Ranch Practices

At Stemple Creek Ranch we are environmentally conscious and value biodiversity in our pastures and riparian areas. We are organic ranchers in the San Francisco Bay Area. We strive to work with mother nature to keep the land abundant and the animals organic, healthy and happy. We accomplish this by using a variety of techniques, including protecting creeks and adjacent land with cattle crossings, utilizing electric fences that can be reconfigured in response to changing conditions, planting native species on creek banks, and carefully monitoring grazing to allow these areas to remain productive and protect them from over use. Our goal is to give each pasture at least sixty days of rest before the grass-fed beef and lamb are rotated back into it. We have fenced off over three miles of creek beds on our ranches and planted over 1,000 trees to help control erosion, provide shade to cool the creeks, and create habitat for birds to nest.

In 2002, Alfred Poncia, the third of four generations of Poncia’s in the ranching business, received the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Excellence in Conservation Award. This is the highest award the NRCS gives to honor those outside the Federal government for their work in conservation.

Our animal welfare practices are audited and certified through the Global Animal Partnership program. We are very proud to have a level 4 certification for beef that reflects our commitment to treating our animals with the utmost respect and care.