Who are we?

My husband, Stefan and I are the owners and managers of Date Creek Ranch.  Paulino,  our longtime, much valued employee, helps us with most of the day-to-day work.  We also receive valuable help from our volunteer ranch team and occasional visitors from an organization called wwoof usa .

Why do we choose ranching as our way of life?

We choose ranching because we want to make a difference in agriculture.  We want to help people learn where their food comes from and to give them a healthy choice.  Corporate agriculture must change its ways and as more and more people become concerned about food, big factory farms will change and may eventually disappear altogether.

Stefan and I passionately believe in local, small, family-owned farms and ranches.  It is critical that sustainable farms providing local, healthy food become a  viable career choice for young people.

This ranch land must be kept safe from housing developments.  Every time you choose to support us in our endeavors, is another day of victory for open spaces with healthy, diverse wildlife that all families can enjoy.

We work to build healthy soil: To provide you with healthy food; To provide healthy habitat and food for wildlife; To help water filter down through the soil rather than run off into gullies; To sequester carbon.

About Kimberley

I grew up on Date Creek Ranch and at the time wondered why other kids didn’t have to put so much time into their family business.  Later I learned that our very survival depended on each one of us making a valuable contribution.  Though I didn’t understand it at the time, as an adult I came to value and appreciate the things it taught me.

I returned to the ranch in 1997 as I wanted to raise my children in this wholesome, commonsense environment and met my husband, Stefan.  Stefan brings a unique perspective to ranch life as he is from Germany.  We make a pretty amazing couple!

Since our marriage we have participated in the ranch in various ways—everything from managing the orchard to raising pigs.  In the process we have learned that our deepest passion is growing healthy, sustainable food for local families, to teach our customers about the value of local, family farms, to heal the land, and to share our beautiful landscape with others of like mind.

We took over the ranch in 2006 when my father became ill and continued the direct marketing of beef to local families which he began over 20 years ago.

It has taken years to get here but finally, I am able to live on the ranch full time, make a good living for our family, and pursue my passions around ranch life.

Date Creek is the continuation of over 130 years of ranching tradition begun when my mother’s family moved to Arizona in the 1870’s.

About Stefan

I was born in Germany.  As a teenager, I was an exchange student and attended high school in Maryland.  During my summer break, I bought a car and headed out west.  I had finally come home!  Over the next few years I spent as much time as I could in the American West, camping, exploring, and marveling over the beauty and wildness.

I met Kimberley on the ranch and immediately we knew we would be spending our lives together.  We both love living out in the sticks, off the grid, and working together.

Paulino

Paulino is our greatest asset.  He is loyal, hardworking, determined, cheerful, and generous.  He keeps this place together with baling wire, creative ideas, and determination.  He has been working on Date Creek since 1997 and will be here for as long as he wishes.