Well, Hello!

We are the Arreches. My name is Kelsey and I am married to Jon. We have three children that we chase after on our ranch that is nestled in the very northeast corner of California. We have the perfect spot to see both Nevada and Oregon from our house right below the Warner Mountain range. Our valley is known as Surprise Valley, but the town is called Cedarville. It is a very small, homey town where you just wave to everyone because, well.. you know everyone!

Jon was raised here on the very ranch that we own today. In fact, his family has been ranching in this valley for over 100 years. His grandfather is still telling stories, very interesting stories at that, at 102 years old. So when his grandparents were ready to sell the ranch, we just had to buy it. After 100 years a lot of history adds up. One of my favorite pieces of history here is the house Jon’s grandmother, Janice Arreche, was raised in. It is a 2 bedroom home that sits on the hill above our house. You may think what’s special about that? That small home was a roof over 8 children and 2 parents heads. Incredible. I also find all of the old equipment that older generations farmed with very intriguing, and we have a lot of that around!

I myself was not raised in Cedarville, but was raised in another small, agricultural community. I was raised in Sierra Valley where my Granddad was a 4th generation cattle rancher. He is the very reason that I was so interested in agriculture and livestock. He is who sparked my love, especially for horses, as he traded a ton of his hay that the put up for my first pony Bear; Bear for “barely a horse.” He also had a beautiful garden, and hello.. I love gardens!

After my childhood, when I realized that I wanted to pursue livestock as a career, I attended California State University, Fresno and got a degree in Animal Science and Ag Business. After college I took a job at a veterinary clinic in Alturas and moved to Cedarville in 2015 and eventually, after life happenings, met Jon. He likes to tell people we met because I put his dog down. I was at work the day he brought his dog in after an accident and was the technician helping the veterinarian.

We started dating, got engaged, bought the family ranch and the rest is history! We started our herd of cattle in 2017 and knew then that direct to consumer was something that intrigued us. But life happened- a wedding(us!), a family death, Lane was born etc.. so here we are, all this time later, finally living out our dream.

In 2021 we added on to the ranch buying another piece of property and on the backside, it ties together with our original piece: adding more grazing land for our livestock and more barns for shelters for our program. The ranch also added more irrigated land to grow more crops for our animals. Then, in 2023 we added to our family one more time, completing the family unit with three children: Rylee (18) Lane (3) and Waylon (1).

I’ve never been more proud to offer this lifestyle to my children. While it is hard work that never ends, it is a way of life that I believe reaps so many benefits.