The Gerber Family Journey began in 1915.
Our History
5 Bar Angus Ranch is owned by Aric Gerber and Stacy, Adrian, and Torin Gray. We are in the arid high-desert of Northwest Colorado, just west of Craig.
The Gerber family journey began in 1915 with the arrival of Ernest and Mary Gerber to Moffat County, Colorado. Arriving with them was their son John, and Ernest’s mother Sophia. Born in Germany, Sophia immigrated to the United States in about 1870. After spending time in St. Louis and Denver, the family migrated west and settled on a homestead in Northwest Colorado, fulfilling the homestead requirements of clearing the land, fencing five acres, building a house, barn, pig pens, and a hand-dug well.
The family expanded a few years later when John Gerber married Goldie Echternkamp and raised 14 children. Through the years, several of John and Goldie’s sons, including Eldon, continued the ranching operations, raising cattle, hay, wheat, and potatoes. Thereby providing potatoes for the local school district’s hot lunch program.
Aric Gerber and Stacy Gray, children of Eldon and Janet, began their beef enterprise at an early age. After a few years, they had a small herd of commercial cows, and through raising 4-H heifers, eventually expanded to include Registered Angus Cattle, the beginning of 5 Bar Angus Ranch.
Our herd
Those first 4-H heifers are still the foundation of our current program. Through careful trait selection, the extensive use of AI breeding, and genomic enhanced EPD’s, we have built a seed stock operation in the harsh high altitude desert conditions of Northwest Colorado that provides high performance, easy working cattle with moderate birth weights. In the early 1990’s, we started working with Dr. Tim Holt to PAP test our bulls and replacement heifers. At that time many did not understand Brisket Disease and considered PAP testing as “voodoo”! With nearly 30 years of PAP data built into the pedigrees of our cow herd, we have been able to produce a reliable source of Angus PAP tested genetics.
We offer a select number of bulls for sale by Private Treaty at the ranch. Always looking toward a bright future in the Angus business, we continue to strive to treat our customers with respect and integrity, while providing a top-quality product.
Our Future
Stacy’s husband Adrian also has deep family roots with the Culverwell and Gray families homesteading in Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties. Adrian owns Bar G Slash Transportation and enjoys spending time hauling our cows, heifers, bulls to and from summer pasture, or wherever they need to go, as well as hauling hay for winter feeding.
Stacy and Adrian’s son Torin, who is the sixth generation on the ranch, is continuing the agricultural lifestyle with his own herd of Angus cattle, along with a ranch horse enterprise. In 2019, Torin was selected to participate in the AQHA Ranching Heritage Young Horse Development Program, a hands-on horse training opportunity focused on the fundamentals of horsemanship. He was awarded an AQHA filly from an AQHA Ranching Heritage Breeder, which he is currently training along with several other young geldings.
Please stop by the ranch or give us a call. We love our cattle and hope you will too.
