Harris Ranch

A Harris Ranch sign in Coalinga, California, displaying the Harris Ranch logo similar to all Harris Ranch packaging

Harris Ranch Restaurant

Harris Ranch or the Harris Cattle Ranch feedlot is California's largest beef producer, producing 150,000,000 pounds of beef per year as of 2010.^[1] It is located alongside Interstate 5 near Coalinga, Central California, USA, in the San Joaquin Valley. The ranch is owned by Harris Farms.

Description

History

Founded by Jack Harris in 1937, the Harris Ranch Beef Company (now operated by Jack Harris' son John) was originally a cotton and grain operation.^[1].

The farm also operates an inn and restaurant, raises fruit and vegetable crops, and breeds thoroughbred horses.^{[2] [1]} Overall, the operation has more than 400 employees.^[3] Approximately 14,000 acres (5,700 ha) are devoted to garlic, broccoli, pomegranates, and tomatoes, among 35 types of fruits and vegetables.^[4]

Marketing and distribution

At over 800 acres (320 ha) and with a population of over 100,000 cattle,^[4] and hundreds harvested daily, the ranch is the largest on the West Coast. It is also among the largest (when including density), in the United States. A "vertically integrated" operation, it owns a fleet of trucks that take cattle from several ranches with which it deals, and does its own finishing, slaughtering, and packaging.^[1]

The ranch supplies the hamburger meat for the In-N-Out Burger chain, and also distributes beef and prepared meals through grocery stores and restaurants nationwide.^[3][1]

Harris Ranch was one of the first to build a brand around itself as a specialty niche product, and is credited as a forerunner of companies like Niman Ranch and Dakota Beef.^[1]

Restaurant

The restaurant was targeted to local farmers when it opened in 1977, but later became popular due to its location on a busy highway midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. As of 2008 the restaurant is the 57th busiest in the United States and sixth busiest in California based on gross receipts.^[3] The restaurant now features a "farm to fork" concept, featuring not only beef but wine and other products made locally by the ranch.^[1] A 153-room luxury Inn was added in 1987.^[4]

Public reception

The ranch is known to travelers for the "ripe, tangy odor of cow manure", described alternately as a "horrible stench"^[5] and "a good, honest, American smell".^[6] Food writer Michael Pollan was inspired to conduct the research on factory farming that lead to his seminal sustainability book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, by the smell.^[5] The owner of Harris Ranch, in turn, threatened to withhold a $500,000 donation to California Polytechnic University if it sponsored a speech there by Pollan.^[7] In reference to the large number of cattle processed at its facilities, some critics have nicknamed the ranch "Cowschwitz",^[5] comparing the slaughtering of cows to the slaughtering of Jews during the Holocaust at the death camp, Auschwitz.^{[4][8][9][10][11]}

Location

Harris Ranch is notable for being located almost precisely at the half-way mileage point between Los Angeles and San Francisco and Los Angeles and Sacramento. Given the location and its ease of recognition from Interstate Highway 5, it is a useful landmark when driving between the two cities.^[12]

See also

• Harris Ranch Airport

Gallery

• 

  Harris Ranch Inn

• 

  For most travelers, the feedlot is the most recognizable view of Harris Ranch from Interstate 5

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Munoz, Olivia (October 4, 2010). "Harris Ranch markets farm-to-fork". Associated Press. http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16248323. 
2. ^ HRBC | About Us | Our History
3. ^ ^{a b c} Cary Ordway. "Stop at Harris Ranch like visiting destination resort". California Weekend Getaways. http://www.californiaweekend.com/california-vacation/harris-ranch.html. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Weekend America http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/12/21/coalinga/
5. ^ ^{a b c} Black, Jane (December 7, 2009). "Think you're dining 'green'? Menus won't always tell you". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/06/AR2009120602778.html. 
6. ^ Susan Spano (2006-10-08). "Eat well, sleep deeply off I-5, at Harris Ranch". Los Angeles Times. http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-tr-spano8oct08. 
7. ^ Enzinna, Wes (November 2010). "Big Meat vs. Michael Pollan". Mother Jones. http://motherjones.com/environment/2010/11/michael-pollan-backlash-beef-advocacy. 
8. ^ Micah Sachs (2005-07-04). "Punk and Stupid". San Diego Jewish Journal. http://www.sdjewishjournal.com/stories/july04_5.html. 
9. ^ "Sacred cows at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo". Los Angeles Times. 2009-10-16. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/16/opinion/ed-pollan16. 
10. ^ Martha Rosenberg (2009-10-18). "Farmers Protest Food Activist Michael Pollan at University of Wisconsin". Op Ed news. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Farmers-Protest-Food-Activ-by-Martha-Rosenberg-091018-399.html. 
11. ^ BC Upham (2009-10-16). "Cattle Company Forces Change in Michael Pollan University Lecture". Triple Pundit. http://www.triplepundit.com/2009/10/cattle-company-forces-change-in-michael-pollan-university-lecture/. 
12. ^ Google Map from LA to SF showing mileage approximate 1/2 marker and Harris Ranch

External links

• Harris Ranch

Coordinates: 36°20′35″N 120°12′54″W / 36.343°N 120.215°W / 36.343; -120.215