Producer Stories from UFRW Farmers & Ranchers

Dennis & Laurie Marsh (KT Beef) - Loyalton, CA

KT Beef - Loyalton, CA After more than 16 years in Sierra Valley, Dennis and Laurie Marsh have decided to give the public sale of KT Beef a try. Originally they thought this idea could be a local Co-op and quickly realized that change comes slow in the minds of many. The Marsh’s who come from ranching backgrounds, Dennis originally from Santa Clara Valley and Half Moon Bay and Laurie from Half Moon Bay decided that providing a quality product from Sierra Valley name was worthy of their efforts.

Horse V Ranch - Taylorsville, CA

Horse V Ranch - Taylorsville, CA
Brian and Heather Kingdon purchased the main ranch in Indian Valley in 1991. Since then progressive practices have been implemented on the 385 acres of irrigated ground. It is used primarily for summer grazing and hay production. Included in the operation are leases on two summer ranches as well as the winter range near Chico. This provides year round grazing for their herd of predominately Angus cattle which was started from a base herd of Beefmaster many years ago.

Russell Reid (Reid Land & Cattle LLC) - Quincy, CA

Reid Land & Cattle LLC - Quincy, CA
Reid Land & Cattle LLC is located in American Valley of Plumas County and is owned and operated by Russell and Beth Reid. Along with their children Tim and Katie, the family has worked together since 1984 to improve the resources and productivity of this unique small mountain ranch along Greenhorn Creek.

Jim Dobbas Ranch - Sattley, CA

Jim Dobbas Ranch - Sattley, CA
The Dobbas Ranch of Sattley is located in Sierra Valley of Sierra County. The first parcel was purchased in 1989 from the Turner family. Later the Dargie, Barutti and Church parcels were added to the ranch. Jim believes that saving Sierra Valley ranch land is vital to preserving the heritage of the valley as well as ensuring the future quality of life in the valley.

Van Vleck Ranch - Sattley/Pylmouth , CA

Van Vleck Ranch-Sattley, CA
Lewis Van Vleck runs a cow/calf operation that moves from his home place in Amador County and returns to Sierra Valley in mid May depending on the season. He attributes some of the success of his operation to the fact that his family owns both winter and summer pasture. It is well known that for operations that call Sierra Valley home, most of the cattle leave the harsh winters and go below to winter pasture in the Central Valley.

Sierra Valley Ranch - Calpine, CA

Sierra Valley Ranch - Calpine, CA
Sierra Valley Ranch is situated in Sierra and Plumas Counties at 5,000 ft elevation. This mountain valley receives snowmelt and runoff on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada. Several major streams and tributaries run through the ranch including the Middle Fork Feather River, Craycroft Creek, Cold Stream, and the Westside Canal.

Bill Copren - Sattley, CA

Bill Copren - Sattley, CA
Bill was raised in Sierraville, CA along with 4 sisters by his parents Georgene and "Pinky" Copren. Turns out that a lifelong personal interest in history has served him well, Bill likes to remind you that the Swiss – Italian history in Sierra Valley came long after the families such as the Church, Turner, McElroy, Hamlin, Humphrey, Webber, Adams, Strang and Hale who have colorful history here in northern California back to 1849 when the Copren ancestors arrived in what is now Sierra County.