Great Ranches of the West

Your purchase will help support family farm and ranch agriculture and a safe and secure food system for all of us!

Please note that only 13 of 228 full color pages from this self-published book are featured.
Support Ranching & Farming Communities

This beautiful award-winning 12×11 fine art, hard bound, coffee table book featuring over 30 ranches in 17 states with nearly 600 photographs will make a wonderful addition to any home or office, and be a showing of your support for America’s struggling farm and ranch families.

Buy Now for only $34.95. Price includes a $20.00 contribution to an Organization or Project of your choice.


Step 1: Select Organization or Project
 
step 2: Checkout
 
Interested in mailing?
Please make payment of $34.95 to:
Ranch Foods Direct
ATTN: Great Ranches of the West
2901 North El Paso
Colorado Springs, CO 80907
Author, Jim Keen and Ranch Foods Direct owner, Mike Callicrate, are offering $20 per book in support of your choice of an organization or project working on behalf of independent family farmers and ranchers, and a fair, just, and healthy food system.

Current Organizations/Projects supported:

If your choice of an Organization or Project is not listed, let us know, and we will add it.

 

“An eye opening and heart touching portrait of a culture and industry that we are in great danger of losing. This book will help readers understand the urgency of preserving the Western ranchlands inhabited by families and rural communities that provide nourishing food for our nation, preserve a healthy natural environment and entrust that great American values will endure.”
– Mike Callicrate

“When Great Ranches of the West came in the mail, my wife and I sat down and checked out every picture and every story. I don’t know what her childhood cowgirl dreams might have been, but I certainly reminisced about every stick pony and felt cowboy hat I ever owned. Did you have a wheeled plastic pony named George Horse and trundle around your grandmother’s kitchen on it? From yesteryear’s stories of founding great ranches, to the heroic challenge of running a ranch in the twenty-first century, Mr. Keen has captured in text and photos the bit of cowboy we would all like to be.”
– John Stark, Duncanville, Texas

“American independent ranches are a vanishing part of our history. This book, thru excellent photographs and captivating short stories, introduces the reader to a few ranches that have stood the test of time. I have enjoyed reading these stories with my children, educating them in a part of American culture they dont have a chance to see. Through the stories we’ve learned about the source of food for our table, the need for conservation and preservation of Western ranchlands, and the benefits of a work ethic that prevails in these ranching families. This book should be read by all American families, so future generations will understand the heritage we have in the ranching way of life, and that its culture may not be lost.”
– B. Ross, Colorado

“Jim Keen captured the essence of the West, from the rugged beauty of Place to the nobility of the generations of dedicated Westerners who built and work the ranches. His pictures are breathtaking and carefully placed. They take us into the lives of the ranchers. These wonderful families preserve a way of life that is known around the world. It was thrilling to see pictures of people I’ve met. This is no coffee table book. I give it 5 stars!”
– Jerrold Westbrook, Colorado

“I loved going through this book. All of the photography is superb and so lifelike. This man has such a talent for combining the ordinary and making an outstanding visual image and communicates it so well to the viewer. The stories are so realistic and draw you right into the pictures. I was so enamored by the story concerning the Salmond Ranch in Montana, that I searched the internet and found that a movie was actually made about “The Cattle Queen of Montana”. As a result, I have now found and viewed the movie.”
– Raymond Johnson, Texas

“Great pictures and stories about the ranches all across the West – 17 states! I did get to visit the Nottingham Ranch in Colorado (unfortunately no relations). Even though I have lived out West (Texas and Colorado) for much of my adult life, I have never been able to even visit very many ranches. This gives me inspiration. But having horses as a kid kept my love of horses, cattle, and ranches/farms alive. I highly recommend it as a coffee table book that will not stay on the coffee table.”
– Deborah Nottingham, Colorado Springs, CO

“We have thoroughly enjoyed the excellent photographs and stories in this book! Of particular interest is the Bledsoe Ranch where my husband, John, has stayed numerous times while coyote hunting in the area. Personally knowing the Bledsoe family made that section our favorite part of the book. Mr. Keen captures interesting pictures very artistically with beautiful color.”
– Janet Cunningham, Glen Elder, KS

“One of the things that makes a ranch great is its history. Jim Keen has done a crackerjack job of picking out stories from the past that shed light on the present. This combination of the history with his award winning photography makes for a stunning book.”
-Tom “Dr. Colorado” Noel, Professor of History at The University of Colorado, Denver

“In Jim Keen’s one-man exhibit, “The Great Ranches of the West” at Denver International Airport, passengers were offered a respite to the hectic experiences associated with travel. The responses received about Jim’s photography were extremely positive and moving. The unique subject matter that he has so successfully mastered brings to the viewer a sense of place and romance to a way of life. The beautiful images in “The Great Ranches of the West” convey solitude, hard work and harsh conditions. They transport the viewer to a vanishing part of our history.”
– Colleen Fanning, Art Program Manger, Denver International Airport

Meet the Ranches:

Arizona
Bell Ranch
W Dart Ranch – Groseta

California
Likely Land and Livestock, Inc.
Lacey Livestock

Colorado
Albertson/Nottingham Ranch
Bledsoe Ranch

Idaho
Siddoway Ranch
Two Dot Ranch – Whittaker

Kansas
Duff Buffalo Ranch
Anderson Ranch

Oklahoma
Chain Ranch
Drummond Ranch

Oregon
Eiguren Ranch

Montana
Vermilion Ranch
Salmond Ranch

Nebraska
Haythorn Ranch
Monahan Ranch

Nevada
Pine Creek Ranch
Van Norman Ranch

New Mexico
Nunn Ranch
Pasamonte Ranch

North Dakota
Froelich Ranch

South Dakota
Reeves Ranch

Texas
Bonds Ranch
White Ranch

Utah
Chew Ranch
La Sal Cattle Company

Washington
Diamond M Ranch

Wyoming
Circle Bar Ranch
Warren Ranch