Hidden Canyon Ranch + Farms, is 44 acres of land nestled in the rolling Santa Rita Hills.
Established in 2010, we have been gradually expanding our operation to include farming & ranching guided by the principles of biodynamics, regenerative agriculture, permaculture & sustainability.
Currently, we farm 7 acres of hay, a small vineyard planted to pinot noir, and patches of gardens. We farm with minimal use of inputs and follow organic practices in our gardens.
We ranch sheep & chickens without the use of hormones & antibiotics, feed them organic feed, and give them lots of room to roam about. We are proud to have added our first cow this year, Trixie, a yearling Jersey, that we plan to breed next year. Several other helpful creatures call the ranch home & comprise our animal operation. We treat all of our animals humanely and with great respect for the role they play in our bio-diverse universe.
Our sheep grazing on the vineyard
We practice sustainable, responsible, and regenerative farming and agriculture
We ranch sheep & chickens without the use of hormones & antibiotics, feed them organic feed, and give them lots of room to roam about.
We are proud to have added our first cow in 2020, Trixie, a yearling Jersey, that we plan to breed this year. Several other helpful creatures call the ranch home & comprise our animal operation. We treat all of our animals humanely and with great respect for the role they play in our bio-diverse universe.
As our knowledge and experience at sustainable, regenerative farming grows, so does our operation. We are almost done building our “Chicken Trailer” (our mobile chicken coop) which will allow us to add several more hens to our operation.
We are dividing more sections of land into pastures for our hooved animals, rotating them through, then planting these pastures to organically farmed veggies. And our next big project is to create a plan to preserve what precious rainfall we get here through rainwater capture, storage & use.
We are excited to share our adventure & learning with you. Come be a part of it all and support regenerative farming by taking a Farm Tour, shopping at our on-site Farm Stand and online store, or volunteering at the Ranch.
We farm like the Earth depends on it, because it does!
Curious about Regenerative Agriculture?
Location
Hidden Canyon Ranch is located between the cities of Buellton & Lompoc, just off of highway 246 in rural Lompoc.
Address
5425 Campbell Road
Lompoc, California 93436
Our Mission
To work in harmony with all of nature’s elements.
To leave this earth better than we found it.
To listen to the land for what will best emerge through it.
To grow & raise nutrient dense, chemical-free, delicious food.
To educate others on this process as we ourselves are learning.
To provide a place of learning, healing and sharing.
Our Team
Erin O'Bryan
Proprietor, Chief Wrangler, Farm Tour Guide
Growing up as the daughter of a zookeeper, Erin has always had a love of animals. Many a day was spent behind the scenes at the zoo and at home, with the menagerie she had accumulated. She learned to fly hawks & falcons, raise ducks, care for snakes and tend to bunnies. And Erin learned gardening at the knee of her mother, a master gardener, able to grow veggies from the most urban of spaces.
Attending college at UCLA, Erin’s interests turned to social justice issues. After graduation, Erin went on to study law at Loyola Law School, earning her J.D., and heading off to practice in New Orleans at a firm specializing in the rights of women & children. Eventually returning to her native California, Erin left her career in law to become a full-time mother, her most rewarding career choice to date.
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As her kids grew older, Erin decided to return to school, this time for a degree in holistic health coaching, something she had been studying on her own for years. And it was her practice as a health coach that led her to the understanding that good health is fueled by good food, and good food comes from healthy soil & farming practices.
So it was only natural that Erin would begin to put this knowledge to work on her Ranch, first on the small vineyard, next on the hay crops and then on to the chickens. Gradually, large garden beds have been added, composting is going strong, the sheep & chicken flocks are expanding and the little biodiverse universe is growing by the day.
In her day to day running of the Ranch, Erin draws from the principles of regenerative agriculture, biodynamics & sustainability. And a constant awareness that mother nature is really the one in charge.
Stacie Morris
Chief Small Animal Wrangler
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Stacie Morris, chief small animal wrangler. Stacie grew up in the area and is an avid outdoors-woman & animal lover. She has been with us for over a year now and we don’t know how we survived without her. She’s in charge of our small animals, especially the canine kind. But she’s become well versed with the hooved animals as well. Plus she’s also one of the hardest working farm hands we’ve ever come across!
