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CapitalPress.com
March 11, 2016
People & Places
Making cheese, preserving farmland
Sue Conley,
Peggy Smith
help region’s
dairies thrive
Capital Press Managers
Mike O’Brien .............................Publisher
Joe Beach ..................................... Editor
Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director
Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor
Barbara Nipp ......... Production Manager
Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager
For the Capital Press
Entire contents copyright © 2016
EO Media Group
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Courtesy of Cowgirl Creamery
Peggy Smith, left, and Sue Conley, owners of Cowgirl Creamery in Northern California, say farmland preservation inspires them to contin-
ue to develop their artisan cheese-making company. It also allows dairymen to earn additional revenue.
Western
Innovator
Sue Conley
and Peggy Smith
Hometown: Petaluma, Calif.
Occupation: Owners and
founders, Cowgirl Creamery
Quote: “Saving the land was
the irst step in creating an
artisan cheese industry in
our milk shed.”
terested in partnering on a
cheese-making venture and
she happily made the move
from chef to business owner,”
Conley said. said.
Eighty percent of the milk
for their high-end cheeses —
Mt. Tam, Wagon Wheel and
all of the fresh cheeses —
comes from the Straus’ dairy
and each of the other cheeses
is made with milk from a local
designated farm.
The Red Hawk cheese is
made with Holstein milk from
Bivalve Farm in Point Reyes,
and seasonal cheeses are
made with Jersey milk from
Chileno Valley Dairy near
Petaluma.
Conley and Smith agree
that challenges confront Cali-
fornia’s small cheese-makers,
including food safety compli-
ance, access to capital and op-
portunities to improve skills.
“Unlike Wisconsin and
Vermont (the other two states
with clusters of artisan cheese
makers), we have limited high-
er education courses in artisan
cheese-making and small farm
dairying,” Conley said. “We
would like to see efforts in
developing these programs at
(University of Califronia-Da-
vis) or Chico State because
these are the campuses closest
to our cluster of cheese-makers
in Northern California.”
Conley said they are for-
tunate to live in California,
where their customers appreci-
ate locally made goods and are
willing to pay a little more for
local cheese.
“We created a company
with 100 employees that pro-
duces great cheese and pro-
vides sales, marketing and
distribution support for artisan
and farmstead cheese-mak-
ers,” Conley said.
They also have some ad-
vice for young people wanting
to embark in cheese-making.
She said the world of
cheese is vast and diverse and
there are many ways to build
a career in the industry. The
best way to explore the ield is
to work in a good cheese shop
and meet all of the players that
support this growing sector of
the cheese industry.
But there’s more to it than
making cheese — preserving
farmland, she said.
“Farmland preservation is
an area that inspired us to de-
velop our business,” Conley
said. “Ellen Straus and Phyl-
lis Faber founded the Marin
Agricultural Land Trust in the
1980s to ight the development
pressures on Marin County
farmland.”
Smith and Conley continue
to assist in this effort both as
individuals and as a company.
“The founders encouraged
us to make cheese because
they knew that even if the land
was saved for agriculture, un-
less the ranchers were making
more revenue on the farm, they
would not be able to survive,”
Conley said. “Cheese was an
obvious product for our skilled
dairy ranchers to make so that
they could earn additional rev-
enue on the farm.”
Today, there are 29
cheese-makers in Sonoma
and Marin counties and most
of them are operating on their
family dairy.
New Oregon Sheep Growers Association president sets agenda
By JAN JACKSON
Calendar
Saturday, March 12
Financial planning workshop.
This is the continuation of a work-
shop that began Friday. 9 a.m.-5
p.m. Learn a planning process that
will help you create the proit you
desire and invest your hard-earned
dollars in the most effective manner.
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Tom Nichols is president of the Oregon Sheep Growers Association.
and hold them here in the
(Willamette) Valley, where
most of the producers that at-
tend live and work.”
He also said developing
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For the Capital Press
Armed with a lifetime of
on-the-ground sheep produc-
tion experience, a degree in
animal science and years of
research at Kansas State and
Oregon State universities,
Tom Nichols was the perfect
choice for president of the
Oregon Sheep Growers Asso-
ciation.
Installed at the OSGA an-
nual convention in Sunriver,
Ore., Nichols is focusing on
OSGA’s mission — repre-
senting the interests of OSGA
sheep producers, industry-re-
lated businesses and sheep
industry products.
“Everything is taking a
hit now days, but if Oregon
sheep growers can stay united
I think we can remain strong,”
Nichols said. “My immedi-
ate goals are to strengthen
OSGA’s annual convention,
develop a digital communi-
cation system with members
and the public and to promote
our Make It With Wool pro-
gram to a larger audience.
“I believe in conventions, I
think they are important and I
always learn a lot by getting
together and rubbing elbows
with the other people,” he
said. “However, to steal fel-
low producer Mac Stewart’s
phrase, one of the irst things
we need is to ‘right-size’ them
Established 1928
Board of directors
Mike Forrester ..........................President
Steve Forrester
Kathryn Brown
Sid Freeman .................. Outside director
Mike Omeg .................... Outside director
Corporate oficer
John Perry
Chief operating oficer
By JULIA HOLLISTER
PETALUMA, Calif. —
Sue Conley and Peggy Smith,
founders of the successful
Cowgirl Creamery on the
Northern California coast,
didn’t grow up on farms, but
the lure of food and fascination
with that environment grabbed
hold early.
“Peggy’s family lived in
the Northern Virginia suburbs
and I grew up in Washington,
D.C.,” Conley said. “Both of
us attended the University of
Tennessee, where we worked
in restaurants on campus in be-
tween classes.”
