World Agriculture Directory: the home of the world's largest agriculture database. Fastest way to find events, farms and agribusiness that suit your needs. Agriculture Event Directory

Cattlemen Hall of FameBeef cattle barons, cowboys, breeders and builders from around the world

Famous Ranches and Stations

Hearst Ranch: The 83,000-Acre Cattle Ranch Around Hearst Castle

George Hearst's 1865 land purchase became a working coastal cattle ranch that now sells grass-fed beef and sits under a landmark conservation easement.

What is Hearst Ranch?

Hearst Ranch is two cattle ranches in central California. The best known is the original ranch at San Simeon, which surrounds Hearst Castle. The second is the Jack Ranch at Cholame, about 73,000 acres, which the Hearst Corporation acquired in 1966. The Wikipedia article on Hearst Ranch notes that the Circle C brand used on the Jack Ranch is the oldest registered brand in use in California.

The San Simeon ranch covers about 80,000 to 83,000 acres, depending on the source, and includes 18 miles of coastline. The same article says the ranch is managed by Stephen Hearst, a great-grandson of William Randolph Hearst. Together they make the Hearst family one of the larger cattle operators on the California coast.

How did George Hearst build the ranch?

George Hearst bought about 50,000 acres along San Simeon Bay in 1865. He was an early investor in the Comstock Lode, and according to the Land Report case study the land was initially treated as an investment. He went on to buy over 30,000 acres of Rancho Piedra Blanca, an 1840 Mexican land grant, along with most of Rancho San Simeon and part of Rancho Santa Rosa.

George Hearst died in 1891, and his son William Randolph Hearst took over the family's growing media business. The ranch kept running cattle, as it had since the mid-1800s, while the family's attention moved to publishing.

How does the ranch raise cattle?

The Land Report describes a traditional operation. Breeder bulls go out with the cows in winter, calves are born in the fall and weaned in summer, and cattle rotate through low-intensity grazing to protect the native range. About 1,400 acres of irrigated pasture serve as drought insurance. Rainfall reaches up to 20 inches at sea level and up to 40 inches at higher elevations.

Cattle reach about 1,200 pounds, typically around 18 months, before moving to a facility certified for humane processing. The ranch has earned humane handling certifications from the Global Animal Partnership.

The Key to Hearst Ranch's Staying Power

Hearst Ranch is a rare large coastal property that stayed in ranching. It did so by changing its marketing and its legal footing, not by changing its main business.

The path was not smooth. The corporation spent about thirty years weighing resorts and golf courses before it chose conservation.

  • Hold land across generations: George Hearst bought in 1865, and a fifth-generation family member now oversees ranching and timber.
  • Sell direct to a premium buyer: in 2010 Steve Hearst invited Whole Foods to tour San Simeon, and a contract was signed within 30 days, per the Land Report.
  • Finish on grass: cattle finish only on native rangeland or irrigated pasture, and the beef is antibiotic-free.
  • Use conservation as a business tool: the 2005 easement protected the working landscape while reserving the right to build 27 owner homes and a small inn.
  • Costs and conflict: development plans in the 1960s to 1990s, including golf courses, resorts and an airport, drew disputes with the California Coastal Commission.

How did the 2005 conservation easement happen?

The Hearst Corporation considered development for about 30 years starting in the mid-1960s, with golf courses, resorts, homes, an airport and a yacht harbor on the table, according to the ranch's conservation page. In the late 1990s its real estate division, led by Stephen Hearst, began exploring conservation instead.

The American Land Conservancy and the corporation agreed on a framework in December 2002, and the project closed in February 2005. The easement protects about 80,000 acres across at least seven watersheds and is monitored by the California Rangeland Trust twice a year.

What is Hearst Ranch Beef?

Hearst Ranch sells branded grass-fed and grass-finished beef to retail markets, mainly Whole Foods in Southern California. The Land Report says the ranch supplies about 1,000 head seasonally, from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and calls it the largest single-source supplier of free-range, grass-fed and grass-finished beef in the country, a claim made in that article.

The California Beef Cattle Improvement Association named the ranch its Commercial Producer of the Year, according to the same source.

Hearst Castle and visiting the area

Construction on the San Simeon project began in 1920 under architect Julia Morgan. The Hearst family donated the hilltop buildings and 20 coastal acres to the State of California in 1957, and Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument opened to the public in 1958. The ranch itself is private, and the family kept the surrounding land.

The ranch has a private airstrip, Hearst Airport, that is not open to public traffic. For more on coastal ranch country, see the ranching section of farm.FM and a story about grass-fed beef ranching.

Timeline

  1. 1840Mexican land grant of Rancho Piedra Blanca
  2. 1865George Hearst buys about 50,000 acres along San Simeon Bay
  3. 1891George Hearst dies
  4. 1920Construction begins on the San Simeon castle project
  5. 1957The family donates the castle buildings to the State of California
  6. 1966The Hearst Corporation acquires the Jack Ranch at Cholame
  7. 2005The conservation easement closes in February
  8. 2010Steve Hearst invites Whole Foods to tour; a contract follows within 30 days

Frequently asked questions

How big is Hearst Ranch?

The San Simeon ranch covers about 80,000 to 83,000 acres, depending on the source, and the Jack Ranch near Cholame adds about 73,000 acres.

Does Hearst Ranch still raise cattle?

Yes. It has run cattle since the mid-1800s and today sells grass-fed and grass-finished beef, primarily to Whole Foods in Southern California.

What is the Hearst Ranch conservation easement?

A 2005 agreement among the Hearst Corporation, the American Land Conservancy, the California Rangeland Trust and the state that protects the working ranch from large-scale development.

Who runs Hearst Ranch?

Stephen Hearst, a fifth-generation family member and great-grandson of William Randolph Hearst, oversees the ranching and timber operations.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

More from the hall