Rancher Profile
Yolo Land & Cattle Co.
The Stone family has raised one of the top herds of Angus cattle on its 7,500-acre Yolo Land & Cattle Co. ranch, located near Sacramento, California, in Yolo County, for more than 30 years. They started raising grass-fed cattle for Panorama shortly after its formation in 2003.
Yolo Land & Cattle started when Hank Stone, who had made his living as an agricultural banker, purchased land with a partner and made plans for a second career in modern cattle ranching. Now, most of the family is involved in the operation, with Hank’s son Scott and his wife Karen helping in the cattle operation, and his brother Casey with his wife Angie running the ranch’s farming operation and its tomato wastewater operation, which utilizes rinsewater from a Campbell’s Soup tomato cannery in Dixon.
Their ranch, with more than 100 ponds and creeks, steep terrain and abundant spring wild flowers, supplies grass during winter and spring for 500 cows. It is also home to many species of wildlife, including bears, mountain lions, deer, coyotes, bobcats, foxes, squirrels, raccoons, turkeys, quail, doves, hawks and eagles.
The Stones are dedicated to preserving and improving the natural beauty of the ranch ecosystem. They employ rotational grazing and controlled burning of weeds and brush, according to best rangeland management practices.
They’re involved with multiple projects to restore riparian watersheds, optimize grazing patterns and increase wildlife populations, with funding from such organizations as the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Audubon California, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the State Wildlife Conservation Board, the University of California Cooperative Extension, the Yolo County Resource Conservation District and the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
They also participate in the Center for Land Based Learning, which engages high school students from Yolo, Solano, Sacramento, Marin and other California schools to participate in improving wildlife habitats by planting native trees, shrubs and perennial bunch grasses around the ranch.
Horses play an important role in most of the daily ranch work at Yolo, and the Stones welcome 500 to 1000 visitors every year to watch the ranch cowboys at work on horseback and for tours and special events. The company has also developed products, including beef jerky, starthistle honey, bay leaves and other retail products.
