Rancher Profile
Shaw Creek Ranch
Jay Russ is a fifth-generation California cattle rancher who signed on to the lease of his father Jack’s ranch near the Eel River Valley town of Ferndale, Humboldt County, in 2003. Famous for its nearby forests of giant redwoods and many thriving dairy farms, the temperate, marine climate of this section of coastal northern California is the perfect place to raise grass-fed cattle.
Jay’s pasture, which was recently certified organic, and his 300 head of cattle are in sync. When his grass is at its peak in the early spring, his yearlings benefit from the extremely high nutritional value of the first grass of the season. Their consumption wanes, appropriately, as the grasses grow more slowly in the winter months.
“The combination of our soil, the temperate climate and our sub-irrigated pastures makes this the perfect environment for fattening cattle,” says Jay, whose land has such abundant grass that neighboring ranchers also make arrangements to graze their cattle there.
The lushness of his pasture and the economic benefits caused by increased consumer demand for grass-fed beef motivated Jay to gradually switch all of his cattle from grain to grass over the last four years. Now, with his organic certification, he is one of the ranchers raising Panorama’s organic grass-fed beef.
In addition to dining regularly and well, Jay’s cattle live a low-stress life. Jay follows animal-handling techniques he learned at the Bud Williams Stockmanship School, which emphasize “reading” the animals, developing instincts about how to manage them and avoiding threatening behavior. These techniques make for happier cattle and calmer cowboys.
“I also find that the cattle perform better if they’re not stressed out. In the end, it’s a good practice for the people and the animals,” says Jay.
On the Shaw Creek Ranch land, the cattle do a lot of the work of fertilizing that machines used to do. By grazing them in tight groups and moving them often, Jay finds that their manure, which is excellent fertilizer, is all that’s needed to keep the land healthy.
“Our goal is always to mimic the natural way that things happen, letting the cattle do the work of fertilizing as they graze. It all makes good sense.”
