Running a biweekly podcast which includes travel to remote areas throughout the state meeting subjects with dynamic schedules can sometimes present occasional logistical issues. For our ninth episode of our second season we had lined up a few potential ranches which ultimately fell through.
With a few days notice we threw a Hail Mary reaching out to Ventura’s Rich Atmore. Rich runs a cattle operation with his sons in Ventura along with R.A. Atmore & Sons an environmental contract service providing weed abatement, erosion control, vegetation management and environmental restoration for various entities like municipalities and utility companies.
Rich is a bit of a unicorn for this podcast as he’s the first first-generation rancher we’ve interviewed. Rich is tall, clad in denim and though he frequently enjoys talking about his impending retirement, has a youthful appearance and a matching exuberance for his operations, employees and family.
Rich picked me up in a side by side and drove me around the property. His cows are calving right now so about half of the cows are being trailed by small calf’s with the others about to give birth. We then sat down to chat about how he got into ranching, his various operations, and his harrowing experience in 2017’s Thomas Fire.