The Foote family of Fort Macleod was the MD of Willow Creek’s nominee for the 2026 BMO Farm Family Award. The award was presented during a July 6 luncheon at the Calgary Stampede.
Fort Macleod’s Foote family was one of 19 recipients last week of the BMO Farm Family Award.
The Calgary Stampede, in partnership with BMO, announced the 19 recipients of the 2026 BMO Farm Family Awards on July 6,
“For 30 years, the BMO Farm Family Awards have recognized the dedicated families who feed our communities, showcase our Western heritage and keep agriculture moving forward,” Stuart O’Connor, president and chair of the Calgary Stampede board said in a news release. “These awards reflect what has always been true of the Calgary Stampede: agriculture and community spirit run through everything we do.”
Recipients are nominated by municipalities throughout southern Alberta and are selected based on their commitment to agriculture, community service, environmental stewardship and innovation.
The families are leaders in their fields, with many representing multi-generational legacies, and embracing new technologies and practices.
Each year, award recipients are welcomed to Stampede Park for a ceremony and lunch, followed by an afternoon at GMC Stadium to take in the rodeo.
Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation Minister Tara Sawyer, whose family received a BMO Farm Family Award in 2014, attended the ceremony.
“For 30 years, the BMO Farm Family Awards have celebrated the families whose dedication, innovation and stewardship have helped make Alberta agriculture one of the strongest in the world,” Sawyer said. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients for the lasting contributions you make to your communities and our province.”
“Your hard work strengthens Alberta’s economy, feeds families here and around the world, and inspires the next generation of agricultural leaders.”
Foote Family Farms consists of five separate entities: Duane Foote Farms Ltd., operated by Duane and Heather Foote; Stuart Foote Land and Cattle Corp., operated by Stuart and Susan Foote; Gurney Land and Livestock, operated by Wes and Carolyn Gurney; Byron Foote Farms Ltd., operated by Byron and Sarah Foote; and Melede Farms Ltd., operated by Patrick and Christina Foote.
The Foote family’s ancestors arrived from Utah in the early 1900s to homestead in southern Alberta.
Today, the five different farms crop about 7,000 acres of rented and owned land, including 1,750 irrigated acres.
They grow peas, durum, spring wheat, canola and mustard.
Wes and Carolyn Gurney also have a purebred Angus herd of 120 head and have an annual production sale each spring. They also custom feed up to 500 short-keep cattle.
In addition, Stuart and Susan Foote have 40 purebred Braunvieh cows, a breed especially popular in the Mexican market prior to BSE. Stuart now keeps the herd registered more as a hobby but still enjoys the breed’s characteristics and the beef it provides.
The Footes have employed various farming practices over the past 60 years, including direct seeding technology, satellite guidance and advances in irrigation.
Their irrigation started with Melvin using 20-foot hand-move pipes in the 1950s, progressed to flood irrigation on machine-levelled land, and later moved to pivots.
Most recently, they utilize variable rate controls to regulate water application rates on oversaturated spots in an effort to increase productivity.
One of the most unique and pivotal practices has been bagging silage, a method the family began using in 1979.
They quickly found that bagged alfalfa silage offered better quality and consistency than the barley silage they had previously relied on.
They started to cut three times per year and discovered that when they fed their dairy cattle the third cut, the cows had little interest in consuming the grain in the milking parlour because they were already satisfied.
The family members are active in the community in areas such as 4-H, Scouts, church and coaching, and in the Canadian Brown Swiss Association and Southern Water Users Association.
The other winners of the 2026 BMO Farm Family Awards are Andrew Family, Special Area No. 3; Christensen Family, Wheatland County; Gridley Family, Starland County; Gschaid Family, Lethbridge County; Hewitt Family, MD of Pincher Creek; Jacobson Family, County of Newell; Knievel Family, Kneehill County; McWilliam Family, Foothills County; Odland Family, MD of Taber; Packer Family; Mountain View County; Ralston-Norregaard Family, Rocky View County; Reese Family, County of Warner; Reimer Family, County of Forty Mile; Sande Family, Vulcan County; Stafford Family, Cypress County; Tricsli Family, Cardston County; Walton Family, Special Area No. 2; and Williams Family, MD of Ranchland No. 66.
