Community Highlights: Meet Joe and Jenn Wheeling

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe and Jenn Wheeling. Them and their team share their story with us below:

James Ranch was established in 1961 by David and Kay James. They raised five children on the ranch while they raised purebred Charolais cattle. When the kids spread their wings at 18, David subdivided the lower 120 acres into a premier housing community in the Durango area. When the adult children started having their own kids, conversations started about returning to the ranch. When the children learned there were approved plans to turn the entire ranch into an 18-hole golf course and more housing, they rallied to figure out how to keep the ranch in agriculture. The introduction of Holistic Management played a pivotal role in organizing the decision-making process and David and Kay worked with the adult children and their spouses to create a structured but welcoming and equitable return for all. This entailed creating an LLLP for the ranch (land only) where all children are equal partners and the understanding that each family unit had to bring their own agricultural enterprise that would enhance and benefit the ranch while not putting the land into debt. Realizing that the greatest resources of the ranch are abundant water and cool season grasses, ample exposure to Durango’s tourist trade, and the growing interest in chemical-free and humane production systems, James Ranch was reborn.

While each entity at James Ranch is owned separately by different family members, we are equal partners in the operation of the ranch so big decisions are made by the whole (slow and deliberate) while product decisions are made by each entity within the framework of our collective values (very customer responsive).

James Ranch Beef produces 100% grass-fed, dry-aged 21-day beef sold by the cut, half, or whole beef in the on-ranch market. The animals spend their lives in the bright Colorado sunshine eating grasses and forbs in manage-grazed lush pastures, drinking fresh mountain water, and being handled under low-stress conditions. James Ranch Artisinal Cheese is created from Jersey cow milk produced by cows milked only when eating fresh James Ranch pasture grasses. Humanely handled with loving care, the cows follow a natural cycle of calving, milking, and resting through the winter. The raw milk is turned into cheese on the ranch where it is aged and sold in the on-ranch market.

The Gardens at James Ranch is a chemical-free vegetable farm where they specialize in sugar snap peas, winter squash, pumpkins, and various perennial fruits and berries. The majority of the produce is sold through the on-ranch market. James Ranch Trees is the on-ranch Blue Spruce nursery where mature trees are available for landscaping with a large tree spade. The Grill at James Ranch features all the James Ranch products plus the products of other local producers specializing in James Ranch beef burgers and James Ranch Artisinal Cheese sandwiches, soups, and salads. The Grill’s burgers have been voted Best in Durango for five years running. James Ranch Market is a retail compilation of all James Ranch partners’ products along with supporting over fifty other local and regional agricultural producers.

The newest enterprise to be started by the third generation of the James Family is the James Ranch Homestead School where participants learn ecology and regeneration in all aspects of ranch activities. After finishing its first summer of activities with 7-12-year-olds, next year’s school is open for enrollment. James Ranch Tours offers a two-hour walking tour of the James Ranch in the proximity of the James Ranch Market and Grill from mid-June to mid-September where participants learn about the methods used in our regenerative agricultural production systems.

As one of the nine participants in the documentary, “To Which We Belong”, James Ranch is honored to have our efforts toward regeneration, both agricultural and family, be recognized by others.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Integrating six families into a cohesive operation is not easy! Family relationships are complicated and take lots of patience to unfold. Holistic management has been very important in this process as well as the forward-thinking guidelines of David and Kay for returning family. Agriculturally, the work and struggles never end. Our efforts to improve our soils and pastures will never end and we are reaping the benefits of holding to our original no-chemical commitments. We are constantly learning and tweaking our management systems so to say we have it figured out completely isn’t honest but we just keep pushing the ball forward.

Initially, our struggles were producing enough to meet the demands of our community. Once we thought we had that handled, we built a restaurant and market on the ranch and production became the challenge again. Working with Mother Nature and livestock is never easy and we continue to adapt to the changes we see in our land and the climate.

As you know, we’re big fans of James Ranch. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
James Ranch is a regenerative, chemical-free agricultural producer of 100% grass-fed beef, raw milk artisanal cheese, blue spruce trees, and produce. We have an on-ranch restaurant featuring our products and an on-ranch market featuring our products as well as many local and regional producers. We are most proud of the quality of our products, the support we get from our community, and helping other agricultural producers by using their products in our restaurant and marketing their products through our market.

We are unique in our family-centered business model and are proud to say we have protected our land from development by putting it into a conservation easement. This will keep the land open for future generations of the family as well as our community to enjoy. Other details for answering these questions may be mined from the “what is your story” part of this questionnaire.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Emphasis on high-quality products, transparency with our customers, and our focus on improving and regenerating our land for higher productivity without the use of chemicals are what we attribute to our success.

Contact Info:

• Website: jamesranch.net
• Instagram: @jamesranch
• Facebook: @thejamesranch

Image Credits
www.williepetersen.com