Know Your Farmer

Part of knowing where your food comes from is knowing who it comes from

I know the benefit of buying meat directly from a farmer is having more trust of origin. And knowing the story of it, while being a part of that story.

So for some of you who are new friends of the farm, here’s a snapshot of me and my family, and why I’m raising lamb…

Like you, we wanted to be more conscious of the meat we consumed and where it came from. We weren’t fans of the environmental footprint of the feedlot system, or what that system was doing for the health of the animals and their flesh, which we then consumed.

We value the self-sufficiency of providing our own food, and working land we’re in care of (when we’re not out enjoying wildlands).

By day, Carli is a forester, and I work in communications. We both met while working for the Forest Service in Utah in 2010. I later spent a term of service in the United States Marine Corps, where I deployed twice. I was raised to follow Christ, but only in the last few years have I discovered what that means for me personally. Our son Ellis is an absolute joy and loves all the animals in our life.

Originally from Iowa, I grew up in beef and hog country, and I don’t know if I ever tried lamb until we moved to the valley in 2016. WOW! What an eating experience! It’s become my favorite and preferred meat ever since. I’d been missing out my entire life up until that point.

My favorite cut of lamb is either short ribs or shanks (because those were all I could afford to buy ‘by the cut’ for several years). But a grilled ribeye is too hard to beat.

After getting frustrated by experiences buying directly from farmers, some years back, internal and external factors lined up, and I decided to go in on our own. After years of learning and working on different pasture-based farms in the area, in early 2022 the right land and people came together, and Willamette Community Lamb took off.

I love growing grass, eating lamb, and learning patience from caring for animals. And I’m always open to chatting about those passions with you.

Jacob