Bill Tackman is a third generation rancher who grew up on a sheep and cattle ranch in SE Oregon. He worked and traveled for many years before settling in the Methow Valley where he had been visiting his brother since the mid-1970’s.  He became a licensed land surveyor in 2001 and opened his own surveying business in Winthrop, WA in 2005.   His love of the land and the rural life led him to return to his ranching roots and he couldn’t resist starting his own flock of sheep when he purchased the farm in 1996.  He is assisted by his partner, Katie, who handles much of the daily work of the sheep operation. 

Bill chose Romney sheep because they are a proven dual-purpose animal that provides much sought after meat and wool.   The sheep have a calm disposition and have adapted well to the harsh climate in this area.  By keeping the flock small, we can rotate them between 4 pastures at 1-week intervals, which gives ample time for each pasture to recover between grazing periods.   We breed our ewes once a year in the fall, so that they will give birth to their lambs in early April.  Our current ram, Jason, was the Reserve Champion at the 2006 Black Sheep Gathering in Corvallis, Oregon.  Shearing takes place in late March before lambing. 

Predators are always an issue- in our area we have mostly cougar, coyotes, and as of 2008, wolves.  Our philosophy is to co-exist with these animals and we feel it is our responsibility to use preventive measures such as good fencing and guard animals rather than trapping and eradication.  Our first attempt to protect the flock was to acquire two llamas, which helped to keep the coyotes at bay, but we still lost several sheep to cougar.  We got our purebred Maremma guard dogs, Cas & Nellie in 2006.  Their mission in life is to protect the sheep, and they take it very seriously.  Since we have had them, we have not lost a single sheep to a predator.