Prather Ranch

According to Prather Ranch manager Jim Rickert, "We provide consumers with the opportunity to buy beef raised the old fashioned way. We do a lot of care, there's a lot of individual effort by the people involved, it's grown locally, and the beef we raise is what we eat. We pay good wages, provide good benefits, and we try to operate in an environmentally sensitive manner. It's more expensive to do it this way but we are hoping people are willing to support a local business with these kind of ethics."

The main buildings at Prather Ranch are on the site of a town that once provided shelter to travelers on the road from Klamath Falls to Yreka. Though it's hard to see traces of past activity, the pastures once featured a lumber mill, creamery, hotel, post office, numerous other businesses and scattered homes. Railroad grades run here and there through the forest, a remnant of past logging. Today these forests, water, and fields support a new kind of pioneer.

Walter Ralphs, of Ralphs Supermarkets, started Prather Ranch in 1964. In 1981, Jim Rickert and his wife Mary began managing the ranch through their business, Western Agricultural Services. Prather Ranch cattle are raised primarily for emerging markets in organic beef and to meet the increasing demand for genetically sound bovine source material for pharmaceuticals. In both cases, Prather has taken bold steps to reshape a traditional practice to meet new markets.

In relation to food production, Prather workers are part of a diminishing workforce employed in agriculture. As Jim relates, "only about two percent of the country is now involved in the production of food. Everybody else does something else, and they only spend about 11% of their disposable income on food. Those aren't very big numbers compared to the rest of the world."

Bearing out this observation, recent statistics show that 6% of the Siskiyou County workforce is directly employed in agriculture, while across the broader region the figure now stands at 3%. At whatever scale and by whatever measure, Jim and the crew at Prather Ranch are at the cutting edge of a shrinking population involved in food production.

Prather cattle are born and raised on the ranch in what is known as a "closed herd." Detailed records on genealogy, feed, and life history are maintained for each animal. Ear tags received at birth carry identification numbers, which eventually appear on packages of beef at the market. Tracking individual animals from pasture to market assures consumers of food quality and safety.

Healthy cattle are the heart of Prather Ranch. The soil and water where Prather cattle graze are routinely tested for pathogens, providing protection from diseases borne by other cattle and deer. Organic feed for the herd is raised on nearby fields, and the cattle are never fed animal-source protein, which has been connected with the so-called Mad Cow disease. To verify organic integrity and to assure that the herd is free from other contamination Quality Assurance International (QAI), an international certification program, routinely tests the Prather herd.

Prather operates it's own feedlot and slaughterhouse. The cattle spend some 100 days prior to slaughter in the feedlot, where they receive supplemental organic grain. Even in the feedlot, Prather herds never receive growth hormones or antibiotics, which further sets Prather cattle apart. "Antibiotics in feedlots aren't necessary, and we seldom have a sick animal. The essential thing is to start with a healthy animal. By feedlot standards we have big pens, and we have quite a bit of exercise designed into them. These differences hurt us a little bit on pure economic efficiency, but I think ultimately it's more healthy for the animals."

The slaughterhouse is USDA inspected and maintains the strictest standards for cleanliness. Only Prather cattle are processed at the location, as "biosecurity" is essential to Prather's success. Even in butchering, care is taken to ensure humane treatment of the animals. "We make a big deal out of handling these animals very gently," Jim explains, "It's the right thing to do for animal welfare, and the other side of it is that it makes for better beef. The moral thing and the good business practice come together here."

The care the Rickerts put into management, breeding, feeding, testing, tracking and biosecurity have made Prather a valued supplier to pharmaceutical manufacturers. Medical research has found several applications for bovine material, ranging from collagen for cosmetic enhancement and skin replacement for burn victims, to therapies for young leukemia victims. Much of the ranch's profit comes from supplying this material to national and international pharmaceutical companies. The expansion into pharmaceuticals is consistent with the broader Prather philosophy. "The biggest part of what we've been doing, and what Walter Ralphs intended to do from the start, is to manage this as a resource, rather than as a cattle ranch or a farm. To answer the question, within the set of available resources we have here, what is the best thing to do?"

The resources available on the ranch have been well tapped. Springs at a higher elevation not only provide water for irrigation and cattle, but also power a hydroelectric system. Remanufactured from an early 1900's plant, the system feeds water-generated electricity directly onto the power grid, cutting ranch bills and increasing energy selfreliance. One thousand acres of forest are managed for timber production. A recent burn was replanted with pine to restore the site and to provide timber in the future.

Wildlife habitat is cared for in field and forest alike. A state regulated hunting club on the ranch strives to balance deer and antelope population and attracts hunters from across the state. Raptors are encouraged to populate the ranch, replacing costly and potentially dangerous poison treatments for rodent control. Springs are fenced to improve habitat and water quality alike.

While beef and pharmaceutical supplies make up the largest portion of the business, the ranch practices innovation in farming as well. They are currently working with a local hay cooperative to test the market for organic hay and are shipping timothy to Japan for feed. This year will be the first that the ranch grows strawberry starts for sale to commercial growers.

"The goal is to keep it a profitable long-term business. And that's of course the challenge. We have to have profit to stay in business. We can do all these wonderful things to make us feel warm and cozy and good, but if we're not profitable, we're really not a viable business."

It's the long-term nature of the enterprise that Jim emphasizes. He relates the story of one old-timer who coached fellow ranchers to operate like they're going to be there for a thousand years. As he reflects on society he sees that "our short term pursuits have created most of our long term problems." But whether the ranch will succeed over the long-term remains an active question for Jim. His perspective reflects the measured caution, the wry humor, and the hint of the curmudgeon common in people closer to the slower rhythms of agriculture, the seasons, and the earth.

"I personally believe in our product. But will society and the market give us the price signal and the desire to buy it so we can continue to provide it? I'm not sure I'm willing to bet the farm. But we're willing to give the consumer a choice."