Carissa Koopmann Rivers has longstanding ties to the ranching industry that span more than a century and a half, making her the fifth generation of ranchers living in California’s Bay Area. Her ranching roots can be traced all the way back to her German and Italian ancestors emigrating to the U.S. in the late 1860s, eventually establishing a homestead in 1918 near Pleasanton, CA.
Today, Rivers’ family continues to raise commercial beef cattle on the ranch, and she and her husband operate their own Red Angus cow-calf seedstock operation while raising the sixth generation of agriculturalists.
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Conservation and adaptation have ensured the family trade has persevered for over 100 years, and Rivers’ goal is to ensure it carries on for not only the next generation, but the next century.
Family ties
Rivers grew up on her family’s operation in Sunol, CA, surrounded by scenic rangelands and oak woodlands, but in close proximity to the bustling urban Bay Area. The family ranch, Koopmann Ranch, predominantly incorporates Red Angus and Hereford genetics, focusing on maintaining a core foundation of red baldies. The ranch rarely purchases outside cattle, keeping its replacements and alternating between purchasing Hereford or Red Angus bulls every few years.
Rivers purchased her own set of Red Angus females in 2001 and has grown the herd into Rivers Red Angus with her husband, Vic, and their three children, Bray Lynn, Jake and Russell. They ranch primarily on their ranch in Livermore, CA, and on a lease atop Mount Diablo of the Diablo Mountain Range. The lease is on private land owned by a nonprofit conservation organization, with half of the lease open for public access and an additional 25,000 acres of state park surrounding the grazing land.
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Rivers Red Angus is based 100% on registered Red Angus genetics. Over the years, Rivers has extensively utilized artificial insemination and, more recently, has incorporated embryo transfer into the ranch’s breeding practices. She makes all of the management, breeding and marketing decisions, and implements a strict culling regime, selling anything that doesn’t make the cut for registered as commercial.
“We’ve been culling heavily for a number of years,” she told WLJ. “Selling good, older females, which are my favorite, but it’s important to make room for the younger generation. Each generation is supposed to be better. It’s been really positive for our genetic pool—we’re only keeping the best of the best.”
Tim and Melinda Koopmann, pillars of the family ranch and parents to Rivers, reside on the ranch, along with Rivers’ brother, Clayton, and his wife, Natalie. Rivers and her family live nearby in Livermore, and the entire Koopmann family works closely to keep things running smoothly on the century-old ranch.
“We all work together on things: branding, gathering, weaning, shipping—everything’s done as a family,” she said.
Education and outreach
Growing up, Rivers hadn’t envisioned leaving the ranch or pursuing college until her father encouraged her to fill out college applications. The single application she submitted led her to the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), opening the doors to her future in higher education and her endeavors into research and outreach.
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Initially aspiring to become a vocational agricultural teacher just like her dad before her, she sought out more of a hands-on education, which she found at California State University, Fresno. While there, she found guidance under Dr. Randy Perry, ag professor and supervisor of the school beef unit, and obtained a degree in animal science. Later, after attending Colorado State University and receiving her master’s degree in integrated resource management, she took a job with the University of California (UC) Cooperative Extension in Siskiyou County.
Rivers has always had a vested interest in research and education outreach. “I 100% stand behind any research projects that are practical application and science-based research that can really be implemented in a realistic manner,” she said. “I think a lot of what UC Extension works on is things that can be realistically implemented that are science-based. It was great to be working on issues at hand and finding solutions for issues that producers are running into every day.”
During her time at UC Extension, Rivers primarily focused on projects related to forest and meadow management, as well as irrigated pasture. However, prior to leaving UC Extension in 2019 to move to Livermore and closer to the family ranch, she worked on a carcass composting project. The project explored alternatives to animal carcass disposal to minimize the risk of attracting wolves.
“That was one of projects that I thought was really unique,” she said. “It’s not for everyone, but it would give another tool in the toolbox for some folks that it was a fit for.”
One of her favorite achievements during her time in Siskiyou County was developing a program for underprivileged 4-H kids to afford a bred heifer project to sell at the local county fair. In the program, local ranches generously donate a heifer and Extension covers the market price through collaboration with the local cattlemen’s association. Interested 4-Hers submit an application and share how they plan to raise and feed the heifer and then if selected, Extension agents work with the kids in getting the heifers show ready.
“The heifers do really well,” she said. “It’s supported by the local ranching community and it’s just a phenomenal program.
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Now Rivers is involved with her local 4-H program as the beef leader, co-advising with a friend. In addition to serving her local 4-H chapter, she sits on the board of directors for the Agriculture and Natural Resources Trust, an organization that supports the conservation of ag and natural resources in Contra Costa County and nearby areas.
Along with working on the ranch and her involvement within the community, Rivers is also a Pasture Range and Forage (PRF) drought specialist with Ozark Hills Insurance. PRF is a program that she personally supports and endorses, particularly during California’s prolonged periods of drought.
