About
Blue Rock Ranch is a small collective of friends practicing regenerative agriculture in beautiful Mendocino County, CA. Our land stewardship mission is to give back more to the land than we harvest in order to build soil, capture carbon, mitigate fire risk, and increase biodiversity. Along the way, we aim to build community and inspire a more sustainable future by connecting people with the land.
We are located on 40 acres of mixed forest (Oak, Madrone, Douglas Fir, Manzanita) and open pasture. This region was initially settled by the hunter gatherer Pomo Tribe who were forcibly removed when European settlers came west to mine for gold and to ranch in the area. In more recent history, the land we steward was part of a much larger sheep ranching operation before the large tract was divided into smaller parcels. This particular area was overgrazed for many years, then left fallow for decades. Much of the pasture is dominated by a single grass species that was seeded by airplane in the 1940's! Today, we employ rotational grazing with multiple types of animals and then seed with native grass and grain species. Our aim is to increase biodiversity and soil activity to transform formerly hard-packed hillsides into lush pasture.
At Blue Rock Ranch we are committed to raising heritage livestock breeds on open pasture as naturally and sustainably as possible. Heritage breeding practices put a focus on the health and wellbeing of the animals being raised and play a critical role in preserving species diversity. Our current roster of heritage livestock includes Katahdin hair sheep, American Aberdeen cattle, Bourbon Red turkeys, and a variety of chickens including Black Austrolorps. All of our animals are pasture raised with organic supplemental feed and hay from California producers.
Before the wine industry took over much of the valley, the Mendocino region was a major pear and apple producer. In addition to raising livestock, we are actively restoring a long neglected orchard by planting new apple, pear, and stone fruit varietals to compliment the old growth trees. Our sister property, Casa Coneja Olive Farm, grows a variety of Italian olive trees for olive oil production. Sourced from MacAvoy Ranch in Petaluma, the trees provide a grassy Tuscan style blend, perfect for salad dressings and finishing dishes.