By Bridget Shirvell | Sep 30, 2019 | Original Article | Photography by David Leland Hyde & Nicola Majocchi
Nestled against the Sierra Nevada in Northern California, Genesee Valley Ranch is as pretty as a postcard. Mountains covered in forests meet waterways that wind through green pastures where cattle graze.
“It’s just a beautiful hidden spot,” says ranch manager Michele Haskins.
Haskins oversees the 1,600-acre ranch and the more than 350 cows that call it home with some high tech help from an aerial imaging program.
Genesee Valley Ranch uses aerial imaging to help manage is 1600 acres. PHOTO: GENESEE VALLEY RANCH
“It’s mind blowing that we can use technology to the extent we are to benefit the ranch,” Haskins says.
Called VIGOR for Vineyard Infrared Growth Optical Recognition, ranch co-owner Christian Palmaz originally developed the technology for his family’s Napa Valley winery, Palmaz Vineyards. At the winery the technology monitors soil and vine health, but at Genesee Valley Ranch it tracks pasture quality, helping Haskins and the Palmaz family restore the grassland on the ranch and create a sustainable, environmentally sensitive management program for both the land and the cattle.
“Part of the reason why this has been so successful is because the native grasses happen to have the right diversity, nutrient level and abundance to sustain the herd. But one of the big critical elements that the imagery allows us to anticipate is the cycle for the grasses, so that you're moving the herd always to the right age of grass in its growth cycle and you’re not letting the animals overgraze in any one area,” Christian said.
Aerial imaging technology tracks pasture quality, helping to restore grassland on the ranch.
PHOTO: GENESEE VALLEY RANCH
With VIGOR, aerial images taken every month on the ranch create data profiles of how water is spreading throughout the ranch as well as how the ranch’s different species of grasses, of which there are dozens, are growing. Genesee Valley Ranch uses a gravitational irrigation system in its pastures which means instead of pumping water to certain places the ranch relies on water’s natural ability to travel. From the data Haskins is able to see how the water is spreading and where it’s not dispensing and then make adjustments as needed.
“It helps us to be conscious users of the water,” Haskins says. “We want to make sure that whatever we’re doing we do it without being wasteful.”
Core to the philosophy of Genesee Valley Ranch is the belief that a holistic balance between nature and technology cannot only exist but help care for the land and the animals eventually producing great beef.
Ranch Manager Michele Haskins connecting with Wagyu cows in the winter.
PHOTO: GENESEE VALLEY RANCH/ DAVID LELAND HYDE
Pasture-raised, the cows eat a diet of diversified grasses, each of which provides different nutritional values to the cow. Through VIGOR, Haskins is able to see where seeds have replanted, which grasses have re-established and how she should adjust the cattle grazing schedule. For instance, cows prefer to eat certain types of grass at certain times such as during pregnancy or calving season. They also love to eat, star thistle an invasive weed that can choke out other grasses, but they’ll only eat it when it’s about four inches tall or smaller. Haskins uses VIGOR to judge the growth of the star thistle on a large scale and then moves the cows so they can help control it.
“It’s a pretty unique method. We’re able to not use pesticides which also take out the good grasses and pollute the waterways,” Haskins said.
While the ranch itself dates back to 1862, the Palmaz family who bought it in 2015 has only been using the aerial imaging technology for the past few years.
“Initially we weren't entirely convinced that we were going to be able to do it,” said Florencia Palmaz who bought the ranch with her brother Christian and other family members. “We thought, let's just give it a try. And it turns out that we do have good enough quality grass and we're able to rotate the fields to keep the ranch in good shape. For us, first and foremost was the sustainability of the fields themselves.”
Genesee Valley Ranch sells the beef it produces via a subscription service.
PHOTO: GENESEE VALLEY RANCH
The 100% purebred Black Wagyu Beef the ranch produces is sold through a subscription program similar in a way to a community shared agriculture program. Over the course of a year members receive bi-monthly shipments containing 8 to 10 packages of assorted cuts of beef along with information on the cut’s origins, some of which may be unfamiliar as traditional cuts from various countries are often included, recipes and pairing tips.
Over the course of a year Genesee Valley Ranch subscription members receive bi-monthly shipments containing 8 to 10 packages of assorted cuts of beef along with information.
PHOTO: GENESEE VALLEY RANCH
“A lot of our customers are couples or small families, who receive a box and in the box comes an assortment of cuts, so every shipment has a little bit of ground beef and sausage, but then all of these really interesting cuts and some of them they know what to do with, like a tomahawk, but then they get things like zabuton slices or cuts that they may not have a lot of experience with and that’s where the descriptions come into play,” Christian said.
With about 500 current members, and a waiting list for 2020 subscriptions they’re hoping to expand the program while continuing to get help from nature and technology.