Bennion Ranch in Utah: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Bennion Ranch, which markets its beef as Bennion Beef, sits on Vernon Creek in Utah's West Desert and was named the 2023 Utah Leopold Conservation Award recipient. The Mitchell family manages 2,080 acres of ranch ground plus Forest Service grazing allotments, raising crossbred Wagyu and Angus cattle for direct-to-customer sales. Elizabeth Mitchell is a fifth-generation cattle rancher, and the family has turned a rundown desert property into a showcase for sage-grouse habitat and rangeland recovery.
| Location | Vernon, Tooele County, Utah |
|---|---|
| Founded | Mitchell family took over the ranch in 2001; Elizabeth's ancestors began ranching in Utah around 1848 |
| Sectors | Wagyu-Angus beef; alfalfa; rotational grazing; wildlife habitat |
| Scale | 2,080 acres plus Forest Service grazing allotments on thousands of acres |
| Why it is elite | 2023 Utah Leopold Conservation Award |
| Ownership | Alan and Elizabeth Mitchell and family |
| Official website | Bennion Beef official site |
History of Bennion Ranch (Bennion Beef)
Alan and Elizabeth Mitchell took over the ranch in 2001 with their five children. Elizabeth comes from a ranching family whose ancestors began ranching in Utah around 1848, and the ranch name honors that heritage.
The early years were about rebuilding. The Mitchells rebuilt 14 miles of fence in the first five years and later doubled that, installed waterlines and troughs, and in 2007 began rangeland work on Forest Service land. The result was the 2023 Utah Leopold Conservation Award, presented at the Utah Farm Bureau's annual meeting with a $10,000 prize and a crystal award.
What Bennion Ranch (Bennion Beef) Grows and Raises
The Mitchells raise crossbred Wagyu and Angus cattle that are born and raised on the ranch, without hormones or antibiotics. They have spent years improving Angus genetics for tenderness and marbling, and added Wagyu bulls to build an American Wagyu line. The ranch grows alfalfa in a rotation with cover crops and uses rotational grazing.
Conservation work is extensive. On Forest Service land the family removed pinyon-juniper, thinned sagebrush and reseeded native grasses. They built a habitat plan for greater sage-grouse, including a flushing bar to protect nesting birds during mowing, installed waterlines with wildlife-friendly ramps, and placed Beaver Dam Analogues along Vernon Creek to filter silt and create ponds for ducks. The ranch also hosts the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources' Dedicated Hunter Program.
How Bennion Ranch (Bennion Beef) Makes Money
Direct beef sales
Bennion Beef sells American Wagyu, conventional Angus and grass-fed Angus beef at the ranch, online and through the Food and Meat Cooperative in Ogden. Selling direct lets the family capture the value of its genetic work.
Cattle and forage
Cattle production is supported by alfalfa grown in rotation with cover crops and by Forest Service grazing allotments, which extend the grazing base well beyond the home place.
Wildlife and conservation programs
Hosting the Dedicated Hunter Program and carrying out habitat work with agencies supports the ranch's standing with land managers and the broader community. The sources do not describe revenue from these programs, so none is claimed.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Bennion Ranch (Bennion Beef)
Build quality before volume. Years of genetic selection for tenderness and marbling gave the ranch a product worth selling direct. Buyers who value a story, a place and a measurable eating-quality advantage will pay for it, but the selection has to come first.
Combine habitat work with production. Sage-grouse flushing bars, beaver dam analogues and wildlife ramps are cheap relative to the regulatory goodwill and awards they can earn. A ranch on public-land allotments depends on those relationships.
A ranch that builds beaver dam analogues so the ducks get new ponds has clearly mastered the art of letting nature do the heavy lifting. At farm.FM we specialize in farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes, and a flushing bar that politely moves a nesting grouse is the sort of detail that deserves a gentle chuckle, never a smirk. Vernon Creek has never looked so popular with the ducks.
If the name is new to you, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site, with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers on the side. One of its regular writers keeps a whole archive of stories like that.
How to Contact Bennion Ranch (Bennion Beef)
Website: https://bennionbeef.com/
The domain bennionbeef.com was named in Utah's Own and other public listings. Address, phone and email are not repeated here because we could not confirm them on the official site; use the website to order or ask about visits.
Bennion Ranch (Bennion Beef) Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Bennion Beef - Official site for the ranch's beef
- Bennion Ranch Leopold award - Drovers report on the 2023 Utah Leopold Conservation Award
- Utah's Own: Bennion Beef - State Utah's Own program listing for the ranch
- Utah Department of Agriculture and Food - State agency with grazing and marketing programs
- NRCS Utah - Conservation planning and cost-share for ranchers
Bennion Ranch (Bennion Beef) FAQ
What does Bennion Ranch produce?
The ranch raises Angus-Wagyu cross cattle and sells American Wagyu, Angus and grass-fed Angus beef under the Bennion Beef name.
Where is Bennion Ranch?
On Vernon Creek in Vernon, Utah, in the state's West Desert.
What award did the ranch win?
The 2023 Utah Leopold Conservation Award, presented by Sand County Foundation.
How can I buy the beef?
At the ranch, online, or through the Food and Meat Cooperative in Ogden; see the Bennion Beef website for details.
Bennion Ranch shows how patient genetics, habitat work and direct marketing can turn desert ground into a premium beef brand. See more operations in our guide to Utah farms.