Santa Margarita Ranch is one of the oldest continuously operated cattle ranches in the state of California. Beef cattle were introduced to the area by Franciscan missionaries in 1774 and have remained prominent on the ranch ever since. Today, Santa Margarita Ranch continues this tradition with its commercial cow calf operation.

Ancient Peaks Winery proprietors Doug Filipponi and Karl Wittstrom are both longtime local ranchers who have overseen the ranch’s cattle operations since 2002. The young steers raised at Santa Margarita Ranch are sold to the renowned Harris Ranch. Santa Margarita Ranch belongs to Harris Ranch’s Natural Beef Program and Partnership for Quality.

Jeff McKee, who manages the daily ranching duties at Santa Margarita Ranch, practices low-stress, natural handling without usage of antibiotics or growth hormones. McKee also employs rotational grazing with an emphasis on conservation and progressive rangeland management. The cattle act as a tool for nurturing the natural habitat, keeping noxious invasive weeds out of riparian areas and fostering a more native environment and wildlife corridor.

Santa Margarita Ranch also belongs to the USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQUIP), a voluntary conservation program for farmers and ranchers that promotes agricultural production and environmental quality as compatible national goals.

Creeping Wild Rye, Slender Wheatgrass, Purple Needlegrass and Danthonia Oatgrass are some of the native grasses that are naturally reestablishing themselves as a result of the progressive rangeland management practices employed by the ranch over the last decade. These same practices have resulted in a proliferation of young native oak trees. Santa Margarita Ranch’s conservation practices have been used to demonstrate the effectiveness of good rangeland management practices in numerous USDA seminars.