Maggie Creek Ranch in Nevada: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Maggie Creek Ranch is a beef cow-calf and stocker operation in the high desert of Elko County, Nevada, with headquarters west of Elko. It was named the national winner of the NCBA Environmental Stewardship Award for 2015, announced at the 2016 Cattle Industry Convention, and its manager later received the University of Nevada, Reno Outstanding Agriculturalist Award.
| Location | Elko County, Nevada (headquarters west of Elko) |
|---|---|
| Sectors | Beef cow-calf; stocker cattle; riparian and rangeland stewardship |
| Scale | About 198,000 acres combining deeded land and leased public land under a grazing permit (as listed by the award program) |
| Why it is elite | National winner of the NCBA Environmental Stewardship Award, 25th national winner, announced January 2016 |
| Conservation focus | Susie Creek watershed restoration since the early 1990s; Lahontan cutthroat trout recovery goal |
| Management | Searle family ownership recognized with ranch manager Jon Griggs |
| Official website | Environmental Stewardship Award Program inductee page for Maggie Creek Ranch |
History of Maggie Creek Ranch
Maggie Creek Ranch sits in the Humboldt River country of northeastern Nevada, where creeks like Maggie Creek and Susie Creek carry the little reliable water the high desert offers. The Environmental Stewardship Award Program honored the Searle family and ranch manager Jon Griggs for what the ranch has done on that water. In 2015 the ranch won the Region VI award and then became the national winner, the 25th in the program's history, announced at the Cattle Industry Convention in San Diego in early 2016.
Since the early 1990s the ranch has been a partner in restoring the Susie Creek watershed, with the long-term goal of reestablishing Lahontan cutthroat trout. That partnership, which the award program describes as a collaboration between agencies and user groups on private and public land, is the backbone of the ranch's reputation. In 2021 Griggs received the Outstanding Agriculturalist Award from the University of Nevada, Reno College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources.
What Maggie Creek Ranch Grows and Raises
The ranch runs a beef cow-calf and stocker business. The award program lists about 198,000 acres that combine deeded land and leased public land held under a grazing permit, which is typical of large Nevada outfits: private ground near the creeks and public range for seasonal grazing. Herd size was not published in the sources we reviewed, so none is given here.
Stewardship practices are specific. The ranch has fenced and applied prescribed grazing on more than 25 miles of Susie Creek and its tributaries, improved riparian and upland rangeland through grazing management, and worked with the Bureau of Land Management on noxious weeds, with thousands of acres treated for scotch thistle and Russian knapweed. Cutthroat trout are expected to be released in the restored reaches in the coming years.
How Maggie Creek Ranch Makes Money
Cow-calf and stocker sales
The ranch's revenue comes from raising beef calves and running stocker cattle on rangeland and meadows. Stocker enterprises let a ranch use seasonal forage flexibly, buying or holding cattle to grow on grass before they move to feeding.
Grazing permits and public-land access
Much of the acreage is leased public land under a grazing permit, which is an operating asset. Keeping streams and uplands healthy protects the ability to keep using those permits.
Stewardship as a business strength
The ranch does not describe conservation as a separate profit center. Its recognition does, however, bring credibility with agencies, trout and fisheries partners and the beef industry, which helps when permits, partnerships and programs are negotiated.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Maggie Creek Ranch
First, fix the water and the grass follows. Fencing and prescribed grazing along 25 miles of creek is slow and costly, but the ranch has turned it into measurable progress and national credibility.
Second, partnerships multiply capacity. Working with agencies, conservation groups and neighbors gave the ranch weed control and habitat projects it could not run alone. Third, long timelines work in ranching: a restoration begun in the early 1990s is now producing awards and a path to returning native trout.
A ranch whose big project is bringing back a native trout is a rare find in the world of cattle, and it gives us plenty to enjoy at farm.FM. The farm satire crowd loves a grazing permit and a scotch thistle, and the farm humor here is that Maggie Creek Ranch spent three decades making a creek better for fish and cattle at once. Good ranch humor needs a straight man, and Susie Creek is happy to play it, because the farm jokes write themselves while the fencing crews do the real work.
For context, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site and the home of Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers. Its contributors each keep an archive, and this one is a good sampler of ranch humor and farm jokes.
How to Contact Maggie Creek Ranch
Website: https://www.environmentalstewardship.org/winner-gallery/inductees/maggie-creek-ranch
No official ranch website or public phone was found in our research, so the link above is the award program's verified page about the ranch. Visits are not advertised; contact through the Nevada Department of Agriculture or local Elko extension is recommended.
Maggie Creek Ranch Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Environmental Stewardship Award inductee page - Award program profile of Maggie Creek Ranch
- DTN: Nevada's Maggie Creek Ranch wins - Coverage of the national award announcement
- UNR 2021 awards: Jon Griggs - University of Nevada, Reno Outstanding Agriculturalist profile
- Nevada Department of Agriculture divisions - State agriculture department programs
- USDA NASS Nevada - Official Nevada agricultural statistics
Maggie Creek Ranch FAQ
What award did Maggie Creek Ranch win?
It was the 2015 national winner of the NCBA Environmental Stewardship Award, announced in January 2016 at the Cattle Industry Convention.
Where is Maggie Creek Ranch?
It is in Elko County, Nevada, with headquarters west of Elko.
What is the ranch restoring?
It has partnered since the early 1990s on the Susie Creek watershed, aiming to reestablish Lahontan cutthroat trout.
How do I contact Maggie Creek Ranch?
We did not find an official website or phone number. The award program page is the best verified public source.
Maggie Creek Ranch proves that a large Nevada cattle outfit can lead on conservation while running a working business. For the state's climate, water, programs and markets, see our Nevada farms guide and the other ranches profiled alongside it.