7 BAR L Cattle Ranch

In 1953 he had an idea that the area bordered by Moose and Cedar Lakes to the east and Saskatchewan River to the south and Manitoba-Saskatchewan border on the west was ideal cattle country. He suggested to the Manitoba Government that the area could be developed into one of the richest cattle regions of the west and an attempt might be made to get the local Indian people interested in small cattle holdings.

He was not successful in convincing the government on this idea, so he went out to prove his point first hand. He obtained a 10 year lease on 2000 acres, put in drainage, created fields for grazing and haying and put in barley, oats and wheat.

In 1953 Tom Lamb moved 28 head of Hereford cattle onto his 2000 acre farm at Moose Lake, Manitoba (40 miles east of The Pas). By 1957, he had a herd of 298 cattle, plus three prize bulls from the Brandon Winter Fair. He began his first shipments of cattle to market that year. He was anticipating a herd of nearly 1000 cattle within 3 to four years.

By 1964, the development of the Grand Rapids Hydroelectric project resulted in the flooding of the lease area. Tom Lamb fought the Manitoba government to recoup losses resulting from the flooding. He lost. Nearly 600 head of cattle were sold in January and February 1964. The headline on the sale ads was “All Must Be Sold - Not One Left by a Dam Site”