Livin’ the good life on the ranch

One thing.

Billy Crystal’s character in the movie City Slickers found his one thing, the secret of life, at a ranch and since then others have been looking for it in the wilds of southern Ontario.

Carl Cosack said when that film was released in 1991 it created a buzz around ranch life.

“Maybe we grew up on too many John Wayne movies,” said Carl. “We always wanted to be a Western style ranch, riding around the hillside trying to be as close to an authentic cattle ranch as you can in Ontario.”

The farm property was purchased by Carl’s father Hans in 1964 when he still lived in Germany.

“The threat of war and political unrest drove my father to look for something better,” said Carl.

He found a little piece of paradise in Mulmur Township.

Standing tall in a plaid shirt and jeans secured with an NDACT belt buckle, cowboy hat and boots, Carl looks the part of rancher.

Three generations of Cosacks have worked the land of what is now a working 1,200-acre cattle ranch and tourist destination.

The Weatherall family is a big part of the history of the ranch, said Carl. Morley Weatherall and his family operated the farm as a corn crop, feedlot and finishing beef cattle.

Carl left Germany in 1975. He was 16 and yearning for adventure so he came to Canada to take advantage of the family farm.

Carl said those were good times and it was always rewarding to see when Peace Valley Ranch had the highest sales of the week in the farm reports.

The operation faced restructuring in the late 1970s due to a downturn in the farming economy and, ahead of their time, the Cosacks went organic.

Hans Cosack moved to Canada in 1982 and still lives on an adjacent property on the ranch. He just turned 90.

The 1980s were very challenging, said Cosack. They were facing crazy interest rates and a tornado devastated the property in 1985. He said the community had always been most welcoming to the family and, even though they were surrounded by immigrants of many nationalities, they never felt any discrimination for having fought on the other side of the Second World War. The whole neighbourhood pitched in to help clean up and rebuild after the tornado. Carl said 60 people worked for four weeks to get the place cleaned up.

Carl said by 1988 the farm was certified organic and the following year, Peace Valley Ranch found salvation in the form of a purchase contract from Miracle Food Mart. The grocery chain purchased a line of premium beef, which brought the farm back into financial stability.

By 1996 Peace Valley Ranch reinvented itself as a tourist destination.

“City Slickers made it popular to go to a ranch and the phone hasn’t stopped ringing since,” said Carl. “Now we have 40 horses and we do all this crazy stuff.”

Visitors can experience ranch life through guided trail rides and a stay in the family home, which operates as a B&B.

Carl’s daughter Nikki continues to work on the ranch focusing on natural horsemanship, getting the horses ready for riders. Carl’s wife Natalie Kotyck is a trainer.

“Still to this day I consider Canada to be the land of opportunity; if you want to put in, it’ll give back,” said Carl. “We are living the good life.”