Ranch Route started because of nutrition, a want for a more authentic and connected world, and the problems showing up in the food industry.
The fix, as we saw it, was a storytelling platform for small scale producers. A place where a family can bring their background and their life into the picture, so the people buying from them understand what they are buying and the story behind it.
Ranch Route launched its media in June 2026. On July 19, Harrison pulled out of Chicago in a Ram 1500 with a camper topper to meet those families in person, and he has been on the road since, camping on public land across the West and staying days at a time with the people on this site.
The route so far runs through a bison ranch outside Sisseton, a creamery in Ethan, the Badlands, a blacksmith in Cody, Jackson Hole, the valleys around Bozeman and Missoula, a trail outfit under the Sawtooths, a cattle ranch south of Bryce Canyon, a dairy near Ogden, a yak operation outside Klamath Falls, oyster farmers on Humboldt Bay, and horseback outfitters at the south gate of Yosemite, then on to San Diego.
Every profile starts with a conversation on the place. Harrison films it, the family tells it in their own words, and it becomes a page they review before it goes live and a film on the Ranch Route YouTube channel. Nothing on a page gets invented, and when a claim needs paperwork, we ask for it.
What you can buy here comes straight from those families. Beef, honey, cheese, leather and iron, and a growing list of things to do: a trail ride, a lesson, a day on a working place. When a sale runs through Ranch Route, the family is paid directly and we keep a small cut to keep the road going.
We're the road between the two ends of a handshake.
The Route So Far
A bison ranch outside Sisseton. A creamery in Ethan. The Badlands. A blacksmith in Cody. Jackson Hole. The valleys around Bozeman and Missoula. A trail outfit under the Sawtooths in Stanley. A cattle ranch south of Bryce Canyon. A dairy near Ogden. A yak operation outside Klamath Falls. Oyster farmers on Humboldt Bay. Horseback outfitters at the south gate of Yosemite. Then San Diego. Every stop is on the journey map.
The Films
The films are the point. Each partner gets a long form film, A Partner Story, on the Ranch Route YouTube channel, plus shorter cuts along the way. They are shot on the place, in the family's own words, and they are the reason the pages here read the way they do.
Harrison Vrtis
Founder
Launched Ranch Route's media in June 2026 and has been on the road since July, filming the families on this site and building it from the cab of his truck.
Ranch Route launches its media, built around one idea: a storytelling platform where small scale producers bring their background and their life into the picture.
Harrison pulls out of Chicago in a Ram 1500 with a camper topper to film partners in person.
South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Bison, a creamery, a blacksmith, and a trail outfit under the Sawtooths.
Utah, Oregon and Northern California down to San Diego. The Market and Experiences open on the site.
Still on the road, still filming, still building.