee Crest Farms
No official farm website was found. The page above is a published news article about the farm and its award. No farm contact details are published there; confirm any visit in advance through Alberta Beef Producers.
Coulee Crest Farms Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Coulee Crest Farms recognized - Canadian Cattlemen article on the 2019 award
- Alberta Agriculture news release - Alberta government release naming the 2019 winners
- Alberta Beef Producers Environmental Stewardship Award - Producer group page on the stewardship award that has honoured Alberta ranches since 1992
- Agriculture Financial Services Corporation - Alberta crop insurance, AgriStability, livestock price insurance and farm lending
- Statistics Canada: Canadian Agriculture at a Glance (2021 Census) - Alberta farm counts, farm area, technology use and succession planning from the 2021 Census of Agriculture
Coulee Crest Farms FAQ
Where is Coulee Crest Farms?
It is in Red Deer County, east of Bowden, Alberta.
When was the farm homesteaded?
The Radau family first homesteaded the land in 1929.
How large is it?
About 3,500 acres, roughly 1,500 in grain and 2,000 in pasture and hay.
What award did it win?
The 2019 Alberta Beef Producers Environmental Stewardship Award.
Coulee Crest Farms shows how a family homestead can grow into a stewardship leader without losing its purebred roots. Our Alberta farms guide covers the programs, credit and risk tools around operations like it.