© 2015 Upper Dry Creek Ranch Contact Us
54746 Upper Dry Creek Road Weston, OR 97886 (541)938-6262
100% Range Raised and Forage Finished Lamb and Beef
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All our lambs and calves are born and raised on our family ranch in Eastern Oregon. None of our animals are purchased from an outside source.
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They are raised completely free of antibiotics and growth hormones.
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Cosner livestock are raised on 100% Certified Organic range pasture, local organic or low spray alfalfa pasture and local hay.
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All animals are carefully and quietly handled using low stress techniques.
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Our pastures are regularly rotated to protect the forage plants from overgrazing as well as provide a fresh source of nutritious feed for both cows and ewes.
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Our lambs and beeves are finished only on forage. Grain is not part of their diet.
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When ready for harvest, all animals are carefully transported to our USDA inspected processing plant where attention is given to every detail.
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After dry aging for 7 to 9 days for lambs and 15 or more days for beef, this lean meat is cut to our specifications, wrapped and immediately frozen to seal in freshness and assure consistent premium quality.
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By purchasing our meat products, you are supporting wholesome food production, sustainable farming practices, humane animal husbandry, economically viable farming and family friendly agriculture. Your support allows us to continue to do the work that we not only do best but love to do. We truly appreciate it. Please tell your friends about what we offer.
Sincerely,
Robert & Cheryl Cosner and Family
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Meet Our
Partner
Creature Feature: Meet Noel
We absolutely love horses. There is no way around it. Not only do we love horses
but we need them for our work here. Our steep terrain is not always suitable for
ATV’s or four wheel drive pick-ups so our four leggeds are our best transportation
option.
Noel is one of three horses that live with us. This special little mare came from a rescue in the Yakima Valley. We don’t know her background but we estimate her to be 14 years old. Her blue roan color, fine featured face and small size lead us to believe she may be a Welsh cross. Noel stands 14 hands high, which is a perfect size for any of us to ride.
When Noel first came to live with us, she was not well trained. Over the last couple of years, Juniper has been working with her to teach her the fundamentals of being a ranch and trail horse.
Horse jobs on the ranch include checking and gathering cattle on the hills, packing fruit out of our canyons where we can’t get it out with vehicles, being great companions and beautiful to look at.
With its chic new remodel, T. Mac’s is now serving lunch and late night nibbles in addition to its great dinner fare. Chef Fernando dishes up excellent entrees with Upper Dry Creek lamb and beef. Make your reservation by calling (509) 522-4776. T. Mac’s is 4 North Colville Street, Walla Walla, WA.
For other fine eateries serving Upper Dry Creek lamb and beef, please check Our Partners page.
“In levying taxes and in shearing sheep it is well to stop when you get down to the skin.”
Austin O'Malley
http://www.brainyquote.c om/quotes/keywords/sh eep_2.html#sxhRig7o1P zbxSxY.99
Order Your Grassfed Beef Now!
We are currently taking orders of whole, half, split half and various beef packages for our Certified Grassfed Angus beef. For pricing and details on placing your order, visit our Order Beef page by clicking here.
A Conservation Stewardship Project:
Little Critter Ramps
Since 2011, Upper Dry Creek Ranch has been a participant in the USDA Conservation Stewardship Program in Umatilla County. This program rewards ranch producers for the conservation practices they have already implemented as well as encourages new practices over the course of the contract.
We have an abundance of wildlife here at the foothills of the Blue Mountains so one of our goals is to manage and protect many of these animals as well as our livestock. An added benefit of developing springs and ponds for our livestock is the wildlife have extra water also. An inherent hazard of troughs is that small animals such as birds, mice and squirrels occasionally fall into a watering trough and may not escape.
In the past, we have always included a “birdie board” in our troughs, usually a small piece of flat wood that animals could use an escape should they fall into the trough. Last year we took this concept one step further and installed “little critter” escape ramps in all of our watering troughs. These ramps are made from expanded metal which allows small animals to grip the ramp. They are is secured to the edge
of the trough allowing birds and small mammals to escape without harm. We continue to add a small board or large stick to each trough for beneficial insects to land on for water since the ramps are less insect friendly.
The USDA Conservation Stewardship Program rewards farms and ranches for their current good conservation practices and offers financial incentives for continued improvements.
We have a great selection of lamb available for your special dinners with friends
or for comfort food with family. Think Sunday afternoon leg of lamb or boneless shoulder
roast. Or a weekday crockpot meal of Moroccan Lamb Stew (see below.) Whatever your
cooking bent, check out our Buy Lamb page for more information on ordering and contact
us to place your order.
