BMO Farm Family Award -McKims
The MD of Pincher Creek Agricultural Service Board, Council, and staff would like to congratulate the McKim family for receiving the 2025 BMO Farm Family Award at the Calgary Stampede on July 7, 2025.
The BMO Farm Family Award is given to exceptional Albertan farm families in the Municipal Districts south of Red Deer. The MD nominated the McKim family.
Below is the write-up included in the program booklet at the Calgary Stampede, a copy of which will be displayed at the MD Administration office for the remainder of this year.
“The legacy of The DU Ranch has left a lasting impact on the McKim family. While the ranch has always been a full family effort, what is most inspiring is the strength and influence of the women behind the past three generations of the DU Ranch. Dan, Puff and their daughter, Kate, and her sons are the 2025 BMO Farm Family from the MD of Pincher Creek.
The DU Ranch represented a new lifestyle for Louis and Carey Dupret, the parents of Puff McKim. Louis was born and raised in France, and after serving in World War II he and his wife, Carey, moved to New Jersey. A mining engineer by profession. Louis received a consulting job for West Canadian Collieries. which brought him and his young family to Blairmore Alberta, in 1952. The mining town was not the best place to raise a family, so they found a ranch outside the town to purchase and raise their four children in 1953. Two years later, they purchased a small herd of registered Herefords to run on the ranch. Over the years. Louis received various other jobs that were stationed all around the world, and his family went with him while a ranch manager oversaw the operation. However, each summer the family would return to the ranch to enjoy the cattle and the beautiful countryside. "I always had a fondness for the cattle and horses, and it became a passion" reminisces Puff. "I absolutely protested having to leave at the end of each summer.”
In the 1970s, Carey started living at the ranch while Louis worked abroad. It was during that time she really took a leading role on the ranch and the breeding operation of the purebred Herefords. Carey was not deterred from the traditionally male-dominated industry and handled everything that was thrown her way. She organized the daily management on the ranch, while developing a reputable Hereford cattle herd. "My mother had to grow pretty lough to deal with it all," remarks Puff. "She earned a great deal of respect in (lie process and contributed a lot to the reputation that we have now." Puff and her new husband Dan joined her mother back on the ranch in 1978 and for the past 47 years have been committed to raising sustainable, mountain-grown cattle. Their daughter, Kate, is also involved in the operation and started Centre Peak High Country Adventures in 2011. Her trail riding. Ranch getaway and western riding business is based on the ranch with the goal of diversifying the operation and sharing the ranching lifestyle with others. Her two sons. Liam (13) and Jase (8) are now the fourth generation living on the ranch.
The DU Ranch is located along the Livingstone Range of the Rocky Mountains and has 2.500-acre land base of scenic mountain pastures. In the 1980s, the McKims had up to 200 pairs of cow-calf purebred registered Herefords. However, in the early 2000s following the BSE outbreak and caring for her ailing father, Dan and Puff stopped the registered business and selling purebred bulls. However, even to this day, their herd remains 100 per cent Hereford. Over the years, they have decreased the herd size due to a variety of other factors, like drought. Currently, they have 50 cow-calf pairs and 15
horses, which are for Kate's business, on the ranch.
Dan, Puff and Kate take great pride in caring for the land especially the pastureland, native grasses and water. They have been involved with the Multi-Sar Species at Risk program, which identified 15 species at risk located on the ranch. "We advocate as much as we can and do our best to not overgraze so that our wildlife critters - including plants and birds - have the opportunity to thrive." shares Puff. The McKims have been very proactive in preserving, protecting and conserving. not only their ranch, but the region they call home. Hosting guests on their beautiful ranch, through Kate's business, has been one way that they've been educating international and domestic visitors. "The hope is that guests will leave with a better understanding of cattle and ranching grasslands and why they are needed. We hope guests see that ranchers are stewards of the lands and that they have a deep passion for ensuring these places are sustainable. and remain as such,for future generations." reflects Kate.
In 2007 the McKims and the MD of Pincher Creek worked together to establish the DU Ranchlands Log Cabin as a Municipal Historic Site and Viewscape. Listed under the Alberta Register of Historic Places, the circa 1900s cabin is located on its original site north of the ranch yard beneath the majestic Livingstone Range.
The McKims have always been involved in their community. During the Registered Hereford business years. Dan was active both provincially and locally in the Hereford Associations, cattle clubs, shows and sales. He was also involved with the Livingstone School Parent Teacher Association in Lundbreck. Puff was a 4-H leader for the Silver Reins Light Horse 4-H Club in Pincher Creek. Now Kate has taken on that role for the last three years in addition to being the riding instructor. She also serves as a secretary for the local gymkhana club, Turtle Mountain Riding Club, where she and her boys
compete.
The legacy of DU Ranch continues to live on through Dan. Puff and Kate as they work hard to keep it preserved for future generations. "My mother was truly a pioneer." reflects Puff McKim. "When she took over the ranch she had a strong stance, believed strongly in it and really developed it." It's easy to see how the same conviction lives on with the McKims through their advocacy for the land and pride for the "little piece of paradise" in which they live.”
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