AWARDS
Farm Family of the Year
Johnny & Monica Johnson
50
Growing up , Johnny Johnson worked cattle with his family on his faithful horse “ Blue ”, which was also his primary source of transportation . He wanted to work for the railroad , but the only way he could get hired was by learning Morse code . In 1968 , he entered service in the US Army and was stationed in the Mekong Delta region in South Vietnam .
After returning home from South Vietnam in 1970 , his faithful horse “ Blue ” was waiting for him . Johnny purchased 160 acres of land and 32 heifers , opening his very own , “ Old Blue Ranch ”. Johnny continued working with the railroad for 42 years but his true passion was always with cattle and ranch work .
Johnny and Monica met on the railroad and were married in 1972 , it didn ’ t take long for the city girl to turn country . Monica received her Bachelor and Masters degrees in Education from Oklahoma State University . She taught school at Yale for 32 years .
The couple started building their ranch operation with their first land purchase in 1976 . Through the years , they have tried about
every possible cross of cattle and finally settled on Angus Cross cattle .
Johnny and Monica have two daughters , Charity and Sabrina . In 1980 , the family built their first home , the ranch headquarters , where they still reside today . The family enjoyed riding horses , having picnics , and attending rodeos .
In the late 80 ’ s , the Johnson family started raising their own replacement heifers in an effort to improve the quality of cattle on Old Blue Ranch . They enjoyed seeing the positive results from this management decision and the cowherd genetics positively changing in their cowherd . In 2019 , the heifer selection changed from retaining heifers to purchasing bred heifers or young cows as needed .
Their daughter Sabrina married Jeremy Prince and they have 3 children ; Johnny , Frank , and Abigail . The kids , like their mother , have been willing to help and do what they could when spending time at Nana and Papa ’ s .
COMMERCE | 2023 Profile Magazine of the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce