About Us
Our Story
The Valdez family has been farming and ranching in Southern Colorado for five generations. Stephen Valdez, who was born and raised in the San Luis Valley, settled with his wife Sandra back in the valley in the early 1990s. He started operating farm and ranch land near La Jara, Colorado, where he continued to grow his cattle and farming operation alongside his wife, Sandra, and their four children, Rachel, Erika, Olivia, and Garrett.
After many years of running the commercial cow/calf operation, Stephen started looking into the bison industry, which would fit his model of sustainability better. In 2017, they purchased their first bison, which has progressed into a 1,500-acre hay production and bison operation.
Big River Bison has been family-owned and operated by Valdez Farm & Ranch since its inception in 2017. Today, the whole family takes part in raising and selling their bison products. The Valdez family takes great pride in their practices and loves the memories they are creating on the farm and ranch. They are going to keep striving for sustainability in their business as well as on their land. Their goal is to keep improving and growing each year so that they will be able to continue this operation for generations to come.