About Butte Country Ranch
Butte Country Ranch is located at the foot of the historic Sutter Buttes in the Sacramento Valley of California. We are a family operated organization that raise American Aberdeen Cattle. We currently run about 40 full blood and Moderator cows on our ranch, and have recently started a club-calf project for local 4-H and FFA kids. Three years ago, Dr. Long purchased 13 heifers and a bull, and began developing our program. This past June he purchased another 14 head from the infamous Effertz Ranch in North Dakota, and so this program continues to grow with quality and class.
“I love these animals. Having this project is a great opportunity for me and my wife Tee, Daughter Holley, and all the grandkids to spend time together.”
Dr. Jerry Long is a semi-retired large and small animal veterinarian, cattle rancher and family man. He has owned and operated his own veterinary clinic at the base of the historic Sutter Buttes for the last 44 years; his passion is veterinary medicine with a special interest in livestock; specifically, cattle.
He raised Simmental cattle for 30 plus years, selling over 30 heifers and bulls annually. Jerry was the President of the California Simmental Association and served on the board for 3 years He also spent 4 years serving as a member on the R-Calf Board.
A few years back, Jerry did an exchange partnership with a young couple relieving himself of his herd of over one hundred head of Simmentals. He was happy with his decision, but in the end, missed having his cattle. With a little research, Aberdeen became the obvious breed of choice. Their size and efficiency set them apart from any other breed.
Holley Bernatz started her steer program in 2016, the driving force behind the project was that her nephews were finally old enough to start showing cattle in their County Fair; Why not show something out of the family’s herd?
Like most County Fair’s, their fair has weight restrictions that made the American Aberdeen steers ineligible from exhibiting. When Holley presented her idea of creating a separate class for the registered American Aberdeen steers, the Fair Board Members approved with the stipulation that she could get more kids involved. And since then, the project has grown.
If getting this same project into your local county fair is something that you are interested in, please feel free to contact Holley. She has already laid the ground work and would be more than happy to help you get started.