Tradition meets innovation: Yolo Land and Cattle Co.

Yolo Land and Cattle Co., straddling Yolo and Solano counties in California’s Sacramento Valley, is a testament to the power of family, innovation and diversification in modern ranching. Owned and operated by the Stone family, this ranch exemplifies a blend of traditional and forward-thinking strategies that have allowed it to thrive in an ever-changing agricultural landscape.

Scott Stone and his brother, Casey, manage the operation their father, Henry, bought in 1976. Henry experimented with various cattle breeds, eventually determining that a black Angus and Hereford cross was the ideal range cow. In retirement, Henry established a successful purebred Angus herd, which he managed until his passing in 2014.

Today, the ranch runs about 650 head of cattle on 13,500 acres of owned and leased ranches, with elevations ranging from 300 to 2,300 feet. Stone said about 25% of the herd is crossbred with Wagyu bulls and is sold to Mishima Reserve, an American Wagyu beef producer based in Washington. The rest of the herd is raised to yearlings, weaning the calves in October and selling them in June on the video market. The majority of the calves produced are marketed in this manner.

Path to diversification

The Stone family’s journey into diversification wasn’t without challenges. The journey began in 1995 when Stone attended a Ranching for Profit seminar in Colorado. Inspired by the ideas presented, Stone returned home with a vision to explore various avenues to increase value and income streams for the ranch.

Stone told WLJ that attending the seminar introduced new ideas that initially clashed with his father’s traditional methods, leading to several years of disagreements and an extensive discussion and education process for the family.

That vision and idea to increase revenue streams has since evolved into a multifaceted operation encompassing beef production, events, composting and even cutting-edge technology.

One part of the overall business is the grass-finished program that Scott and his wife, Karen, have been operating for the past 16 years. They process animals that are 24 to 28 months old, ensuring conditioned carcasses that repeat customers highly seek after. They never use antibiotics, hormones or artificial supplements of any kind.

However, there was a learning curve as they initially sold their product at local farmer’s markets in the Sacramento region.

“We participated in farmers markets for seven years, which consumed many of our Saturdays,” Stone said. “It was challenging because everyone wanted to buy just a few pounds of steaks or hamburgers, but we needed to sell the whole animal, from head to tail. Eventually, we decided to stop going to the farmers markets.”

Today, they sell quarters of beef, with each shipment typically sold out within 10 days through direct sales from their website and word-of-mouth recommendations. This approach has allowed them to maintain a manageable scale, balancing the beef business with other ventures. Their commitment to quality is evident, and despite not having their beef graded, Stone is confident that it would meet Choice standards.

Casey Stone and his wife, Angela, have also contributed to the diversification of the ranch’s beef offerings by developing a beef jerky company. Their beef jerky and sticks line has gained substantial traction, adding another layer to the ranch’s product portfolio.

Other ventures

One significant diversification effort is the integration of composting into their operations. Stone partnered with Agromin, a company specializing in compost production, to develop a chipping, grinding and blending facility on a 20-acre property. This facility processes urban yard and organic waste into high-quality organic compost, which Stone applies to the ranch’s fields. There are many benefits to adding carbon to the soil, including improved soil health, increased forage production and enhanced water retention and carbon retention.

Looking ahead, Stone is enthusiastic about the potential of their carbon sink program, which aims to sell carbon credits based on sustainable practices implemented on the ranch. This initiative aligns with their commitment to environmental stewardship and offers another avenue for financial sustainability.

The ranch is no stranger to sustainable practices. In 2005, the Stone family placed nearly 7,000 acres into a conservation easement with the California Rangeland Trust. Their commitment to conservation earned them the prestigious 2007 National Environmental Stewardship Award from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Their initiatives included a vegetative management plan, rotational grazing, planting no-till cover crops and efforts in carbon sequestration through partnerships with University of California, Davis and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and Agricultural Research Service.

Yolo Land and Cattle Co. has also ventured into the realm of new technologies, forming a unique partnership with Zipline International. This drone company, known for delivering emergency blood and medical supplies to remote hospitals in Africa, leases two acres and the airspace above the ranch for their national research and development testing facility.

Zipline’s drones have become a valuable asset to the ranch and symbolize the Stone family’s willingness to explore unconventional opportunities.

Events, community engagement

Yolo Land and Cattle Co. is more than just a ranch; it’s a community engagement hub. The picturesque setting of the ranch, with its sprawling pastures and rustic barn, made it an ideal venue for events. Over the years, the ranch has hosted various gatherings, from weddings to large-scale community events like the California Rangeland Trust’s 25th anniversary dinner in May of 2023.

The ranch’s barn will go through reconstruction due to wind damage but will remain a focal point for these events. Stone envisions transforming it into a more prominent event venue, hosting special occasions and large gatherings celebrating the ranch’s natural beauty and rich heritage.

“This provides us an opportunity to renovate the barn this winter and turn it more into an event venue,” Stone said. “It’s in a beautiful setting in this valley right along the creek and under these big oak trees. We’ll market it more to do more special events, but I don’t want it to be just a wedding venue.”

Real estate and financial stability

In addition to their agricultural pursuits, the Stones have strategically invested in real estate to ensure financial stability. The Stones have owned their agriculture real estate brokerage company for the last 37 years and during that time built a real estate portfolio that provides a steady income stream independent of the volatile cattle market. This approach has allowed the family to weather economic fluctuations and continue their innovative projects without undue financial stress.

“I’ve spent the last 37 years in my real estate businesses trying to build up enough of a real estate portfolio, that it really didn’t matter what happened in the cattle business, whether it went up or down,” Stone said. “It’s a double-edged sword because if you’re not making money in the cattle business, then you should find something else to do. The cattleman’s goal is to break even every year. A cattleman’s dream is to have two good years out of 10. Well, last year and this year have been those two good years, and I think we’re going to have another couple of years.”

By diversification and relentless commitment to quality, the Stone family created an enterprise honoring their heritage and enterprising them into the future. Their story is one of the importance of adaptability and endless possibilities that open up when tradition and innovation go hand in hand.