Jim and Mary Rickert have been the General Managers of the Prather Ranch since 1979.

The Prather Ranch Story

Prather Ranch is an 34,000 acre operation located on a high mountain butte Northeast of Mt. Shasta in Northern California.  Over the years, we have developed a dry-aged certified organic beef program. Our Certified Organic beef begins with our understanding that a low stress approach to animal handling and a deep understanding of our herd will produce a healthier, more consistent product.

Spring-fed water and computer tracked feeds grown on our Siskiyou County ranch provide the healthiest diet.  The cattle are a "closed herd" comprised only of those raised on the ranch.  Detailed records of geneology, weight, feed and life history are kept for each animal. This assures you, the consumer, of the finest, purest beef you will ever eat.

	Walter and Colleen Ralphs, owners of Prather Ranch with Robin and Kendra Berenson, part of the Ralphs' family

All Prather Ranch cattle are born and raised on our ranch. Because of this, we are able to keep detailed records of the geneology, weight, feed and life history of each animal.  We are also better able to maintain a low-stress living environment.  It is our philosophy that responsible stewardship of the land is a practice that must be continually improved upon, for it is this attention to detail that allows us to deliver a consistent product.  By doing so, we are in a win-win-win situation: the animals live in ideal conditions, we use ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and you can serve our beef with confidence that it is a pure product.

Rich Long, the ranch veterinarian.

Our beef is hand-cut in our private state-of-the-art USDA federally inspected facility located on the ranch.  We never administer growth-stimulating hormones or feed antibiotics.  We have never fed animal sourced proteins.  It is our business to have the best documented cattle in the world.

At Prather Ranch, it is against our business policy to increase quantity at the expense of quality.  We are a comparatively low volume cattle ranch.  This fundamental approach prevents the questionable practices that aim to increase yield and keeps us focused on what is important - improving the treatment and care of our cattle and environment so that you can consistently serve the best tasting beef to family and friends.

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