OUR STORY
Pam, Randy, and Merrill Johnson have a passionate love for the land and for the community they call home. As locals for more than 20 years, they raised their daughter, Merrill, for the majority of her life here, in Colorado. Prior to Colorado they lived outside of Chicago, and both Pam and Randy were corporate business people. After years of corporate America, they left it all suddenly, came West, and never looked back. Life is too brief to not act on your dreams. From attaches, suitcases, and high heels to muck boots and shovels they are all blessed to call Cedar Ridge home. They love to share it’s splendor with others and all the animals. Over the past 20 years Cedar Ridge has been home to the horse community and now, the dream continues to grow with the expanded organic farms, creative spaces and event venues.
OUR WHY
We are a family farm where family is at the heart of everything we do. Everyday we are fortunate to wake up and spend our days working together surrounded by a team of caring individuals who all share in a dream of building connection, inspiring creativity, celebrating life, and being stewards of the land. The farm started with a horse boarding facility and as our love for horses grew so did our love for the land and its well being. We fell into farming backwards and it started with compost. Merrill was a sustainability student at CMC at the time and became educated about whole systems and systems thinking and the sustainability and practices of our business. From making and selling compost we got into raising Large Black Heritage breed pigs for pork and our bond to the local community and food became even stronger. Being the creative entrepreneurial family that we are we wanted to support other creative entrepreneurs in the valley and open the farm up to other farmers to support and provide more local nutritious food in the community.
MEET THE FAMILY
MEET PAM
Mother, Owner, Creator. Pam is originally from Lake Forest Illinois. After graduating from the University of Colorado, she adventured through the Caribbean Islands. She then returned to Chicago to find her career path with Family Circle and start a family. After twenty years Pam retired from her position as VP of Advertising Director. In 1999, the family visited the Roaring Fork Valley and fell in love. They found Cedar Ridge Ranch. As Merrill, her daughter, said, “Mom and I drove down the driveway, looked back at Mt. Sopris and found our dream.” They never looked back! Pam’s love for art started in college as she dabbled in ceramics, and now enjoys working in her studio in the Creative Spaces at Cedar Ridge.
MEET RANDY
Father, owner, worker. Randy, a Vietnam era veteran received his MBA from the University of Dayton Ohio just outside of his hometown. Randy started his career with IBM, then worked with Drexel Burnham Lambert as an investment banker and most recently as executive VP with Gamon International. Randy’s creative side was responsible for developing the new gravity fed Campbell’s soup display. Randy likes to say, ” We changed the way America buys soup.” Randy’s parents always told him to go West… and now he could not be happier. You can find Randy out working on the fences. chopping wood, or out on the tractor in the fields. As he says “the clock of life is only wound but once – live, love, toil with a will.”
MEET MERRILL
Daughter, Manager, Visionary It all started with my love for horses and my family. My parents are so important to me and I am so blessed to call Cedar Ridge home and share it with amazing people and animals. Growing up you could always find me with the horses. Out on the land I created a strong connection with it …