Producer profile

Umpqua Valley Lamb
Southwestern Oregon

A three-family operation

By Goldie Caughlan, PCC Nutrition Education Manager

(Sound Consumer, March 2002) — For nine years a group of hardworking ranch families in southwestern Oregon have been raising and direct-marketing fully grass-fed lamb to a few natural foods stores in Oregon. PCC is one of the few places you can buy this delicious Umpqua lamb.

I'm looking at a picture of their lush green fields, taken in January of this year. It's no wonder that lambing is a continuing event throughout the year in their region. This makes it possible for PCC staff to place weekly orders every month of the year, and to receive absolutely fresh lamb just days later and never frozen. The result of this extraordinary freshness is that an increasing number of you are "discovering" the Umpqua lamb, returning for more the next week, and friends are telling friends.

Mounting evidence suggests that free-ranging, healthy and fully grass-fed animals, grown on land not treated with chemicals, may produce the most healthful meat for humans to consume. This is especially intriguing because of the type and quality of fat found in the meat of pasture-raised animals as opposed to those kept confined and bulked up on high quantities of grain.

The fat that's getting all the attention now is known as CLA, or conjugated linoleic acid, and some studies show it appears to block tumor growth, and may possess many other important health benefits. Animals grazing on pasture produce more CLA. Range-grazing also means that naturally rich fertilizers are recycled directly back into the pasture and the cycle continues.

I'd like to introduce you to some of the members of the extended Umpqua family. They include George and Cathy Sandberg, and their sons Cody and Lee. The Sandbergs work as a team, and are lifelong members of the community. As second generation Umpqua ranchers, their hope is that there will be a third generation. The same deeply held respect and sensitivity to the land is true for Joe and Sue Sonka, who relocated to the Umpqua Valley some two decades ago. Although they did not previously ranch, they now raise both beef and sheep.

The third family in the three-family partnership consists of Leonard Gondek and Kathy Panner, who also produce range-grazed beef for Oregon Country Beef, another PCC favorite.

When you purchase Umpqua Valley Lamb, you are making a direct investment in the continued rural economic health and survival of their community. PCC is pleased to be a part of bringing you together. Thank you! And enjoy.