Being in places where there are more cows than people is where I feel most at home. I have worked in every facet of getting beef from the ranch to your dinner plate. Currently, both my husband and I work full-time in town and tend to our cows. 

Running cattle in Southern Oregon and Northern California, my roots run deep in the beef community. Over 150 years ago, my family began ranching in Northern California and it is still a very productive ranch today. I am the sixth generation to have a passion for caring for cattle. After I graduated from college and returned to the ranch, I saw that there was no interest in slicing the pie and the personalities didn’t jibe. I knew that I needed to pivot in order to achieve my dreams of owning and running my own cattle. Walking away from doing what you absolutely love, in the place that you’ve dreamed of being your entire life, and from a community of people you love, is no easy task. 

Fortunately, when some doors close, other doors open when you least expect them to. I am sure you’ve seen this in your life as well! Well, when I returned to my hometown in 2017, I caught up with many old friends and the word got out that I had moved back. Hey, there are a few benefits to small town talk! A really handsome guy ended up reaching out, our first date was driving around on a 4-wheeler looking at the public lands permit he grazes. Basically the most dreamy first date I could ever imagine. A little over a year later, we surprised our closest friends and family by inviting them to an End of Summer BBQ on the Rogue River at my parents house (my parents cook and entertain a lot, so this didn’t throw too many red flags). Little did they know, we were getting married that day. 

Another door that opened was an opportunity to teach 5th grade in a Two-Way Immersion program. In the past, my hope was to create a program for inner-city youth to come stay out on the ranch, coordinating summer camps. Education is something that has always tugged at my heart strings, so I took the position. I was newly married, working full-time teaching, with a baby boy and working through a two-year Master’s of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program at our local university. After graduating with my MAT in the Spring of 2020; we had our baby girl shortly after.

I am no longer teaching 5th grade, but I teach part-time privately out of my own classroom. This allows me to homeschool my son, spend the majority of everyday with both of my littles, and take on more of the workload with our cattle. We started grain finishing a portion of our cattle to sell directly to local families. It has been so fun getting to know local families and help them confidently navigate that process.

Hindsight, all you can do is shake your head and smile at the beautifully orchestrated plan that you never EVER would have predicted. Were there tears shed along the way? Absolutely. Was my heart torn apart in the process? Mmmhmm. Did you think you were going to be a single mom until you were 40? Certainly. 

Although I am not back on my family’s ranch like I initially hoped, my husband and I are working our tails off to carve out the life we want for ourselves and our kids. If you ask my son where my favorite place to be is, he will quickly reply, “Home!” He gets me. I am a complete homebody, and I want to bring my love for ranching and passion for rural living right to you. Perhaps you have questions about beef, how it is raised, or how to cook it. If it has to do with cattle, I am your girl!