In the beginning….
Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of having my own ranch. As a horse-crazy kid, the dream was something like having my house integrated with the barn so I could feed my horses out of my bedroom window. Now, as an adult, that vision has changed quite a bit.
Family Ranching History
Growing up, I heard many stories about our family’s ranching enterprise, started by my Great-Great-Grandfather, Victor Cauhape, and his wife, Marie, in the 1870s. Victor arrived in California with a dream and a small amount of resources. After traveling around for some time, he saw an opportunity: the mercury mines above the Santa Clara Valley (now known as Silicon Valley) needed fresh beef to feed the miners. Victor purchased a steer, walked it up the hill to the mining camps, slaughtered it, and sold the meat to miners, their families, and local restaurants.
Within a few years, he opened his own butcher shop, where he met Marie. According to family legend, Victor was diligently filling orders when he spotted a beautiful redhead in line. He served everyone in the shop—except her! By the time she reached the front of the line, ready to give him a piece of her mind, he leaned across the counter and kissed her. While that certainly wouldn’t fly today, they were inseparable from then on, raising six children and building a thriving cattle business. Sadly, Victor passed away in 1915, and the ranch closed during the Great Depression due to various unfortunate circumstances.
Fast forward several decades, and here I am with my own family, living in rural northern Nevada, working to bring my ranch dream to life. We have traditional desk jobs, with my husband dedicating much of his spare time to building our new home on the ranch. Meanwhile, I’ve been learning as much as possible about modern agriculture, particularly in specialty crops and small-scale beef production.
Learning the Ropes of Modern Agriculture
Historically, I’ve had what some would call a “black thumb” (yes, I’ve even killed a cactus!). However, I’ve recently started experimenting more with gardening, learning about sustainable practices, and delving into specialty crop production. For instance, I’m focusing on companion planting and soil regeneration—strategies that were common in the home gardens of years gone by, but that have fallen by the wayside as the availability of fertilizers and other products became more commercially available. These types of practices are seeing a cultural resurgence, and will be critical critical to successful small-scale farming in our climate. The area in which we live falls into USDA hardiness zone 7A, but is subject to very cold winters (single digits are not terribly abnormal) and very hot summers, with strong winds all year round.
Our Growing Ranch Family
Until we move to the ranch, we’re managing a small flock of hens (who are more like pets than livestock) and two horses. If you check out our Instagram, you’ll see plenty of posts about the animals, including an adolescent fluffy gray cat named “Waffles,” who’s always up to mischief, and our elderly chocolate lab, “Mocha,” whose patience with the kids and Waffles is unparalleled.
When we do move over to the ranch property, I hope to start small herds of beef cattle, sheep (for wool and meat), and cashmere goats. From these, my current gameplan is to experiment with high-quality meat and fiber farming, and explore whether or not entering inito these markets commercially would be worthwhile. I’d also like to play around with growing herbs and spices for retail sales, but we’ll see how that goes.
As we continue this journey, I hope to share more about the ups and downs of ranch life, our gardening experiments, and our efforts to explore how very traditional and modern agricultural practices can be leveraged for small-scale production.
Share Your Story
I would love to hear from you! Have you ever dreamed of starting a ranch, or do you have tips for growing your own garden? Share your stories and tips in the comments below, and follow along for more updates from our little slice of ranch life.
-Valerie