Farmers working with plants at their farm

Partners

The families, ranchers, and artisans whose craft and stories are at the heart of Ranch Route.

16 partners found

Cody Iron Works

N.J. Pawley comes from a long line of horse trainers. His parents trained horses, he trained horses, and when he got to high school he worked out that if he was going to keep them, he might as well learn to shoe them, because shoeing is one of the most expensive parts. He apprenticed with the teacher at the local college, took the course twice, apprenticed with a couple more men, and became a farrier.

Slickrock Leather Works

Fountain Green, Sanpete County

Other

Leather and tack

Handmade goods

Slickrock Leather Works is dedicated to the art of crafting high-quality, custom leather goods. I've built everything from belts and wallets to saddles. I've been doing leather work for 50 years. Saddle repairs for 30 years and building custom saddles for 25.

Heritage Bison Ranches

Hinton, Iowa

At Heritage Bison Ranches, we have been practicing holistic, regenerative, and sustainable ranching for over five decades, long before these approaches became widely recognized. Established in 1973, our family ranch celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023. Our commitment to the land and ecosystem is evident in the thriving wildflowers that dot our bison pastures, reflecting a healthy and balanced environment.

Turner Farms

Missoula, Montana

Jon Turner sold cars for a living, and in most ways still does. Farming came to him sideways, through his children. The Turner boys wanted bunk beds, so Jon and Erin offered to pay half if the boys earned the rest. There was a garden out back, so the kids harvested it and set up a small farmers market in the front yard for family and friends. They made enough for the whole bunk bed. "Oh, there's something to this," Jon remembers thinking.

North Bridger Bison

Shields Valley, Montana

Matt Skoglund knew nothing about ranching. He was a lawyer from the Chicago area who spent a decade doing environmental policy work, and the issue he worked on most was bison management. That is how he fell in love with the species. What he fell out of love with was the policy world itself. He wanted something tangible. Something, as he puts it, you could touch, taste and feel.

Thirteen Mile Farm

Belgrade, Montana

The place is supposedly one of the oldest homesteads in the Gallatin Valley, built before Bozeman or Belgrade existed. It was started by John Reese, a geologic engineer from Wales who had worked the coal mines in Wales, then Pennsylvania, then Illinois, then Utah. He arrived at about fifty with his wife and three grown children, mined gold in Virginia City, then farmed to feed the mining camps nearby. He died in the late 1800s, and the Sexton family came in around 1904. Some years ago an old man drove up the lane in a big sedan and turned out to be the founder's great great grandson.

Rockin' P Ranch

Sisseton, South Dakota

Bruce and Corrine Prins came to northeast South Dakota in 1973 with 400 acres and two young daughters born back in Iowa. They added on a piece at a time until the place ran to 2,000 deeded acres of native prairie outside Sisseton, tucked inside the boundaries of the old Lake Traverse Reservation. For sixteen years they ran beef cattle, then in 1989, Bruce did the math on a South Dakota winter. He bought seven head of buffalo on the theory that if he could sell a bison calf for roughly what a beef calf brought, he could cut the overhead that was eating him alive.

Circle View Ranch

Interior, South Dakota

The land came free, in 1918, if you were willing to prove you could live on it. Phil's grandparents were German immigrants who crossed an ocean because land at home was already spoken for. Here, 160 acres were offered to anyone who would build a house and stay. They took it, in the Badlands, and moved into a house made of sod. Phil's father was two years old.

Von Bergen's Country Market

For over 40 years, Von Bergen's Country Market has grown fresh fruit and vegetables right on their farm in Hebron, Illinois, alongside offerings from other local farms and producers. Their market is stocked with farm fresh vegetables, sweet corn, ripe fruit, cut flowers, and a wonderful assortment of market goods like salsas and cheeses.

Honey Lake Bee Company

He was twelve years old when he started, working the hives at Cranbrook outside Detroit. He used to carry observation hives into school with him. The other kids called him the bee man.

Jacobson Family Farms

Kyle Jacobson is a first generation farmer. He grew up in a family of big gardeners, and says one of his earliest memories is bobbing for radishes. He went to school for environmental science and ecology, wanting to do something with a positive impact, and never really expected to end up in agriculture. He started ten years ago on leased land, watching YouTube videos and working a piece of family property, and bought this farm in parts over about five years.

Timmermann's Ranch & Saddle Shop

The barn that started it all was built by hand by Shana Rigsby's great-grandparents. The front room used to be a forge, because her great-grandfather was a horseshoer and worked out of it.

The Spirit Horse Ranch

Kula, HI

Experiences & Tours

Livestock & Animals

The Spirit Horse Ranch, founded by Paige Deponte, offers trauma-informed equine-assisted services to individuals and families in crisis. Since its inception in 2023, the ranch has provided over 5,000 sessions to more than 2,000 clients across Maui and Moloka‘i. Their programs include support for youth, families, veterans, and older adults, aiming to foster mental wellness and resilience through the healing power of horses.

Hasselmann Family Farm

Marengo, IL

Scott will tell you about the soil before he tells you about himself. Class A, some of the best on earth, and he says it the way other people talk about a view.

Triple L Ranch

Kula, HI

Established in 1947, Triple L Ranch is one of the last remaining Paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) working cattle ranches on Maui — family owned and operated for five generations. Located on the pristine, sacred, and undeveloped southwest slope of Haleakalā, away from the hustle and bustle of tourist areas.