This is Our Story
The K4 Brand documents the Kieckhefer's dedication to excellence and their pride in the Southwest origin of the fine beef and superior horses they bring to the marketplace. The Kieckhefer’s are committed to the responsible stewardship of all the natural resources in their care: land, water, and livestock.
Rick’s father and grandfathers instilled a passion for raising and finishing premium beef and producing quality Quarter Horses. Rick and Sarah carry this passion forward with renewed vision for K4 business opportunities.
In addition to the original K4 Ranch located north of Prescott, Arizona, Cholla Livestock, LLC (pronounced “Cho ya”) has operated the famous 725,000 acre Diamond A Ranch in Seligman, Arizona since 1982. Legendary meat packer and cattleman, Harvey Dietrich, was a good friend and mentor to Rick and in 2018, Harvey brought in Rick as a partner of Cholla Livestock. Upon Harvey’s passing two years later, Rick and Sarah bought the remaining interest.
The Kieckhefer's are equally passionate about the horses K4 raises for ranch work and competition. Their equine expertise makes them methodically attentive to needs of ranchers and desires of horse owners in the competitive arena: Rick is a National Finals Rodeo qualifier in calf roping and Sarah is a 22-time Turquoise Circuit qualifier in barrel racing. Excellent ranch and rope horses of the renowned K4 bloodlines are offered at the Legacy Ranch Horse Sale every September.
Cholla Livestock LLC serves as the hub of the expansive and complex ranching operations owned by the Kieckhefers. Today, they manage 12,000 commercial cows and 750 Angus bulls on over one million acres throughout five Southwestern states. In addition to the commercial cow herd, Cholla runs thousands of seasonal stockers on various leases.
Innovative farming is required to run a fully integrated beef program. Their farming operation utilizes 14 irrigated center pivots which provide ample grazing and raise crops used to finish feeding calves in the 12,000 head capacity on-site facility.
Since 2012, K4 has been a leading producer of beef for some of the most well-known natural beef programs in the United States. Exposure to the brands led the Kieckhefers to the decision to also provide their own beef direct to the consumer through the K4 Gourmet Beef branded platform for wholesale and retail distribution.