Special Spotlight Profile in celebration of #CdnAgDay February 15th, 2023
Dena Lewis
Beef & Pork Producer
One Mile Ranch
@onemileranch
Alberta, Canada

Photos by
Dena Lewis
@onemileranch

Our Special Spotlight Series is a look inside the lives of 5 Canadian Women who are trailblazhers in the Ag Industry. Canada’s Agriculture Day is a time to showcase all the amazing things happening in the industry and help consumers see the connection to where their food comes from and the people who produce it. Consumers want to learn more, and this day is a great way to start the conversation.

Last year, the entire ag industry celebrated across the country, shared our pride, opened doors to new food conversations, and trended nationally on Twitter. And we can’t wait to do it again in 2023. 

Join us on Tuesday, February 15th as we raise a fork to the food we love. Post a photo, make a video, or write a blog. Share what you’re doing on social media using the hashtag #CdnAgDay. Encourage your friends to show-off their culinary talents using all-Canadian ingredients. Teach someone something new about agriculture. Share your knowledge and story with others. Be sure to participate!

How did you become a Woman in Ag?
Married to a cowboy ? but grew up with parents that farmed as well, so always have loved agriculture!

What has most surprised you about Canada’s Ag industry?
The genuine community in it! It’s like one big family that understands the ups and downs.

What do you wish people knew about your rural life?
Building a ranch from the ground up is kind of insane haha. It takes risk after risk and I think sometimes it’s easy to see what someone HAS, not what they have to lose at any given moment! It’s hard to show the real and the work of it because the hardest moments and the most effort is when your hands are full, time is ticking and a lot is at stake and that means there’s just not the means in the moment to show it ☺️ I don’t mean I wish people thought it was awful just feel like it can look all rainbows unintentionally!

Describe a typical day…
I keep coming back to this question because I don’t know how to answer haha! It doesn’t seem as though a typical day exists here. Between the kids, animals and life there is always a new problem to solve or life event popping up!! But I suppose the common thread each day is we seem to always meet around the kitchen table three times a day and it’s always chatter and chaos and yummy food. Chores need done morning and night and eggs need picked each day. The laundry piled high from muddy clothes and jeans with manure on them but we are so thankful to live life in the country with our family!

How do you contribute to Canada’s Food Industry?
We raise pork and beef right here on our ranch and ship province wide making it easier than ever to purchase meat straight from the producer!

What are you most proud of being a contributor to Canada’s food industry?
We are so excited and proud to supply Albertans with ranch raised meat they know exactly where and who it came from and show the process, not needing or wanting to hide any part!

What is your deep intention in how you show up in your business and the effect you want to have?
We want to provide a product our customers can trust. I believe in total transparency with our products, life and the process of everything. I want people to understand each part of ranching and why it shows up so much in the quality of the meat we sell

What are all of your roles (wife, mother, rancher etc) and are you able to balance them?
I am a wife, mother and rancher! The balance is an ongoing juggle. This year with a new baby, newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetic daughter, very busy 2 year old and a growing business the balance has proven to be more difficult than ever! Something I love though is how healthy life on the ranch is for these little ones! The more time we are outside working together with the animals the happier we ALL are! It’s incredible and makes me so thankful we can live out here in the fresh air and that seems to bring balance to our whole life.

How do you build relationships with your customers?
I am super passionate about having a very open conversation with our customers and trying to show as much as possible on our Social media pages! We believe it is our job to provide an incredible product and we guarantee that or money back!

Follow along with Dena on IG @onemileranch and we encourage you to reach out to learn more about these incredible Women in Ag!