Our Farmers
- Mark, Devil’s Gulch Ranch
- Jim Reichardt, Liberty Ducks
- John Teixeira, Lone Willow Ranch
- Mac Magruder, Magruder Ranch
- The Magruder Family, Magruder Ranch
- Loren & Lisa Poncia, Stemple Creek Ranch
- Farmer Joy’s duck pond.
- The Nitschke Family of Mariposa Ranch
Magruder Ranch
Mac Magruder, his wife, daughter and son-in-law raise beef, pigs, and sheep on 2,300 acres of land that they call Ingel-Haven Ranch, a fifth generation working farm in Potter Valley (Mendocino County). During the past thirty-plus years, Mac has effectually become a grass farmer, developing fertile pastures rich with naturally-growing legumes and grasses perfectly suited to grow healthy cattle. Ingel-Haven Ranch consists of both irrigated pastures and open hill ground which provides year-round grazing for the cattle in a holistic rotational system. The land is grazed and then rested an optimal amount of time for proper plant recovery. The Angus cattle are born, raised, and finished on the ranch (all grass fed), and processed locally as a contribution to our local food system and local economy.
Mariposa Ranch
Seth and Mica Nitschke founded Mariposa Ranch in 2006 with a great respect for the environment and with the cattle in their care. Seth had spent many years in the conventional cattle business. After spending time on a small grass-fed beef farm in Western Australia, Seth was inspired to try the cattle care and harvesting methods to the United States. Mariposa Ranch beef is grass fed and grass finished, never given hormones, antibiotics or feed grains.
Stemple Creek Ranch
The Poncia Family began ranching the rolling hills of Tomales Bay in 1902. They raise all natural, 100% pastured beef and lamb on certified organic pasture land just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean. Their ranch and beef operation are certified through the Global Animal Partnership, demonstrating their serious commitment to animal welfare and ethical husbandry practices. At Stemple Creek Ranch, Loren and Lisa Poncia focus on breeding animals with high amounts of fat marbling to produce beef that is rich and flavorful, often times harder to find in pasture raised animals.
Lone Willow Ranch
Lone Willow Ranch is located roughly 4 miles north of Firebaugh along the San Joaquin River. They raise fruits and vegetables as well as livestock, and The Local Butcher Shop purchases heritage Tamworth pigs from them. Tamworths are great grazers and like being in open spaces. Lone Willow pasture raises their hogs with simple fencing and protection from the weather. Their diet is supplemented with barley wheat and cracked corn soaked in fresh goats’ milk from their own goats.
Llano Seco
Llano Seco was incorporated in 1861 as in its 7th generation of family farming on the Sacramento River on one of California’s last entact Mexican land grant properties. Their organic pigs are a cross of Duroc and Yorkshire breeds, and are fed 100% certified organic vegetarian grains and legumes, some of which are grown on the Rancho. They are provided with deep straw bedding and plentiful outdoor access. The pigs are slaughtered in a small-scale, organic certified abbatoir, a short 20-minute drive from the Rancho, ensuring a stress-less and humane death. Also raising organic beef and heritage beans and grains, Llano Seco is proud to provide a variety of products while caring for the people, the animals and the land.
Emigh Lamb
Martin and Jeanine Emigh have been raising lambs through their company, M.J. Livestock since 1991. Martin is a fourth generation rancher; his great grandfather starting raising lambs in 1876 in the rolling hills of Rio Vista, CA. This tradition has been passed down through the generations. They run rambouillet cross ewes with Suffolk/Hampshire rams. After being weined, the lamb graze free on natural pastures of alfalfa, clover, filaree and rye grass with no added pesticides or fertilizer.
Magruder Ranch
Mac Magruder, his wife, daughter and son-in-law raise beef, pigs, and sheep on 2,300 acres of land that they call Ingel-Haven Ranch, a fifth generation working farm in Potter Valley (Mendocino County). During the past thirty-plus years, Mac has effectually become a grass farmer, developing fertile pastures rich with naturally-growing legumes and grasses perfectly suited to grow healthy cattle. Ingel-Haven Ranch consists of both irrigated pastures and open hill ground which provides year-round grazing for the cattle in a holistic rotational system. The land is grazed and then rested an optimal amount of time for proper plant recovery. The Angus cattle are born, raised, and finished on the ranch (all grass fed), and processed locally as a contribution to our local food system and local economy.
