As the desert wildflowers bloom in a riot of color across their sprawling Southern Utah ranch, the Coy and Kacey Stowell family along with a handful of friends saddle up and break out their ropes to take part in a time-honored tradition.
Branding season brings with it the smell of scorched hair and hot iron, a primal perfume that has clung to the West for centuries. For the Stowells, it is the scent of tradition and of a legacy seared not just onto the hide of a calf, but into the hearts of their family for generations.
Ag Roots: A Legacy of Western Heritage in Southern Utah
When it comes to agriculture, the Stowell family has put down deep and diverse roots. They were among the first settlers of Parowan, Utah and since that time, their operation has evolved and expanded. Coy’s Mother, Marilee Stowell, was raised on the family’s Parowan operation, but says she did not intend to marry a farmer.
“Dennis had his Master's Degree in chemical engineering and I always said I wouldn't marry a farmer, but we got the chance to come back and buy the family farm and jumped at the opportunity,” Marilee says. After taking over, Marilee and Dennis raised their seven children on the Parowan farm while continuing to expand.
“My dad just started with 80 acres before buying mountain land, pasture land, and more farmland,” Marilee says. “When we took over, we also kept adding more pieces as they would come up.”
The Stowell’s Ag legacy isn’t just evidenced by their still thriving and growing operation. Dennis Stowell also made an impact on Utah agriculture during his tenure as a Utah Senator. Marilee says that he was known as the “Water Senator” due to his involvement in many Ag and water related bills.
“He wanted to work with the natural resources and people appreciated that he provided an Ag influence in making sure we had a good bill,” Marilee says.
Coy and Kacey now manage the ever-growing operation with their children, Jaid, Kodie, and Bracken Stowell who represent the sixth generation. The kids are active in helping with the farming and ranching tasks and say they are proud to carry on that legacy.
“Not a lot of people get to say that they come from six generations of farming and ranching,” Kodie says. “For me, preserving the western heritage and continuing on that legacy is everything.”
Managing a Diverse Operation
The livestock are cared for in the Parowan valley until June. That’s when the family brings the cattle in for branding and gets the sheep and cattle ready to go to the mountain. With the livestock on their respective summer ranges, the chores turn into irrigating and getting ready for the hay season.
When the cooler autumn air returns, the livestock are brought back to graze on the pastures and hay fields. The lambs and calves are sold and then the family gets ready to start the cycle all over again, but not before taking a well-earned break in Las Vegas, Nevada to watch the National Finals Rodeo.
“That's our one family vacation that we always get to do,” Coy says. “The first part of December is the only bit of downtime so we make sure to always hit the NFR.”
From Ranching to Rodeo
Cattle and sheep aren’t the only animals around the Stowell outfit. There are also chickens, dogs, and plenty of horses. While the horses are integral to performing many ranching tasks, they also serve an important role as members of Jaid’s and Kodie’s rodeo string.
“We've been riding since before we were born,” Kodie says. “Our mom was eight months pregnant, branding and riding with us, and we’ve grown up around it.”
In addition to helping on the farm, Jaid and Kodie are active rodeo competitors who rely on their family’s horses for all their events. Jaid currently competes in barrel racing and breakaway roping and Kodie competes in barrel racing, pole bending, and the rodeo queen competition.
“Kodie and I started off when we were little and we’ve been going forever,” Jaid says.
What started as local jackpots and small-town riding associations has taken them to all levels of rodeo across the state. Jaid and Kodie both competed with the Utah Fifth and Under Rodeo Association, Utah Junior High School Rodeo Association, and the Utah High School Rodeo Association where Kodie is entering her final year as a senior.
Jaid continued her rodeo career after high school as a member of the Snow College rodeo team and has even stepped up to compete in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association events. She was also a member of the 2024 Utah Cowgirl Collective where she served as a flag girl and representative for the Utah Days of ‘47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City.
Both cowgirls agree that working on the family ranch has helped them in their rodeo endeavors. “Growing up on the ranch helps you a ton. For example, when I started doing the reined cow horse event in high school I didn't have a trainer, but I knew how to read a cow,” Jaid says.
It also makes good horses, both girls say. “We'll take our barrel horses out and ride them with the cows and we rope on them and it makes them so much better-minded,” Kodie says. “We take them to a barrel race, and they're sane and we can do other things on them other than barrels.”
While preparing for the UHSRA State finals that took place in June, Kodie says that working on the ranch is what prepared her and her horses for the competition. “Most people are in the arena working, but I'm gathering cows on my horses and to me, that's special,” she says. “Plus, being out on the ranch teaches them where to put their feet and that helps.”
This passion for horses runs deep. Like her daughters, Kacey competed in barrel racing, pole bending, and breakaway roping. Coy, though not a rodeo competitor, has always been drawn to horses.
“He started loving horses young. He bought a horse from his seventh grade teacher and he’s just been adding more horses since,” Marilee says.
The Stowells breed and raise many of their ranch and rodeo mounts. Kacey says that they like raising their own horses and Coy is really good at starting the foals in a way that makes it easy to take them in any direction whether it’s barrel racing, roping, or just performing the ranch tasks.