They enjoyed the work and
the camaraderie and moved to
San Francisco in 1976, work-
ing in restaurants.
Smith was hired as a line
cook at Alice Waters’ iconic
Chez Panisse in Berkeley in
1979 and worked there for 17
years in leadership roles, Con-
ley said.
“I attended City College
Hotel and Restaurant School
in San Francisco and in 1983
opened Bette’s Oceanview
Diner in Berkeley with two
friends,” she said.
Six years later Conley
moved to Point Reyes Sta-
tion and met the Straus fam-
ily, which was converting its
dairy to certiied organic and
planned on bottling milk at a
neighboring farm.
“They needed help in mar-
keting and selling the milk,
so I sold my shares in Bette’s
Diner and started working
with Albert Straus,” she said.
This led to the idea of mak-
ing cheese with Straus Family
Creamery milk.
“I called my old friend,
Peggy, to see if she was in-
Capital Press
$247. www.rootsofresilience.org
Spring into Gardening, McMin-
nville Community Center, McMin-
nville, Ore., 503-434-7517. This
year’s theme is Home Landscaping:
Small Changes, Big Impact. Pre-
sented by Oregon State University
Extension and the Yamhill County
Master Gardeners Association.
Monday, March 14
Farm Succession Workshop, 6-9
p.m. Learn about the options avail-
able to you as you prepare to tran-
sition your working lands to future
generations. Speakers will discuss
the legal, inancial and business
factors that a farm family should
cations will help get animal
health and other information
to members.
Born and raised in Ash-
land, Ore., Nichols is a
ifth-generation Oregonian.
His father raised cattle, sheep
and timber, and his mother
taught school. He attended
Linn Benton Community Col-
lege for two years. He then
joined a brother in Kansas and
ended up getting a degree in
animal science from Kansas
State University, where he
lived and worked at the beef
and sheep research centers.
Back in Oregon, Nich-
ols worked as a forage tech-
nician, ran sheep on valley
grass ields for Tony Wahl and
managed the Sheep Research
Center for OSU.
Today, Nichols lives in
Lebanon with his wife, Kar-
en, and 14-year-old daughter,
Anne.
“Karen is a sheep grower
in her own right and was as-
sistant shepherd at the OSU
Sheep Center when I met
her,” Nichols said. “She raises
horned Dorsets, some Polled
Dorsets and Suffolks while
Anne, who is very active in
4-H, raises and shows Rom-
neys. In addition to pasturing
sheep for other growers, I’m
the fence builder, truck driver
and anything else that needs
to be done.”
Reed Anderson, sheep
grower, lamb processor and
owner of Anderson Family
Ranches in Brownsville, Ore.,
spoke highly of Nichols in his
role as OSGA president.
“Tom has been raising and
producing sheep his whole
life, has extensive experience
working with OSU and is
well known with other state
and national industry associa-
tions,” Anderson said. “He is
the most knowledgeable and
well-rounded person I know
and I look forward to seeing
what his leadership brings to
OSGA.”
The OSGA board of direc-
tors for 2016-2017: president,
Tom Nichols, Lebanon; irst
vice president, Mac Stewart,
Salem; treasurer, Brian Diet-
rich, Silverton; past president,
Paul Lewis, Bonanza.
Area vice presidents:
Mike Cowdrey, Scio; Tasha
Wahl, Shedd; Correy McAtee,
Prineville; Kip Krebs, Ione;
Morgan McKenzie; Langlois;
John Kokkeler, Junction City.
Oregon Make it with Wool
director: Chandra Worman,
Bend.
Oregon Sheep Commis-
sion representative: John M.
Fine, Roseburg.
GASES / WELDING / SAFETY / FIRE
20 Northwest Locations
consider when planning for the fu-
ture. They will present real world
examples of how to address these
important issues while balancing
the complexities of family dynamics.
Sponsored by the East Multnomah
Soil and Water Conservation Dis-
trict. Holiday Inn Express, 477 NW
Phoenix Drive, Troutdale, Ore. http://
emswcd.org/workshops-and-events/
upcoming-workshops/all-events/
farm-succession/
Wednesday, March 16
2016 Ag Forum, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Join Idaho Lt. Gov. Brad Little, the
2016 Canyon County Farm Family
of the Year and the state Department
of Agriculture for a discussion of ag
and the opportunities it offers. Ford
Idaho Center, 16200 N. Idaho Cen-
ter Blvd., Nampa, Idaho. Cost: $20.
www.nampa.com/ag-forum.
Friday, March 18
2016 Oregon FFA State Con-
vention, Oregon State University,
Corvallis. Runs through Monday.
http://www.oregonffa.com
Northwest Horse Fair & Expo
2016, Linn County Fair and Expo
Center, Albany, Ore. The largest
equine expo in the Northwest will
feature dancing horses, clinics by
world-class horse trainers and rid-
ers, breed and stallion review dem-
os, equine entertainment and a trade
show. Runs through Sunday. http://
equinepromotions.net/
Saturday, March 19
Women in Agriculture Confer-
ence, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Paciic
time, 31 locations across the region.
The 2016 Women in Agriculture Con-
ference will offer women in Washing-
ton, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and
Alaska a unique opportunity to gath-
er in 31 locations for a one-day event
featuring knowledgeable speakers,
inspiring stories, networking with
other producers and practical advice
for learning new skills. http://wome-
ninag.wsu.edu/
1 year 4-H, FFA students and teachers ....$30
9 months 4-H, FFA students & teachers .....$25
Visa and Mastercard accepted
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Index
California ................................ X
Dairy .................................... 14
Idaho ...................................... 8
Livestock ............................. 14
Markets ............................... 16
Opinion .................................. 6
Oregon ................................ 10
Washington ..........................11
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