“PRF has been a great tool for many producers and continues to be a long-term opportunity to recover some costs incurred by implementing more costly management practices through the tougher years,” she said.
Conservation-minded
Conservation isn’t a buzzword for Rivers—it’s a philosophy ingrained in her from a young age, consistently guiding her management decisions.
“I was raised knowing that if you take care of the land, it will take care of you,” she said. “That means being mindful of your grazing management and the positive relationship that can have with your natural resources.”
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There is always an ongoing conservation project happening at the ranches, whether it be oak regeneration, rangeland monitoring or collaborating with outside organizations and Extension groups. In the past, the family has worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Rivers has plans to work again with the agency in the future.
California has an abundant and diverse population of wildlife species, and the ranches are no exception. The Mount Diablo ranch is home to the California red-legged frog, a federally listed species under the Endangered Species Act. In this habitat, cattle graze and coexist in harmony with the species. On the Koopmann family ranch, a conservation easement facilitated by the California Rangeland Trust safeguards the property. The ranch serves as habitat for California red-legged frogs, California tiger salamanders, callippe silverspot butterflies and a variety of other species.
For producers seeking guidance on managing their land and threatened species in a mutually beneficial manner, Rivers suggests taking a step back and assessing what is currently effective and what is not.
“I think the No. 1 thing to remember is that if there are livestock grazing and these species are present, there’s a symbiotic relationship there that is functional,” she said. “Don’t just jump in and say, ‘Let’s get the animals out of here, there shouldn’t be grazing.’ There’s a species already there with the cattle and it’s a functional relationship—it’s working.”
Maintaining an open mindset and engaging in discussions with biologists and conservation groups for potential collaboration are among the initial steps, she said. And, inviting someone out to work through management practices doesn’t mean you have to go forward with anything, she added.
But, “Be able to have a conversation and stand up for your management practices and know the benefits and know what you bring to the table,” she advised.
California challenges
Ranching in the urban Bay Area comes with its own unique set of challenges, but Rivers views many of them as opportunities.
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“You have the opportunity daily to reach out to the public and share your knowledge and experience and create a positive learning experience,” she said. “That’s something that is not looked at as a positive for a lot of people, but I see it that way because across the country we’re always talking about how we need to tell our story. What better way to tell your story than to be on the ground answering questions when people see you working?”
She continued that she sees an educational opportunity in every interaction she has with someone who isn’t directly involved in agriculture. “The way I see it is, yes there’s complete ignorance and there’s people that don’t want to learn or listen, but there’s a majority of people who are genuinely curious and want to hear what we are doing,” she explained.
Another benefit to living in an urban area is the numerous opportunities to direct market beef. “You have a huge customer base right next door, everywhere,” she said.
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Along with the opportunities, however, there come challenges. One of the biggest limiting factors to the ranch’s growth, Rivers said, is their location. Given the Bay Area’s expansive urban development, there are few opportunities for contiguous acreage. Most parcels are broken up into several-hundred-acre plots and scattered around the area. Once you add in the Bay Area traffic, driving from lease to lease could take up most of the day.
Finding land in the wake of urban sprawl—especially at an affordable price—is so difficult that Rivers said it poses a significant challenge for younger generations aiming to start or expand their operations. “It’s very discouraging at times,” she said. “It’s very disheartening seeing family ranches being divided.”
Moving forward
In the face of escalating urban sprawl, the family has prioritized diversification as a key management practice over the years. “I think our family has done a tremendous job at that,” she said. “My brother and his wife direct market beef, and my husband and I have branched off and done purebred so we can optimize on each animal that we market through superior genetics.”
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She stressed the significance of diversification for multi-generational ranch family members, because in many cases, the family ranch doesn’t have the capacity for all family members to sustain a livelihood.
“Building these relationships and partnerships with not only the conservation community, but UC Extension, doing research and just being supportive of some of these projects and opportunities that are out there has been pretty vital for our family operation,” she said.
Another key to continuing a multi-generational ranch is transparency in succession planning, she said. While not all of the details need to be shared right away, they should be documented, she said.
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“If nothing else gets done, at least have that initial conversation,” she recommended. “It’s so common that families are torn apart when the patriarch or matriarch passes and planning hasn’t been done correctly or hasn’t been done at all.”
Not wanting to see more families go through the difficult process alone, while in Siskiyou County she hosted workshops for the local families to attend and start thinking about succession planning. “It’s really hard to watch the stronger ranching families and communities have trouble,” she said.
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With three children of her own expressing an interest in agriculture, Rivers is actively working to ensure they carry on the legacy as the sixth generation in her family. “I love being involved in the ag community and it’s all about the kids’ futures,” she finished. “Before I had kids, it was building my future, but now it’s building opportunities for their future.”
This shift in perspective illustrates her commitment to sustaining and evolving what her ancestors began over 100 years ago: a rich heritage deeply rooted in agriculture.
