Every day, passersby stop to stare at the unusual cattle at Stewart Ranch in Napa.

The ranch, owned by Ailene Pritchett and her husband Jim McGlothern, is nestled in the western hills on the south side of town, and is home to two rare bovine breeds — Belted Galloways and Dutch Belted cattle. Pritchett's animals are not just the subject of local buzz. The ranch was featured on "Good Morning America" about four years ago.

The two breeds of cattle look similar from a distance. Both are solid black or reddish except for a white "belt" circling the animals' centers. But the shaggier Galloways are raised for meat, while Dutch Belted cattle are prized for their milk. Pritchett said the Galloways' double coat keeps them warm, so the animals don't have as much body fat as other meat cattle. As a result, they yield leaner, juicier beef than most other commercialized breeds. Pritchett said although she now mainly raises Galloways at the ranch off Golden Gate Drive, she still keeps about six Dutch Belted dairy cows on the ranch. "Very few dairies use them anymore. They produce as much (milk) as Holsteins, and eat the same amount," she said.

Pritchett added that she sold some of her Dutch Belted heifers to dairies in Southern California; she has sold Dutch Belted steers at auction. Her Galloway heifer buyers are mostly breeders, and young Galloway bulls are sold locally for beef. Pritchett said only males are sold for meat; after slaughter, they are taken to Browns Valley Market, where buyers pick up the prepared and aged beef. Belted Galloway bull calves raised for their meat are mostly sold to area businesses and individuals in Napa Valley, Pritchett said, and are usually slaughtered at 18 to 24 months of age.

Raising cattle is a job for early risers. Pritchett said she and her children keep ranch hours from "before sunup to after sundown." Each day by 5:30 a.m., Pritchett is outside feeding her cows and steers. After a day's work as a dental hygienist, she comes home to clean stalls and feed the dairy cows and show steers a second time. The animals also require vaccinations and worming medication twice each year, according to Pritchett. And her Belted Galloways are marked with tattoos, which provide information including the year the animal was born and the breeder's name.

Raising cattle at Stewart Ranch is certainly a family effort. Pritchett's three children, Pookie, 11, and twins James and Robert, 12, are members of 4-H. The three children raise steers for the fair; they also care for pygmy goats, chicken and dairy cattle.

"(Belted Galloways) mature fast, get big and are best for the fair," Pritchett said. She added that target weights for the fair are 1,200 to 1,300 pounds for Belted Galloways.

Pritchett said James won reserve grand champion for his steer at the fair last August.

Steers raised for the fair are fed a special diet twice a day, including large amounts of grain, hay and vitamin supplements, to keep them healthy and to promote weight gain. Pasture cattle not raised for the fair are given hay and vitamin supplements, and animals raised for meat may be either grain- or hay-fed, according to clients' preferences. Although some of the Stewart Ranch cattle are fed a special diet, Belted Galloways are known for eating weeds and hay other breeds won't touch.

Pritchett said she buys most of her Belted Galloway bulls from out of state, and she seeks certain bloodlines and correct body form. Currently at Stewart Ranch, a bull named King is being bred with two heifers. "They all stay together for one month, so we know who the dad is," Pritchett said. Pregnant heifers are kept in a pasture together, where they are fed twice daily and watched carefully. Pritchett said Belted Galloways have unusual breeding longevity, and are still able to produce offspring far into their teen years. Babies are born after nine months of gestation and calves are usually born head and front feet first. When an occasional breach birth happens, Pritchett steps in to help. But she said while she keeps a close eye on cows while they're in labor, she doesn't encounter many problems with calving, and doesn't often interfere. "Within one hour, calves are up and nursing. They're a hearty breed," she said.

Pritchett is a fourth generation cattle person, and said her great-grandfather bought the ranch land during the early 1900s. "Then my grandpa, Earl Stewart, had it. He had three kids and one was my mom. Her name is Dolly Pritchett, a former Miss Napa County," Pritchett said. She added that the property was a working dairy until the late '60s.

In 1987, Pritchett bought her first Dutch Belted cow, and in 1991, she discovered Belted Galloways.

Pritchett said the landscape around Stewart Ranch is changing. "Houses are approaching," she said.

A ranch just to the north, is owned by the Ghisletta family and is slated to be transformed into homes within the Napa city limits. Pritchett also notes that the Flood Control District acquired land across the highway from the ranch about five years ago.

But while Napa continues to grow, Pritchett and her family continue their family legacy, and still live on Stewart Ranch. Pritchett's mother, two aunts, and one cousin inhabit the property, along with her children and husband.