Order Your Grassfed Beef Now !
It’s the beef time of the year here at the ranch. The steers have been on grass pasture all summer and fall where they are growing delicious steaks, roasts and ground beef for you to enjoy.
All of our Black Angus cattle are born here at the ranch and raised on a forage diet of grass. When these cattle reach optimum size and finish, they are quietly transported to our USDA facility where they are dry aged for 21 days, cut, wrapped and frozen in vacuum sealed or double white wrapped packages to seal in freshness. To learn more about our beef and place your order, check out our Buy Beef page on this site.
It’s LambAgain!
Upper Dry Creek Ranch Receives USDA Value Added Producer Grant
The spring of 2013 brought welcoming news for Upper Dry Creek Ranch. The hours of onerous research and reams of paperwork paid off with the award of a USDA Value Added Producer grant.
After an initial notice declining funding for our proposal, we discovered a scoring error that changed the outcome of our application. We were notified shortly afterward that we would be able to proceed with our project and that funds were available.
The Value Added Producer Grant program is designed to help qualifying farmers, ranchers, fisherman and foresters who wish to expand their market by providing planning or working capital for marketing or processing of commodities that they already produce.
Funds for the ranch’s proposed project will be used for processing and expanding its current market for its grassfed lamb. The project total, including an in-kind match, is over $80,000.
The VAPG program is very competitive and the 2012 cycle saw far fewer awards in Oregon than in years past. Our project was only one of four awarded for the state of Oregon during the 2012 award cycle.
This year’s funding pool totaled $14 million dollars and was spread across the United States.
Edible Portland Magazine Comes to the Ranch
A chance encounter with author Lynne Curry at a Pure Beef event at Wildhorse Casino
and Resort led to a wonderful article about our sustainable ranching practices in
the summer issue of Edible Portland magazine. The issue was released in early June
2013.
Many thanks photographer Shawn Linehan for her thoughtful and artistic photos of our beautiful landscape and animals. The day happened to have been picture perfect for the occasion.
To read the article in it entirety and see some really great photos, click here.
Celebrate w
ith Upper Dry Creek Lamb
SLOW COOKER MOROCCAN LAMB STEW
Aromatic spices pair perfectly with lamb shoulder in this ever-so-simple stew recipe.
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 ½ pounds Upper Dry Creek lamb shoulder chops, bones removed, cut into 1” chunks
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons coriander
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can chickpeas, drains and rinsed
¼ cup raisins
6 ounces Swiss chard, spinach or kale, roughly chopped
Over medium heat 1 tablespoon oil in large non-stick skillet. Season lamb with salt and pepper and cook, in batches in necessary, until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes.
Transfer meat to slow cooker. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan and add onion, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and cayenne. Cook until softened, about 8 minutes.
Add broth and tomatoes an bring to a boil. Add mixture to slow cooker along with chickpeas and raisins. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours.
Remove lid and stir in chopped greens until wilted, about 1 minute. Serve with whole wheat couscous and a dollop of Greek yogurt. Courtesy of the American Lamb Board
Recently we had an opportunity to put the lambs to work and, at the same time, begin to develop a model for grazing sheep in the vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley. The lambs spent six weeks grazing between new grapevines and on open fields and draws eating mustard, yellow star thistle and seeded grass on Sevein Hills Vineyards outside of Milton-Freewater, Oregon.
The idea of sheep grazing in vineyards is not a new one. Prior to modern mechanization, it was common for sheep to graze between the vines creating a sustainable system to manage the vineyard floor. Some vineyards owners are using sheep in California vineyards to control vegetation between the vines while reducing mechanical compaction, adding nutrients to the soil and reducing vineyard labor.
The feeder lambs arrived at the vineyard in early April to graze six acres of young grapes on a steeply terraced vineyard. This property was difficult to manage because of the terrain and its location so using sheep to reduce early spring vegetation was a way to decrease competition for water and nutrients for the young grape plants. Lambs went into the vineyard just prior to bud break and were there for six days until the vineyard floor was cleared of almost all vegetation and grape vines were beginning to grow buds.
Because sheep prefer weedy forbes to grass and browse, they are very effective at removing plants that would normally be sprayed. Additionally, they converted these weeds to soil nutrients useable to the young grape plants. As an example, we estimate that 369 head of lambs added over 17 pounds of nitrogen and 528 pounds of potash per acre to the soil. Water availability to the grapes was increased because the competing vegetation was removed allowing most of the water to be absorbed by the vines.
