Log Out
    • About
    • Join
    • Donate
    • Shop
SIGN OUT
Icon Profile
Icon Shopping Cart 0
Logo
  • NEWS
    • Weekly Newsletter
    • Podcast
    • Press Releases
    • Sheep Industry News
      • Past Issues
    • Video
  • EVENTS
    • Calendar
    • Past Convention Presentations
    • Future Meeting Dates
    • Submit An Event
  • ISSUES
    • Call to Action
    • ASI Positions
    • Congressional Contacts
    • Government Programs
      • Wildlife Services
      • Wool LDP
      • Lamb Buys
      • Disaster Assistance
      • Livestock Assistance
  • Producer Education & Information
    • Online Education
      • SSQA
      • LRP-Lamb
      • Scrapie
    • Research
      • Sheep & Goat Research Journal
      • Sheep Cost of Production Study
      • Productivity of Ewes on Range
      • 2013 WERA-39
      • Research Symposium Proceedings
      • 2005 Hairsheep Symposium
      • 2013 Parasite Control Conference
      • Sheep Production Survey Results (2009)
    • Animal Care & Welfare
    • Animal Health
      • Scrapie
      • Parasite Mngt
      • Biosecurity
      • MUMS
      • NAHMS
      • Antibiotics
    • Industry Information
      • Livestock Protection Dogs
      • Sheepherders
      • Animal Identification
    • Wool Quality Program
    • Scholarship
    • Awards
  • RESOURCE CENTER
    • Market Reports
      • USDA Weekly
      • ASI Weekly Market Report
      • Replacement Sheep Report
      • Packers & Stockyards Report
      • Historical Market Data
      • LRP-Lamb Report
      • NASS Reports
      • Livestock Marketing
      • Export Information
    • Publications
      • Sheep Care Guide
      • SSQA
      • Research, Education Priorities 2016
      • Economic Impact Analysis
      • Nontraditional Market Study
      • ASI Wool Journal
    • Materials
      • Best Practices Fact Sheets
      • Fast Facts
      • About Wool
      • Breed Directory
      • Targeted Grazing
      • Sheep and the Environment
      • About Pelts
      • For Kids
    • Allied Organizations
      • Industry Roadmap
      • ALB Nominations
      • NSIIC Nominations
    • Let's Grow Resources
  • CONTACTS
    • Industry
      • Breed Assns
      • Market Reporting
      • SSQA Trainers
      • Allied Organizations
      • Industry Assns
    • State
      • State Sheep Assns
      • Department of Agriculture
      • State Veterinarians
      • Extension Veterinarians
      • Extension Offices
      • Wildlife Services
    • Lamb Contacts
      • Commercial Packers
      • Commercial Fabricators
      • Other Lamb Suppliers
      • Auction Barns
    • Wool & Pelt
      • Shearer Directory
      • Wool Classers
      • Wool Pools
      • Research & Testing
      • Warehouses
      • Wool Buyers
      • First Stage Wool Processors
      • Large Order Commercial Resources
      • Small Custom Order Resources
Wide Sheep Sunrays
October 2014
  • October 2014
    • President's Notes
    • ASI Team Represents Industry in Nanjing
    • Belt Buckle Commemorates ASI’s 150th Anniversary
    • Colorado Youngster Constructs Lego Camp in Honor of Family Heritage
    • Commentary: Recent Headlines Are Example of Public’s Misunderstanding of Protection Dogs
    • Dan Wilson: The Best Lamb Marketer is Usually the Person Who Raised the Lamb
    • Grazing Allotments, Bighorns Take the Stage at Public Lands Council Meeting
    • Market Report
    • Nomination Deadline for Annual ASI Awards: Nov. 15
    • Opening Brief Focused on Forest Service Payette Errors
    • Sheep Budgets for 2014 Approved by Board
    • Sheep News in Brief
    • Working Together to Make Sheep Better





Direct Marketing

Dan Wilson: The Best Lamb Marketer is Usually the Person Who Raised the Lamb


As far as Dan Wilson is concerned, no As far as Dan Wilson is concerned, nobody on Earth can market a lamb better than the person who raised it.

“I’ve been saying it for a long time, and I also believe that if you have a producer who also knows how to cook lamb, well, then you’ve really got yourself a lamb salesman.”

Wilson and his wife, Susie, operate SuDan Farm in Canby, OR. Susie, a master spinner and knitter, direct markets all the wool and wool products produced on the couple’s farm. The couple sell about 1,200 lambs per year (as well as pastured poultry & eggs) by direct marketing them at farmer’s markets.

“These days, we sell about 70 percent of our lambs (as over 20 different cuts) directly to consumers at farmers’ markets in Oregon, and the rest go to fine restaurants in Portland, the Willamette Valley, and the Oregon coast,” Wilson said. “Actually, the chefs in those fine restaurants mostly come to us through the farmers’ markets. They taste our lamb, and they want it on their menus. It’s a great way to do business--get your lamb out there where consumers can sample it. If you know how to cook it, success will find you.”

Wilson, 73, wound up in the lamb and wool business accidentally on purpose. He grew up on a sheep ranch with about 800 ewes. He studied Agricultural Engineering at Oregon State University and earned a Masters in Farm Management.
“Growing up raising sheep, there came a point where I never wanted to see another sheep, which is probably common with many farm kids at one time or another,” he said. “But there’s always that farmer or rancher inside.”

In his 50s, Wilson was downsized and had difficulty finding a new job. He had married Susie, who was an expert knitter, spinner and sheep shearer.

“When I couldn’t find a job, I started to think about just working for myself and marketing lambs at the farmer’s market,” he said. “She would market her wool, and I would market the lamb,” which is exactly what they started to do in 2001. Dan and Susie started SuDan Farm as a second career for Dan. When Dan and Susie married in 1991, Susie brought one sheep, a burgeoning small flock shearing business, and the dream of having a farm to the relationship; everything else fell into place from there. The couple had rented some land to raise about 40 sheep for meat, wool, and breeding stock.
Susie now markets the breeding stock (Border Leicesters, Coopworths, and Gotland crosses), sells fleeces on Facebook, and has wool processed into dyed yarns, felt, rovings, batts, dyed locks, and more. “Our breeding flock of about 40 ewes is closed and Export Certified. We’ve been doing LAI with New Zealand, Australian, and UK semen since 2000 to bring in top genetics. We direct market everything that our sheep produce and have seen our wool products go into dozens of countries all over the world,” she said. Dan also believes that lamb products are a healthy and flavorful alternative to other meats. “They don’t marble like beef, but the outside fat makes the meat taste pretty darn good. Susie and I are experts at cooking lamb in many ways, and we work hard to make sure our customers have a very positive experience with enjoying our lamb. Our customers call us the Rock Stars of Lamb.”

While it does involve time and effort, Dan believes the direct marketing of lamb can be an invaluable tool for sheep producers. “You have to enjoy dealing with the public, which we do,” he said. “But the public is the key – as producers, we have to get lamb on the dinner plates of consumers and let them see how good it is.”

ASI

ASI keeps sheep industry members updated on ASI activities and industry news by regularly distributing and updating various information pieces and sources.

Icon FacebookIcon TwitterLogo Lets Grow

Contact Us

  • American Sheep Industry Association
  • 9785 Maroon Circle
  • Suite 360
  • Englewood, CO 80112
  • 303-771-3500
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Thank you for subscribing

Our team will email you with further information

Photo Stream

International

Flag Spain Espanol
Flag China 中国的
USDA FAS Foreign Agricultural Service
Ad Rates Classifieds Disclaimer Non-Discrimination Statement Copyright 2014 American Sheep Industry Association