Abby O'Bryan
Animal Whisperer, Wrangler & Tamer
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From the time she got on a horse at age 9, to the time her mom caught her cuddling a very feral cat the shelter dropped off, she knew all creatures were her “spirit animals”. When Abby says, “this is a good dog, you should get it”, we listen. And when Abby tells Spot, the 6-foot tall llama, not to spit, he listens. We would be lost without her animal guidance, training & compassion. Abby is currently completing her 2nd year of college majoring in psychology. We secretly hope she’ll become a vet though!
Declan O'Bryan
Ranch Photographer, Field Dragger, Gator Driver & Chief Ranch Swag Advisor
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From the time she got on a horse at age 9, to the time her mom caught her cuddling a very feral cat the shelter dropped off, she knew all creatures were her “spirit animals”. When Abby says, “this is a good dog, you should get it”, we listen. And when Abby tells Spot, the 6-foot tall llama, not to spit, he listens. We would be lost without her animal guidance, training & compassion. Abby is currently completing her 2nd year of college majoring in psychology. We secretly hope she’ll become a vet though!
The Log Cabin
Built in 2001 by Pioneer Log Homes of British Columbia, the cabin has been featured in TV shows, music videos and photo shoots. Built of solid spruce logs imported from B.C., the house itself is a unique addition to the Ranch and houses many of our ranch dinners, cooking classes & other events.
Our Animals
Zoey the Ranch Dog
Frito
Frito & Patch make up our dynamic duo of Border Collies and our official greeters. They are the friendliest dogs you will ever meet, unless you are a coyote, a gopher, or an airship (we’ll explain that one later!). Patch’s special talent is his soccer playing ability and Frito has a special way of reminding you of his presence. You’ll see 😉
Patch
Frito & Patch make up our dynamic duo of Border Collies and our official greeters. They are the friendliest dogs you will ever meet, unless you are a coyote, a gopher, or an airship (we’ll explain that one later!). Patch’s special talent is his soccer playing ability and Frito has a special way of reminding you of his presence. You’ll see 😉
Joshua
Luigi
Toby
Toby, our gentle giant. Great Pyrenese are wonderful livestock guard dogs and Toby is no exception. From our sheep to our chickens, Toby’s got us all covered.
Marley
We adopted Marley, a sweet old Arabian, in his younger years. He gave us lots of joyful rides on the Ranch and now he spends his old man years roaming from pasture to pasture with the rest of the herd, adding his contribution to soil health while enjoying his happy life. He loves carrots and rubs behind the ears.
Trixie
Trixie, our young Jersey Cow, arrived at our Ranch and promptly tested our wrangling skills. It took a village, but we finally corralled her. Out of that experience was born her name. She is definitely not a demure “Buttercup”. But we like strong females around here! And cow manure makes THE BEST compost ingredient ever. Trixie sure gives us lots of that.
Our Goats
Our tribe is a motley crew who have been adopted from various owners in the area. They love to be brushed, fed, and loved on. In exchange, they keep us supplied with their leftover hay that they leave their nutrient rich excrement in. And you guessed it – it goes in our composting. It’s a win win for all of us!
Our Sheep
Weed abatement, fertilizing, grazing the cover crop in the vineyards, and delicious, pasture-raised meat that’s also hormone free & organic. What more can we say? We love our sheep!
Our Chickens
The contribution to the health of our farming & ranching enterprise by our happy hens cannot be overemphasized. As they follow the livestock through the fields, they eat the bugs, stir up the soil & manure, and add their own fertilizer to the soil. And the eggs they produce have dark yellow yokes bursting with flavor and higher in nutrients like Omega 3s & vitamins A & E than the most massed produced eggs*. Healthy chickens, healthy ranch, healthy us! Thank you girls!
*You can buy our eggs from our ranch store and our farm stand. Call to check availability.
The Vineyards
Our fist vineyard of pinot noir was planted in 2011. It is currently being farmed according to regenerative principles to encourage soil health, plant health and overall ranch health. This means that depending upon the time of year, you may see a budding cover crop growing between the vines or our sheep grazing the cover crop while naturally fertilizing the soil, or the chickens busily eating the pests while leaving their own brand of fertilizer behind as well…