Rossotti Ranch
Rossotti Ranch is a family owned and operated ranch specializing in all natural grass fed meat goats and pasture raised veal. The ranch is in the beautiful rolling grasslands of western Marin and southern Sonoma Counties, just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean. Rossotti Ranch is part of a very loyal agricultural family. They are committed to continue their family’s tradition of producing healthy food for our local community. Julie is a fourth generation rancher who has been devoted to raising livestock since she could walk. Julie has owned a herd of both registered and commercial beef cattle for over twenty years. Wanting to diversify, about 4 years ago, Tony and Julie Rossotti developed an interest in the production of African Boer meat goats. Their interest quickly became a new found passion. After sharing a ranch with family members for a few years, Tony and Julie purchased their first ranch two years ago and currently their beef cattle and goats are located on both ranches – the family’s historic H Ranch in Point Reyes and The Rossotti Ranch in Petaluma.
Fogline Farm
Fogline Farm raises organic-fed birds on coastal bluffs near in Pescadero. Truly pasture-raised, the Cornish Cross birds are moved daily to fresh grass in mobile coops. Caleb Barron is the owner and farmer. He attended UC Santa Cruz’s CASFS apprenticeship in ecological horticulture. In 2008, he apprenticed at Pie Ranch where his love for livestock blossomed. In 2010, he joined up with Fogline Farm and eventually took over the vegetable and multi species livestock operation. In 2017, he made the decision to focus solely on broiler chickens.
Riverdog Farm
Riverdog Farm is a 450 acre certified organic, diversified family farm in Capay Valley that grows vegetables, fruits, nuts, and raises chickens and pigs. Since 1990 the farm has used a system of compost, crop rotation, cover cropping and hedgerow planting to keep the soil healthy and to promote a healthy ecosystem around the farm. Riverdog Farm’s animals are integrated into its farming system by providing natural fertilizer for orchards and fields and are all raised on organic pasture. Riverdog Farm’s chickens are raised in mobile coops on pasture under the fruit and nut orchards. Each coop is moved everyday to a new patch of fresh pasture. In addition to pasture the meat birds also enjoy a diet of whey-soaked organic grain, veggie and fruit culls, and organic feed.
Primal Pasture
Primal Pasture chickens are raised outside, on grass, soaking up the Vitamin D and scratching at the ground for bugs and worms. The supplemental feed is organic and free of GMOs and Soy. It also contains items found in a chicken’s natural diet. The birds are given the ability to roam around and do things chickens are meant to do on a spacious grassy area that is rotated daily to allow the grass time to recover and give the birds fresh forage to munch on.
Sonoma County Liberty Ducks
Sonoma County Poultry was founded in 1992 by Jim Reichardt, a fourth generation duck farmer, in response to chefs’ demands for a larger, meatier, more flavorful duck. Their “Liberty Ducks” are a strain of Pekin suited to a slower, less stressful style of rearing. This results in a market age of about 9 weeks as opposed to the average six weeks of other commercially-grown birds. The temperate climate in Sonoma allows Liberty Ducks to be raised year-round on straw litter in an open environment and with a minimum of intrusion. Liberty Ducks receive no antibiotics or hormones and are fed a diet that consists largely of corn and other grains.
Good Shepherd Ranch
Good Shepherd produces 100% heritage birds that are certified standard bred by the American Poultry Association. With pure genetic lines and natural living conditions, the turkeys are healthy, and raised with the very best welfare standards.
Paine Farm
Phillip Paine raises the most succulent, well bred squab you have ever tasted in Sonoma.
Wolfe Ranch
Brent Wolfe has been raising quail for more than 30 years. At Wolfe Farm near Vacaville, California, Brent’s free range quail are selectively bred and fed a high-protein grain diet with no hormones or antibiotics. Allowing seven weeks for the quail to mature leads to a flavorful bird that are larger than average.
Devil’s Gulch Ranch
Devil’s Gulch is located in Nicasio, and Mark and Myriam’s rabbits are fed a pellet feed along with grass and hay to ensure complete nutrition. They work with a local feed mill to produce the pellets to their specifications which are free of hormones and antibiotics.
Tomales Bay Pastures
Pasture-raised eggs from hens fed a corn and soy free diet. These hens forage on native grasses and bugs on the hills overlooking Tomales Bay in Marshall, California.
Pasture 42
Located on thirty-two acres of pasture in Guinda, California, Pasture 42 is a small-scale family farm dedicated to sustainable farming practices. Hens are raised in mobile coops on pasture.
Farmer Joy
Sixth generation Farmer Joy raises ducks on her family’s farm in Marin County’s Chileno Valley.