Welcome to Clementine Ranch!

We became intrigued with miniature cattle after first reading an article about them in 2004. We are not tall folks and the idea of smaller cattle was very appealing! This is a perfect business for us during “retirement”. We have relocated from Southern California to the Gold Country in Northern California. Our 40 acre ranch is located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, an hour drive north-east of Sacramento.

We began our plan by setting up our ranch property and attending Ag classes at the local community college. We investigated each of the miniature breeds. In 2007 we drove around the country, through 17 states, visiting ranches – meeting breeders and learning about each of the breeds. After a lot of research we decided that Lowlines are perfect for us!

We choose the Lowline breed for several reasons:

• We wanted a good beef producer and Lowline Angus is premium beef. True Angus beef with smaller cuts.
• We found out that Lowlines are fairly resistant to eye problems due to their black color.
• They almost always calve unassisted – a very important fact since we are so new to this business! (We found that even ‘old hands’ like this idea.)
• Lowlines are very docile. With 10 grandchildren, we like to have livestock that are not intimidating. (Our grandchildren, and all of our guests, love to feed them ‘treats’.)

We bought our first 4 fullblood females in Idaho in the fall of 2007. Our herd and our business have grown since then. We enjoy working with the animals and watching the calves as they grow. We have used AI as well as natural service on ‘our girls’ to diversify the genetics of our herd. New experiences always await us!

We also keep a herd of Boer cross goats to maintain the brush on our ranch as well as a few sheep. Always with them is Sugar, a wonderful Great Pyrenees guard dog, who protects the goats from predators. Sugar and our calves are great friends.

Now we are on our way in this fun and rewarding business. We enjoy the cattle and we enjoy the associations with other breeders that have come about in the course of beginning this new venture!

Thanks for visiting,
John & Sherree