The Ranch:
Redwing Ranch is located in Huerfano County, in Southern Colorado on the eastern flank of the Sangre de Christo Mountains. Ranging in elevation from ~7,200' to ~8,600', the ranch has a variety of habitats and topography that allow for cattle grazing, hay production and supporting wildlife. The lands comprise approximately 3,800 acres (500 acres of irrigated hay fields, 1100 acres of pasture and over 2200 acres of rangeland and ridge-lines, for a total of 3,600 deeded acres and 200 leased BLM acres). A mile of the Huerfano River bisects the ranch and provides senior water rights used for spring and summer irrigation.
Mission:
Empowering the team, livestock, community, and nature.
Vision:
Redwing Ranch is a regenerative operation with a healthy water cycle and ever-improving biological metrics. We are interested in scaling and growing at a sustainable rate through holistic planning and proactive decision-making. We have appropriate ranch systems in place that allow us to operate at our true carrying capacity. Through example, our ranch is creating opportunities to partner and grow our local community. All of this is made possible by a happy and empowered team that runs a profitable operation that supports itself.
Our Operation:
Cattle are our tool for improving our pastures and rangelands. Fortunately, that does not mean we need to own them! As such we have begun this reimagined phase of the operation by partnering with other cattle operations and custom grazing their animals. This allows us the flexibility to match the number of animals to the resources and climate patterns of the year, and lowers our overhead and dependance on the cattle market. This first year we started with a smaller herd as we learn how the existing infrastructure will work with planned grazing and frequent pasture moves. We look forward to increasing numbers and seeing the benefits of animal impact next year.
About Us:
Redwing Ranch is located in Huerfano County, in Southern Colorado on the eastern flank of the Sangre de Christo Mountains. Ranging in elevation from ~7,200' to ~8,600', the ranch has a variety of habitats and topography that allow for cattle grazing, hay production and supporting wildlife. The lands comprise approximately 3,800 acres (500 acres of irrigated hay fields, 1100 acres of pasture and over 2200 acres of rangeland and ridge-lines, for a total of 3,600 deeded acres and 200 leased BLM acres). A mile of the Huerfano River bisects the ranch and provides senior water rights used for spring and summer irrigation.
Mission:
Empowering the team, livestock, community, and nature.
Vision:
Redwing Ranch is a regenerative operation with a healthy water cycle and ever-improving biological metrics. We are interested in scaling and growing at a sustainable rate through holistic planning and proactive decision-making. We have appropriate ranch systems in place that allow us to operate at our true carrying capacity. Through example, our ranch is creating opportunities to partner and grow our local community. All of this is made possible by a happy and empowered team that runs a profitable operation that supports itself.
Our Operation:
Cattle are our tool for improving our pastures and rangelands. Fortunately, that does not mean we need to own them! As such we have begun this reimagined phase of the operation by partnering with other cattle operations and custom grazing their animals. This allows us the flexibility to match the number of animals to the resources and climate patterns of the year, and lowers our overhead and dependance on the cattle market. This first year we started with a smaller herd as we learn how the existing infrastructure will work with planned grazing and frequent pasture moves. We look forward to increasing numbers and seeing the benefits of animal impact next year.
About Us:
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Dr. Christy Wyckoff is the owner/operator of Redwing Ranch. As a wildlife ecologist, Christy’s career has focused on wildlife conservation and ecological land management, skills that she is now using to move Redwing Ranch from conventional to regenerative grazing practices. Prior to her move back to Colorado in 2022, Christy was the Deputy Director of the Santa Lucia Conservancy, in Carmel, California, where she led the wildlife research, prescribed-fire and community-fire-preparation programs. She also supervised the land management program which included the Conservancy’s novel conservation cattle grazing program that used cattle for habitat restoration. Christy received her BS in Biology from Stanford University, ‘02, chased feral pigs at Texas A&M University-Kingsville for her MS, ‘07, and delved into the molecular world of chronic wasting disease in elk at Colorado State University for her PhD, ‘13. Over her career Christy has advised and mentored over 40 students (undergraduate and graduate) advancing the careers of young conservation and land management scientists.
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Fiona Jackson joined Redwing Ranch as the Ranch Manager at the beginning of 2023. After graduating California Polytechnic State University with a BS in Agricultural Business and a minor in Sustainable Agriculture, Fiona worked on a large commercial cow-calf operation in eastern Colorado for three years where she implemented cell grazing at a landscape scale. She is excited to combine her past experience with with Redwing’s vision for rebuilding our soils while producing a quality product. Fiona is enthusiastic about creating longevity in cattle enterprises and believes this can be done when working with nature. Her ability to problem solve and her growth-centered mindset are assets for Redwing as the ranch prioritizes more holistic decision making. She enjoys kayaking and roping when she’s not on the ranch, and is constantly wanting to learn and improve. Fiona is living on the ranch with her puppy, and enjoys having friends and family to visit.
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Erin Sheridan is the new Ranch Hand. Growing up in a rural mountain town of Northern California, Erin spent a lot of her time outdoors fishing, camping, and hiking with her family. For her high school senior project, she started an aeroponics tower in the school cafeteria, where students watched and helped grow produce to eat in the school lunches. This was special for the community because there is not easy access to fresh produce, especially year round. Ultimately, this sparked a passion for connecting people to their food, leading her to pursue a degree at Cal Poly in Ag. & Environmental Plant Science with a concentration in Fruit & Crop Science. Erin has worked on large cattle ranches, small organic vegetable farms, and coastal flower enterprises, and fuel reduction sawyer crews. Her love for the outdoors and agriculture, landed her at her most recent position, where she managed a small grass finished cattle herd, organic tropical fruit production, and maintained the ranch as a whole. She is thrilled to now be a part of the team at Redwing Ranch where she will expand her knowledge about regenerative livestock management. She also is currently pursuing an MS in Land Resources and Environmental Science through Montana State University with the goal of becoming a better steward of the land in agricultural settings.
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