J
ustin Fields has probably spent as
much time in the saddle as most of us
spend in a chair. He is a modern-day
cattle rancher, carrying on the tradition
established by his forefathers when they
began ranching in South Santa Clara
County back in the 1870s.
Justin’s grass-fed beef cattle graze on
a patchwork of family-owned and leased
lands that stretch from Silver Creek Valley
in the north along the border of Henry Coe
State Park in the East, Rancho Canada del
Oro to the West, and just south of Morgan
Hill. This includes private ranches, open
space and county park lands.
Driving, hiking or cycling through
South County’s rolling hills, you’re likely to
spot Justin’s herds. His cows and calves are
a composite of Hereford and Angus breeds
known for their good temperament and
adaptability to their grazing environment.
Justin has sold stock to Harris Ranch, via
online auctions, and locally at the Aromas
livestock auctions.
Butterflies and Beef
Exemplary rangeland stewardship and cattle
grazing practices have earned Justin the
recognition and respect of public agencies,
private landowners and professional organi-
zations. They have come to know Justin as a
man who is not only passionate about cattle
ranching but who is in it for the long haul.
The fifth-generation rancher and
President of the Santa Clara County
Cattlemen’s Association has made it his
priority to develop trust relationships with
30
other stakeholders, including the Open
Space Authority, the California Rangeland
Trust and the University of California
Extensio n. He has also represented the
Cattleman’s Association and other stake-
holders in a working group of the Santa
Clara Valley Habitat Agency for several
years.
“People appreciate the fact that I have
local roots and work to protect the land,”
he said. That includes protecting sensitive
habitats that are home to endangered spe-
cies of salamanders, butterflies, frogs, kit
foxes and burrowing owls. “Without local
cattle grazing, the Bay Checkerspot but-
terfly’s only known natural plant habitat
would quickly be overtaken by non-native
grasses and the butterflies wouldn’t survive.”
Good grazing practices also keep natu-
ral grasslands trimmed back – a huge plus
when it comes to preventing brush fires
during Santa Clara’s long dry season. In
2012, the Society for Range Management
honored Justin with its annual Excellence in
Range Management Award.
Born to Ranch
Justin began helping out on his father’s
ranch at the tender age of 5. What others
might consider chores, he considered fun.
“As I got more involved, my dad gave me
a few of my own cows to take care of. By
the time I graduated from Live Oak High
School in 1989, I had raised my own herd as
a Future Farmers of America (FFA) project.”
Justin was accepted by Cal Poly but he
chose instead to spend the next year working
on the ranch with his father. It was a deci-
sion that accelerated the course of his career.
“When the time came for me to pack my
bag and head for San Luis Obispo, I realized
that I didn’t need to spend four years at col-
lege. I was already prepared for a ranching
career.”
In 1991 Justin met Arleah Nissen, the
woman who would become his wife three
years later. They were introduced by friends
while attending The Firefighter’s Rodeo,
an event sponsored by the San Jose Fire
Department’s Burn Unit. When asked if
their first encounter was love at first sight,
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016
Justin smiled and said, “Yeah, I pretty much
knew she was the one.”
Like Justin, Arleah had grown up around
horses, but her forte had been English
style riding and 3-day eventing on sport
horses; not the cattle herding and roping on
Western cow horses that was Justin’s milieu.
“We used to joke that I went over to the
dark side when I switched from English to
Western,” Arleah said. “I knew my way
around horses, but riding Western and
working cattle was a whole different thing.”
To say Justin knows the lay of the land
in South County is an understatement.
Over the years, he and Arleah have lived
and worked at the Mendoza Ranch, the
Dunne Ranch and the Blair ranch; some-
times leasing the land, working the cattle,
training horses and managing day-to-day
ranch operations. They did a lot of moving
until 2009, when they began building their
current ranch home in the Eastern foot-
hills north of Anderson Dam.While mod-
est about their competitive riding, Justin
and Arleah have won championship titles
at local, state, national and international
events. They have also shared their knowl-
edge by leading clinics in “ranch versatility”
for the California Horseman’s Association.
The clinics provide expert demonstrations
and coaching for riders aiming to compete
in Ranch Horse Versatility events includ-
ing Ranch Riding, Trail, Reining Patterns,
Roping and Confirmation
Preserving California
Vaquero History
As a youth, Justin learned horseman-
ship from his father, Joe, his grandfather,
and long-time ranchers including Tom
Sondgroth, Ike Chisum and Charlie
Maggini. They passed down the time-
honored traditions that America’s first
working cowboys learned from Spanish
cavalry and Mexican horsemen sometimes
called vaqueros.
When horse trainers lack skill or
patience and resort to harsh bits and brute-
force tactics, they end up with nervous
horses and unpredictable or dangerous
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