Carrizo Valley Ranch in New Mexico: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Carrizo Valley Ranch is the cow-calf ranch of Sid Goodloe and his wife Cheryl, based at Capitan in New Mexico. Goodloe has run the ranch for more than six decades, adopted short duration grazing there in 1971, and received the 2022 New Mexico Leopold Conservation Award from Sand County Foundation. The ranch has also been featured in three documentaries.
| Location | Capitan, New Mexico; ranch elevations run from 6,000 to 7,500 feet |
|---|---|
| Sectors | Cow-calf beef cattle; fee hunting; forest and riparian restoration |
| Management history | More than 65 years of ranch records; short duration grazing since 1971 |
| Why it is elite | 2022 New Mexico Leopold Conservation Award ($10,000); featured in three documentaries |
| Land protection | A conservation easement keeps the land open space in perpetuity |
| Ownership | Sid and Cheryl Goodloe, who plan to pass the ranch to their grandchildren |
| Official website | Sand County Foundation award announcement |
History of Carrizo Valley Ranch
Sid Goodloe has managed Carrizo Valley Ranch for more than six decades. In the 1960s, while working in Africa, he studied rotational grazing with Zimbabwean scientist Allan Savory. He brought those ideas home and put short duration grazing into practice on the ranch in 1971, and the system continues with few changes today. In 1974 he hosted Savory on a speaking tour at Western universities.
The ranch keeps more than 65 years of records, which gives it an unusually long view of how grazing decisions play out in drought and in wet years. A conservation easement now guarantees the land stays open space in perpetuity, and the Goodloes plan to hand it to their grandchildren. In 2022 the Leopold Conservation Award was presented at the New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts conference in Albuquerque.
What Carrizo Valley Ranch Grows and Raises
Carrizo Valley Ranch is a cow-calf operation. Short duration grazing, which the ranch describes as regenerative ranching, moves livestock through pastures so plants get recovery time. The ranch grazes riparian areas for one to two weeks during dormancy to prepare seedbeds, and it recently cut its stocking rate by half to improve wildlife habitat.
Land work goes well beyond cattle handling. The ranch removes pinon and juniper trees, restores riparian areas, cuts oak brush to stimulate green forage, thins forests, and has drought provisions in its plan. It installed solar wells and dirt tanks for water and has worked to control erosion on old homestead roads. Total acreage and herd size were not published in the sources reviewed, so none are stated here.
How Carrizo Valley Ranch Makes Money
Cow-calf production
Calves from the cow herd are the core product. The ranch reduced its stocking rate by half for wildlife habitat, a deliberate trade of numbers for land condition. Prices and volumes are not published, and none are estimated here.
Fee hunting
The ranch also operates as a fee hunting property. Wildlife is a second income stream built on the same habitat the grazing system protects, and it gives the ranch a reason to keep restoring riparian areas and thinning overgrown forest.
Conservation recognition and easement
The $10,000 Leopold prize and the documentaries raise the ranch's profile. The conservation easement is a long-term land strategy: it keeps the ranch intact for the next generation and is the type of tool landowners often explore with a land trust and a tax adviser.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Carrizo Valley Ranch
Records are a competitive advantage. More than 65 years of data lets the Goodloes see what each change did to the land, and it makes decisions such as halving the stocking rate easier to justify. Ranchers can start with a simple annual log of rainfall, grazing dates and pasture condition.
A second lesson is to stack enterprises that rely on the same healthy habitat. Cattle, hunting and watershed restoration reinforce one another here. The third is to plan succession early: pairing a conservation easement with a family plan to pass the ranch to grandchildren aims to keep the operation whole across generations.
A man who read about rotational grazing in Africa and then ran it in the New Mexico mountains for more than 60 years has earned a standing ovation, and perhaps a stern word with the elk. Readers who enjoy farm.FM know our farm satire and farm humor tend to treat record-keeping as the heroic act it is, and ranch humor is better when the ranch has 65 years of notebooks. We save the best farm jokes for the pastures that need no punchline.
Readers who want the full experience can pair the jokes with Tractor Tunes, the country music for farmers that farm.FM, the nation's first satirical farm site, plays between stories. This author page is a fine starting point.
How to Contact Carrizo Valley Ranch
No official ranch website was found for this profile. The contact link is the award announcement; no public address, phone number or email for the ranch appeared in the sources reviewed. Contact the New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts for introductions.
Carrizo Valley Ranch Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Goodloe Leopold Award announcement - Sand County Foundation profile of the ranch and its practices
- Leopold Conservation Award program - About the national award and its state partners
- New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts - Award partner and local conservation help
- NMSU Cooperative Extension Service - Land-grant guidance on range, livestock and water
- USDA Census of Agriculture - Official data on New Mexico farms and ranches
Carrizo Valley Ranch FAQ
Who runs Carrizo Valley Ranch?
Sid Goodloe and his wife Cheryl, of Capitan, New Mexico. Goodloe has run the ranch for more than six decades.
What award has it won?
The 2022 New Mexico Leopold Conservation Award, with a $10,000 prize, presented at the New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts conference.
What kind of grazing does it use?
Short duration grazing, in use since 1971, with riparian areas grazed for one to two weeks during dormancy to prepare seedbeds.
Does the ranch take visitors?
It operates as a fee hunting property. No public booking details were found, so confirm any visit directly before traveling.
Carrizo Valley Ranch is proof that a long record, patient grazing and a land-protection plan can anchor a New Mexico family ranch. See the New Mexico farms guide and the other profiles in this directory for more.