History
Alcan Angus Was Founded By Doug Munton
Angus cattle have been a part of the Munton
family all our lives. I purchased my first Black Angus female in
1962 from Coalbridge
Farms
of Coaldale
and became
a
student
of breeding registered purebred Angus cattle tutored by Alex Sera of Coalbridge.
After graduating from high school, I spent time articling obtaining
my Chartered
Accountant designation in 1972. After two years as controller of College Mercury
Ford Sales and five years as general manager of Kanegawa Farms, I went into
public practice operating Munton & Co. Chartered Accountants. Over the
course of these years, I continued breeding and raising purebred Black Angus
cattle under the herd name Alcan Angus. Baros of Alcan
Angus 40'73 was Champion Angus Bull at the Calgary
Bull Sale and his genetics
are
prevalent today in such bulls as Cudlobe Stemwinder, GDAR Oscar 711, all the
Crackerjacks and many, many more.
Mike Munton Takes Over Alcan Angus and Benchmark Angus is Born
When my son Michael wanted to get in the business, I turned the Alcan name over to him and thus the beginning of Benchmark Angus. Benchmark has been building its Angus cow herd on primarily leased property since it began in 1990. From the beginning, we have sought out the best in acquiring seedstock, bulls and females. Over the years we have aquired both the Magic Man and Fortune bulls from Ebon Hill along with a select group of females. Other females in the formative years were acquired from Southolm, Loma Lanes and Allencroft. Bulls were bought from Quenton Stevick, Happyvale and Loma Lanes. We always paid particular attention to quality genetics.
The Present Cow Herd
Today, the cow herd numbers 300 Black Angus cows and 120 Red Angus cows while Michael and his Alcan herd are at 50 cows. With the numbers growing and Michael's intent to raise Angus cattle, we embarked on a search for a ranch that we felt would fit the bill. The spring of 2000 saw us take ownership of the "Morton Ranch" west of Warner, Alberta situated on the Milk River Ridge. Our entire family was more than excited about this new home for our cattle.
Day To Day Ranch Operations
Our
herdsman Dale Fehr, comes to us with extensive ranch and feedlot
experience. He is an irreplaceable part of the Benchmark family.
In the summer, you will find Dale on horseback checking cows and
other day to day cattle ranching activities. Dale also breaks and
trains horses to be ranch ready. If you would like to inquire about
having
Dale train
your horse, send us an e-mail through the guest book. We welcome
Dale and his family to our program and are proud to have him working
along side us in the purebred cattle industry.
Benchmark and Alcan Angus Are Here To Stay
As you can see we are into breeding Angus cattle for the long haul. We've been breeding them for thirty nine years, yet with the new ranch and Michael taking a more active part, we've just begun.