Lopes family owned and operated since 1926.
We are a small, 5th generation family ranch located in Wilton, CA , a rural area just south of Sacramento. We pasture raise Wagyu, heritage hogs, and sheep. Our goal is to preserve our family’s legacy by continuing to ranch along the beautiful Cosumnes river. We believe in using sustainable farming practices and humane livestock husbandry.
A little history…
Great Grandpa Joe and Great Grandma Alma got married. Alma’s family had come to Wilton in 1908, in a covered wagon carrying them and all of their possessions from their home country of Italy. Her parents bought land off of what is now Peach road and she attended Lee School as a child. Grandpa Joe’s family came here as dairymen from the Azores and found that the Sacramento valley was a perfect place to settle and put their knowledge and skills to use. Once Joe and Alma got married, they bought land along the Cosumnes river in Wilton and decided to start their own Dairy and farm crops. Their dairy became successful, and they started selling their milk to Crystal. They both worked the land this way until the late 1960s, when their son Al wanted to switch to beef cows and club calves. They were persuaded, and the ranch become known as BlackJack Ranch. Great Grandpa Joe, Al and his own son Joe managed the land to produce beef and high quality show cattle. Years went by and the next generation(5th) had moved out and on to school and other endeavors and always thought the ranch would be there no matter what. But, as many people who farm and ranch know, this way of life is hard work and even harder to hold on to without continuous, proper management and new ideas. We decided to try and modernize our practices even further. To do this, we added more sustainable farming practices and humane livestock husbandry, to not only care for the livestock we raise, but also for the wildlife along this unique ecosystem we find ourselves.