“We're a horse family. We don't move our livestock with four wheelers, everything we do is horseback,” Kacey says. “We probably have too many but it’s hard for us to sell them.”
Feed, Seed & Everything In Between
With the diversity of the Stowell’s operation comes the need for a wide range of agricultural products. From livestock feed to Ag seed and everything in between, the Stowells rely on their local IFA Country Store and Southern Utah Agronomy Center to keep their operation running.
“IFA is essential because they fuel our operation,” Jaid says. “When you're going to town to get groceries, you just veer over to IFA and get some other groceries too.”
Coy says the Stowell family have been members of the IFA Cooperative for as long as he can remember and in that time, their family has relied on IFA for the best ag products as well as knowledge about industry trends and new technologies.
Agronomy Services
One example of the services IFA provides on the Stowell operation is in their hay fields. Coy trusts IFA to perform soil tests on his farm that give him an analysis of the nutrients available and what may be lacking. From these analyses, Coy says his Agronomy Salesman, Tony Carlile, is good at recommending products that will help improve his harvests.
“We call him 911 Tony because he’s really good and always available to take calls when we have questions,” Coy says.
From soil health to bugs, Coy knows he can get the best products on the market right now from IFA. He says they are always trying to change things a little on their operation to make things better and overcome growing challenges.
“The Stowell family are great to work with because they are always asking what can we do to improve and that is one of the things I most admire about Coy and his Family,” Tony says. “Coy recently began using a system to apply organic calcium to flocculate the soil allowing the microorganisms to do a better job assisting the plants and this has doubled the yield in the fields where they are deployed and I think has been a significant benefit to the farm.”
IFA Country Stores
Beyond the fields, the Stowells rely on IFA for farm, ranch, and even rodeo products.
“They keep us at the top of our game,” Jaid says. “IFA always has the newest releases and, everything's top of the line, high technology because they want the best for you and it helps a ton to know that you have that support system in your back pocket too.”
Jaid says that she and Kodie like the IFA Safe Conditioning grain for all their rodeo horses. She also relies on quality health supplements that she knows she can get from IFA. “We can get everything from IFA,” Jaid says. “Even our jeans, clothes, boots, spurs, all those things.”
The Stowells trust IFA to have the products they need when they need them. Recently, they undertook a project to upgrade their horse stalls with new panels and waterers and Kacey says they are grateful for all the help they received from Tanner Runolfson at the Cedar City store.
“Working with the Stowell family is a blast. They are the type of customers that are willing to ask advice when needed and are willing to share advice with their vast knowledge of the agricultural industry,” Tanner says. “They are the type of people that you want to have in your circle.”
Even Marilee still finds an excuse to visit the IFA Country Store in Cedar City despite saying she’s “retired” from the farm work.
“We've been members for a long time. I know we worked with IFA a lot with seed and they're very helpful, you get to be good friends,” Marilee says. “Even now, as I'm supposed to be retired, I go in mostly for garden stuff and they're always so helpful.”
IFA Young Producers
The Stowell kids are also involved with IFA through the Young Producers Program. Jaid, Kodie, and Bracken all participate in livestock shows showing lambs and steers. They have gone all over, showing livestock at the Utah State Fair, Arizona Nationals, and plenty of jackpots, but they never miss their local Southwest Junior Livestock Show in Cedar City.
“IFA helps a lot. The grain and the show sticks and everything, but they are also really good to support the kids.” Jaid says. “Every year IFA buys or boosts our animals at the sale.”
Tanner says he enjoys helping the Stowell family throughout the year by getting them the things they need for their stock show steers and then watching the kids and steers do exceptionally well at the local county stock show.
“IFA gets us down the road,” Jaid says. “Rodeos, steer shows, everything. I can't think of a show where we haven't had to run to IFA to go get something at the last minute and they always have what we need.”
Carrying on the Tradition
The Stowell family are an excellent example of keeping with tradition while always seeking to grow and improve. Coy, Kacey, and their family are carrying on a deep-rooted western heritage on their Parowan operation.
IFA is grateful to partner with the Stowells for all their agricultural and western lifestyle needs and excited to see the next generation continue to carry on those farming and ranching traditions.
Written by Mikyla Bagley, IFA Content Writer, and originally published in the IFA Cooperator magazine (vol. 91, no. 3) Fall 2025.
Mikyla Bagley is a fifth-generation rancher actively involved in her family’s cattle operation. She holds a deep respect for the wisdom and management practices of the farmers and ranchers who have crossed her path, both because of her family operation and otherwise. A deep desire to remain connected to the agriculture industry drove Mikyla to earn her BIS in Agriculture Science and Communication from Southern Utah University. She continues to be involved in her family’s operation while using her degree and life-long experience as IFA’s Content Specialist sharing the experiences and wisdom of IFA experts and Co-op Members.
“The agriculture community is filled with genuine and hard-working men and women whose passion for their lifestyle deserves to be shared. I look forward to helping highlight both their stories and expertise alongside IFA.”
—Mikyla Bagley