- December 4, 2025
-
-
Loading
Loading
For the Branscomb family of Myakka City, it's always been all hands on deck when it comes to running the family ranch.
And that means all family hands. It's been their way of life that they use no hired help.
So when Janie Branscomb, the family matriarch, died in 2023 from metastatic breast cancer, it created both an emotional and functional void on The Sandlot Ranch.
"She brought an indescribable compassion to the ranch, caring for all of the animals with her whole heart and helping with any and all chores no matter how she might have been feeling," said Sophi Jo Branscomb, the family's eldest daughter. "In short, she did it all when it came to the ranch, raising four children, and creating a loving home with my dad (Nic Branscomb). Most of all, she loved us and the ranch with everything she had."
The Branscombs had to summon their inner strength to move forward.
"It has brought us closer as a family but left a hole in our hearts," Nic Branscomb said.
Nic Branscomb watched as Sophi Jo took over many of her mother's responsibilities.
"(Janie) loved the ranch as much as Sophi Jo does, and it is sweet that she is following in her mom's footsteps," Nic Branscomb said.
Sophi Jo, 17, said it would be hard to imagine how drastically different her life would be if she didn’t live on a ranch. The Branscombs purchased Sandlot Ranch in 2015 and slowly added animals over time with an initial 10 cattle. Sophi said she has been able to learn through problem solving scenarios and she improved her work ethic through time management.
“I know how to use power tools," she said. "I know how to drive tractors and heavy equipment. I can fix a fence. I can work with animals that are over 1,000 pounds without fear. I walk into a herd of cows, and yes, I understand and respect their power, their beauty and how they can be dangerous. I’m not fearful.”
The Branscombs bought the 32-acre ranch in 2015. Since then, they have acquired more land so the ranch has expanded to 62 acres. They currently have 67 cows.
“We're renting a few smaller sets of land that we can rotate our cows through just to give them better grazing opportunities,” Sophi Jo said. “It also allows us to keep our herds separate, so we keep a lot of our pregnant moms on the main ranch where our house is, along with the younger calves and anything that we plan to go to market.”
Currently, they sell their cattle by word of mouth to friends and family. Sometimes they will do a “cow swap.”
“We'll send both of our cows to the butcher, and then we take their cow to eat, and they take ours,” Sophi Jo said. “We're both getting locally grown, grass-fed beef, but we're not eating the cow we've named and grown.”
Despite knowing the fate of the cows on the farm, Sophi Jo names every cow. She finds it great for record keeping as well as forming a connection with them.
“I like to believe that it's important to give them the best life possible while they're here with us, even though they're destined for someone's freezer,” Sophi Jo said. It gives me a little bit of peace of mind that I did what I could and they got to enjoy their lives before they were used for their purpose.”
She likes to use themes to separate the cows. For example, one group is all condiments (Mustard, Ketchup, Relish) and another is all Disney princesses.
Sophi Jo said one of the biggest challenges she faces is dealing with unpredictable weather conditions.
“It can be challenging because I don't want to go clean in the pouring rain and I don't want to go work the cows, but it's something that's got to be done,” she said. “It's important to understand that they have needs, too. I wouldn't want to live in a messy pen, so neither do they.”
The ranch is still recovering from the last year's hurricane season, and the family is renovating buildings and fencing. On top of the cattle, the Branscombs also have a horse, a pony, three dogs, two cats, fish, parakeets and six goats. They have also downsized how many animals they have, because they no longer have chickens and ducks.
On top of the weather, time management also poses a struggle for Sophi Jo. She is a full time student at Braden River High School, where she is president of the Future Farmers of America and works on the ranch before and after school. When working on the ranch, tasks are always popping up — such as cattle escaping or fencing that breaks — that take longer than anticipated to resolve.
Sophi Jo estimated that about once a week a cow will try to escape and she almost always knows which ones because they have their own unique personalities.
“We have some cows that are more prone to escaping or deciding they're done with their grain and they want to go somewhere else,” she said. “Sometimes we just get really clumsy calves too, and they'll fall under the fence and go the wrong way. They get stuck, and then they scream, and you know something's wrong when they're just screaming.”
Sophi Jo works as the breeding and production manager and decides what sort of cattle to buy. She makes decisions based on their temperament and how they act around people.
“It's important that they're able to go in a shoe if they need any sort of vaccinations or any sort of procedures need to be done to them,” Sophi said. “It's important that I'm able to get around them when they have a calf. I don't want to have a heifer out there, or a cow that's going to try to kill me every time I need to go check on the baby. That's unsafe for me.”
Since it is a ranch that is fully operated by the family, each family member tackles different tasks. Nic Branscomb handles all the finances and the overall management of the ranch. He handles the big decisions when it comes to repairs and what needs to be done.
According to Sophi Jo, 15-year-old Oliver does the heavy lifting and helps utilize the big machinery along with helping to fix fences.
Jacson, 11 and Betsi Branscomb, 9, are described by Sophi Jo as the “fun handlers.”
“They handle all the stuff with the baby cows and they help us tag them,” Sophi Jo said. “They'll help with daily chores like feeding the goats and cleaning goat pens, little fun things for them. It's valuable to have them, especially on days when we're working cattle.”
Jacson said he helps mow, mop and feed cows. His favorite part is riding around on a four wheeler and playing around the ranch.
Betsi said she likes playing with the goats, horses and dogs. She helps round up the cattle using her pony as well.
“It's not this amazing mechanized system that you see with some larger scale ranches,” Sophi Jo said. “It's something that we're passionate about. It's something that's family driven. It's something where we're really trying our best to be able to help our community and our friends, providing what we can for them and for ourselves.”
