Background on the business My L'ttle Ranchhand is a very small business owned and managed by myself, Michelle Blegen; a ND ranchwife. My goal by starting this business was to provide our family farmer and ranchers with a better toy for our children to enjoy for years to come. The basic idea for the company started back in March 2005 but never took off until the summer of 2007. My L'ttle Ranchhand developed out of the joy that my children have by pretending to have their own miniature size ranch. They spend hours creating their own. Different designs as to the pens and the types of farm animals. They have it all -the tractors, animals, people and buildings. But we came across the problem with the plastic toy fences that are on the market today. They broke easily and won't last. My children also wanted something more realistic. This is where my toy line began! A little history about myself, I'm a farm gal who grew up on a family farm in Northern ND. As a child, I enjoyed pretending to have a farm just like my parents. I have fond memories of those days and now my children are continuing on with the tradition. Our company's toys are livestock related in nature and are durable enough for children to actually play with. Their intent was to withstand the rough and tough play that children put them through. I wanted to give our children and others toys that are worn by love! Production Process Our toys are casted at Equality Die-Cast Inc. out of Winano, MN and powder coated (paint) at my business location in rural ND. You can be secure knowing that our toys are 100% made in USA. All toys are inspected for flaws. They aren't recommended for children under the age of 3 years of age and are best suited for 5-8 year olds. They are made of zinc alloy (Zamack 24) which will bend or break in certain conditions.