Grill: Open Wed-Sun 11am-7:30pm (Closed Mon & Tue), Market: Open Wed-Sun 10am-6pm (Closed Mon & Tue)
Join us at the James Ranch to learn some of the most valuable and underrepresented skills in the modern day. We provide a healthy environment for kids to grow and express themselves in the outdoors. We will cover multiple topics related to agriculture including, but not limited to, gardening, working with farm animals: pigs, poultry and cattle, understanding and working symbiotically with our ecosystem, and cooking the crops we grow. We work hard, play hard, and see the tangible fruits of our labors, while acquiring lifelong skills.
Gardening: Our students work in the garden, planning, planting, growing, and harvesting crops. The harvested crops are cooked and preserved in class or sent home with our students.
Animal husbandry: We work with the animals on the ranch including chickens, turkeys, ducks, pigs, beef and dairy cattle. We learn to water, feed, house, and diagnose the animals happiness and health. We preserve and cook the products derived from the animals on the ranch in class.
Nature: We spend time in nature on and off the James Ranch gaining an appreciation for our local biome and an understanding of how to monitor its health. We design and implement projects to improve biodiversity and our understanding of ecosystem management.
August 20 - October 31, 2026
Fall is one of the most rewarding times of year at the James Ranch School. The season is filled with harvesting, cooking, preserving, exploring, and celebrating the results of a season's hard work.
All year we have been planting, watering, weeding, and caring for the garden. The children now get to experience the abundance of the harvest!
Throughout the season, students will harvest summer and winter squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, potatoes, herbs, and more. They will learn how to cook seasonally and create recipes in the kitchen, practice a variety of cooking techniques, and learn to preserve ingredients in various ways for winter.
We will also explore where next year's garden begins. Children will learn how to collect and save seeds, why some crops need to be isolated, and how thoughtful seed saving helps us grow healthy and reliable crops year after year.
Alongside our garden and cooking projects, we will continue exploring the changing ranch landscape through hands-on nature lessons, seasonal foraging, and plenty of time outdoors.
I grew up on the James Ranch. Homeschooling through my 7th grade year allowed me to have a deep connection to and appreciation of the land, the domestic animals, and the abundant wildlife. After high school, I took an internship with a ranch in Harlowton, Montana affiliated with the Savory Institute, and managed their herd of 4,000 yearlings for the summer. Upon completion of my internship in Montana, I had the urge to travel abroad and found a yearlong apprenticeship in Ranschbach, Germany on an regenerative vineyard. On my return to the States, I rekindled my passion for Biathlon and joined the Army National Guard to race on their team. I spent a year on the national team training in Vermont and took first in the National Guard's Western Regionals in Alaska. I love skiing and biathlon but at that point, I realized that my love for animals was pulling me back to my family's ranch and I also wanted to enroll in college. I was hired by my family to be the irrigator for the James Ranch and I took over the Whey Good Pork business from my Uncle Dan.
Jump ahead six years, I have changed my focus from irrigating and raising pork on the James Ranch to establishing the James Ranch School. I am thrilled to be offering my wide base of expertise of homesteading skills and love of working with children to bless the next generation and continue to be a contributing member of the third generation of the James Ranch.
Archana grew up around the world and was exposed to a wide variety of cuisines from a young age, including Indian, Middle Eastern, Australian, and many Asian culinary traditions. She spent eight years in Hong Kong, where she learned a range of Asian cooking styles, including Chinese regional cuisines, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Singaporean, and more.
During that time, she also ran a private kitchen dining experience, sharing food and stories from Kerala, her family's home region in India. Archana brings a global perspective to seasonal cooking, with an emphasis on flavor, technique, and the stories behind food.
