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In the northern part of the Napa Valley, in the shadow of Mount St. Helena, a survival story is unfolding at Oak Ridge Angus Ranch.
The 1,100-acre cattle ranch, in the heart of Knights Valley, is recovering after catastrophic devastation during the 2019 Kincade Fire. The conflagration destroyed about half of the herd and most of the historic redwood barns and homes. If not for the cows themselves — and the sensible and responsible grazing techniques the LaFranchi family has implemented on the ranch for generations — the destruction would have been even worse.
The LaFranchis have spent the better part of the last four years rebuilding their business. Today, on the cusp of yet another wildfire season, the ranch is thriving again. The LaFranchis have rebuilt barns. They are reestablishing the herd. They are continuing to work the land with an eye on responsible management.
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“We’ve been here for more than 100 years and we want to be here for 100 more,” said Cheryl LaFranchi, the current owner. “The only way to do that is to run the ranch with an eye on the future.”
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Humble beginnings
The LaFranchi family has owned their ranch since 1912, when Cheryl LaFranchi’s grandfather bought it to raise cattle. Today it is one of the roughly 720,000 cattle ranches in the U.S. that are family owned.
The ranch started with no more than a few head of cattle. At the time, he milked all of them by hand.
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As ranch operations grew, so did the family's reputation. They were hailed for their sustainable farming, for how they rotated cattle around the ranch to minimize impact on the land. Eventually, in 1960, the World Dairy Congress held its annual meeting on-site, and farmers from all over the world came to Wine Country to learn from the best.
“I still think about what it must have been like for these farmers to come out here and ride buses from Santa Rosa up Chalk Hill Road to our farm,” said Cheryl, who runs the ranch with her husband, large animal veterinarian Frank Mongini. “It must have been quite a jolt.”
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Oak Ridge Angus Ranch grew steadily, and going into 2019, it was home to 600 mother cows. Forecasts were predicting years of success.
Then, unexpectedly, everything changed.
Tragedy and recovery
Between Oct. 23 and Nov. 6 of that year, the Kincade Fire tore through Wine Country, ultimately singeing 100 square miles and causing an estimated $10.6 billion in damage. Oak Ridge Angus Ranch was right in the middle of the disaster zone in Knights Valley. Hurricane-force winds carried fire up and down hillsides. The ranch lost eight barns, five homes, most of the infrastructure, and about half the herd.
The damage could have been worse. Fire marshals told LaFranchi that the ranch’s grazing rotations and land management practices likely kept exposure to a minimum.
“If we see the underbrush is growing too long, we’ll send cattle in to take care of it and eat it down,” she explained. “In those areas where we didn’t have underbrush — areas where our cows had eaten things down, we didn’t have as much loss because there wasn’t as much for the fire to burn.”
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Generally, cows eat everything from grass to manzanita and old leaves. This removes the fuel for fire, keeping fire damage to a minimum in places that would otherwise see disastrous effects.
Proper grazing management also leaves moisture in the soil, which makes the area more resistant to fire. LaFranchi said ranching responsibly sets up every rancher for success. Beef cattle ranchers like the LaFranchis are making a difference across the U.S. through their land management techniques.
Science backs this claim. Multiple studies in the last decade have indicated that beyond the nutrient-rich, high-quality protein that beef provides, environmental benefits from cattle grazing lands include preserving and providing habitat for wildlife, reducing water use, defending against wildfires and improving soil health and sequestering carbon — which is critical for buffering against the effects of climate change.
Since late 2019, LaFranchi and her family have rebuilt most of the barns and homes. They’ve reestablished an infrastructure. Now they’re in the process of rebuilding their herd.
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Giving back
In addition to rebuilding their entire operation, the LaFranchi family also has made a push in recent years to recommit to a philanthropic program Cheryl LaFranchi started back in 2011.
Dubbed Range to Table, this effort was developed to feed the less fortunate throughout Northern California. Participating ranches donate beef, pork or poultry after processing by a USDA-approved facility.
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Range to Table has provided more than 70,000 pounds of locally grown beef to the Redwood Empire Food Bank, which has distributed it to local organizations that support those grappling with food scarcity. The service organization has more than 350 monthly distribution sites in the five counties it serves: Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte.
According to LaFranchi, giving back is a huge component of what it means to be a rancher — especially now.
“We’re all connected,” she said. “Not just by ecosystem but in the community, too.”
Learn more at beefitswhatsfordinner.com.