Servant
Leadership Love of land and his fellow man drive Rick Roberti as he takes the lead at CCA in 2025 by CCA Associate Director of Communications Maureen LaGrande
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amily, faith and love for the land are cemented in the day-to-day life of the California Cattlemen’s Association’s 52nd President Rick Roberti, Roberti, Sierra Valley. Alongside his wife Carolyn and their two children Weston and Katie,, Rick says he looks forward to the next two Katie years leading, advocating and connecting with the membership of the association. New Beginnings Rick’s great-grandfather came to the United States from Switzerland for a better life in the 1870s, making a home in the Sierra Valley. Located in Plumas County, 40 miles northwest of Reno, Nev., Sierra Valley is the largest alpine valley in California. His siblings Jim and Dave Dave,, along with their families still reside on the land today that was established as a dairy in 1923 by Alfred Roberti and his wife Josephine. During this time, dairies were small and could not increase in size due to the valley's cold winter climate. As the dairy market started to change and regulations were implemented, the family pivoted their operation from dairy to beef cattle in the 1950s, when the Robertis and their son Elmer, Rick’s father, purchased a herd of registered Angus cows. Soon after the shift to beef cattle, in the 1970s, the family also began to expand their forage growth from producing just enough for their animals, to a hay farming business. Elmer and his wife Helen lived on the ranch, allowing their three sons to grow up and learn the various facets of running the business from their father. “I decided that I wanted to stay and work on the ranch when I was five,” Rick said smiling. While they might not always have agreed with one
26 California Cattleman January 2025
another, Rick shared that his father was willing to let his sons try and do things differently to advance the ranch. “He was my best friend and the biggest influence in my life,” said Rick. Rick’s parents both played a major role in his upbringing and life. He shared how fortunate he was to have a mom and dad who loved and cared for him and to be able to be around his hard-working Grandma Josie, who lived through The Great Depression. “My mom was another big influence in my life, she took us to Sunday school and made us go to church, helping me to build character and find a real love for God,” said Rick. Family Continues Working on the Ranch Today, Roberti Ranch is a cow-calf operation and hay business. The three Roberti brothers can be found continuing to operate the ranch, with each leading a different facet of the operation. Jim the oldest, takes care of all the irrigating and farming of the hay operation. Rick the middle brother, and his son Weston manage the cattle herd and farm dry land. The youngest brother, Dave, keeps all of the operation’s books alongside his wife, Jane Jane.. Dave also farms, does mechanical work for equipment on the ranch and manages hay sales. Rick’s nephew Ben and nephew-in-law Jayson are also employed full-time. As time has passed, Rick shared how many of his roles have changed the past few years. “I am surprised how fast the time has gone from when I started taking on more roles of my dad’s, and now Weston is doing the jobs I used to do,” said Rick. Weston is just as happy to be working with his dad and is more than prepared for any work that heads