S. James Rickert, ARA & AFM and his wife Mary, have been the co-owners of Western Agricultural Services since 1981. The Rickerts are the managing partners of the Prather Ranch, which operates in five northern California counties. Their son James Rickert joined the family business in 2004. All are members of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. They provide farm and ranch management services on over 43,000 acres in five counties in Northern California. The Rickerts also offer appraisal and real estate brokerage services as part of their business model.
In 2002, the Rickerts were recognized as the Farm Manager of Year by the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, Syngenta and Crop Decisions Magazine. The Prather Ranch, managed by the Rickerts, was awarded the Commercial Producer of the Year Award in 2005 by the Beef Improvement Federation. The ranch was also recognized by the National Cattlemens Beef Association with the Environmental Stewardship Award/Region VI and the State of Californias Governors Award for Environmental and Economic Leadership.
S. James Rickert, ARA & AFM graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a degree in Agricultural Business and received a Masters Degree from Purdue University in Agricultural Economics. Mary also attended California Polytechnic State University as a Dairy Science major and graduated from Simpson University with degrees in Business and Human Resources Management and Psychology. James is a Cal Poly graduate with a degree in Crop Science.
Jim is currently serving as President of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. Jim and James are graduates of the California Ag Leadership Program. All are active in their local communities and serve on many boards and committees.
They specialize in organic/natural beef production by marketing a branded beef product and supply bovine raw materials for bio-medical device companies. Prather Ranch raises approximately 15,000 tons of alfalfa, timothy and grass hay. In addition, the ranch leases ground for strawberry nursery plant production, offers recreational hunting, and operates the largest solar electric generating project north of Redding, California on the ranch.