participants has grown [exponential-
ly]. They’ve moved out of the area. At
that point, the family may carve it up,
and one portion of the family may buy
out the other members.”
After his father was killed in an ac-
cident while working on his ranch in
2000, Stan Van Vleck bought out seven
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family members to maintain owner-
ship of his family’s ranch east of Sac-
ramento in Rancho Murieta. Van Vleck
Ranch, a sustainable producer of angus
and wagyu beef, has been in operation
since 1856, and he fought to keep the
legacy alive.
Four years ago, surging costs of reg-
ulations, labor, land and water in Cali-
fornia prompted Van Vleck to sit down
with his wife and children to discuss
the future of the ranch. They didn’t
want to break up the business, but had
to do something to compete against
producers in South America, Canada
and other states with lower costs.
Ultimately, rather than dismantling
the family business, they decided to
branch out into different markets, di-
viding in a different way. Van Vleck, a
partner at Downey Brand, is now work-
ing to diversify beyond the cattle ranch
operation and into investment. He’s
already launched a commercial real
estate investment company and has
a broader investment company in the
works, which Van Vleck says will open
opportunities for future generations to
expand into technology, health care,
logistics, agriculture or “whatever they
believe makes good business sense”
moving forward.
“We’re creating a dynamic situa-
tion that looks a lot more attractive
to the next generation than branded
cattle when it is 110 degrees outside,”
he says. “I take this dead seriously. We
really needed to proactively address
this situation, and if we didn’t do it
right, we probably don’t make it to the
next generation.” n
Russell Nichols is a freelance writer who
focuses on technology, culture and men-
tal health. His work has appeared in The
Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe,
Governing Magazine and Government
Technology. On Twitter @russellnichols.
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comstocksmag.com | October 2018