Jim Wackerman is the current owner and caretaker of the property widely known as the Wackerman Ranch. The history of the ranch goes back to 1864 with the settling of the pioneers. This is some 40 years before Orland became a city, and the water rights have Teddy Roosevelt’s signature. In 1900, the ranch became known as the “Old Colony,” honoring an ever-present Bay Area influence. Though dairy farming was the mainstay, the ranch also included vegetable gardens, cattle, pigs, and fruit trees. At the youthful age of 22, and only a few years out of high school, Jim’s father was offered the farm. It was 1950, and he decided to purchase the farm, determined to turn it around and make it prosper. At the time, it had been a dairy farm like many others dotting the Glenn County landscape. Dairy farming came with maintenance and impending rules. Not only was Albert clearly aware of this but also discovered how hard it had become to find hay. In addition, restrictions and 40
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new regulations kept emerging. In the ‘70’s, Albert related to Jim that he felt, “We are one generation on the verge of bankruptcy.” Where once 125 dairies flourished, the number had plummeted into the 20’s. Originally, pioneers irrigated the land from government funding. Water has remained a touchy topic ever since and moving away from the dairy industry proved difficult. The dairy business, like many operations, came with big pressures, like going completely organic while fighting the seller’s market which had stretched all the way to Colorado. It became clear that Jim had inherited too much hassle, so much maintenance, and ever-changing rules. Like his dad, however, pressure and all, Jim Wackerman is truly the right person to tend this property. Among other things, Jim is a walking sound bite, dropping lines one cannot write down fast enough. He speaks in both a demonstrative manner in full
WRITTEN BY TIM MILHORN
The old guy and his old colony
