Sheep Industry News June 2023

Several years removed from his role as the Region VIII representative to the ASI Executive Board, Joe Pozzi was elected earlier this year as secretary/treasurer for the association. A fourth-generation rancher, he’s taken the family operation in a handful of new directions that easily show the value of niche marketing for both lamb and coarse wool. Working with his daughter, Alexandra, Pozzi has positioned himself as a price giver – and not a price taker – in an effort to elimi nate the volatility that often makes the day-to-day work of sheep production so difficult.

MY GREAT GRANDPARENTS IMMIGRATED HERE from Italy and Ireland in the late 1800s. Both sides had small dair ies back in Italy and Ireland, so the family operated a small dairy in California until the early 1970s. We were at a point of transition where we needed to get bigger or do something else. On the ranch we also had some sheep. So, we transi tioned more to beef cows and the sheep business. I went to a local junior college and then to Chico State, which is a great school here in Northern California. Both schools really opened my eyes to the opportunities that were out there. I CAME BACK AND DECIDED TO EXPAND the sheep busi ness. I was running 1,000 ewes and 100 cows. Even at that, I needed a side job to justify my ranch operation. I remem ber one day, I sold a load of lambs – beautiful lambs – and the price I got still couldn’t pay for things. The market just wasn’t there for a small producer to make it on that. So, I started to question, how do I do this and make it work? Then one day, I was at a local wool growers meeting. A local individual came to the meeting wanting to buy wool for a bedding business. At the time (in the early 1990s), our wool was worth about 16 cents a pound. It’s only worth about 20 cents a pound now, so it hasn’t changed much in all those years. After the meeting, I went and met with the individual at their showroom. Their mattresses were selling for about $3,000 each and they were filled with wool. If I hadn’t been at that meeting, I might have missed that opportunity. THEY WERE LOOKING FOR THOUSANDS of pounds of wool and asked me what I wanted for it. I said, how about 75 cents, they said it sounded great. At one point, I was buying wool from 40 to 50 producers in Northern Califor nia. We were doing over 200,000 pounds of greased wool a year. It brought back value to the growers, and myself, as we produced a beautiful product for the consumer. In 2015, the bedding companies we were selling to wanted to shift to certified organic wool, which is very difficult to do in the United States. So, instead of selling to other companies, we started our own called Sonoma Wool Company. We started here in California, but then expanded it to Mas sachusetts. It’s been great because we have ties to the wool industry here, and the East Coast where we have access to a lot of small mills. We opened our first retail store in Brew

ster, Mass. But we sell a lot of our products online. We’ve added value to the product and provide the consumer with the story behind that product, as well as how we raise our sheep. The Sonoma name is well known and since it’s where we raise our sheep, the name seemed to fit. With all niche markets, it is challenging and hands-on, but it gives me a chance to create a value and a fair price coming back to the producers. As a small producer, you always have to think a little outside the box. ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY CAME MY WAY when someone was looking for grass-fed lamb about 17 years ago. I talked to them and that spawned a business opportunity. We’ve built it up to where we’re selling weekly loads of grass-fed lamb to various retail outlets throughout Northern Califor nia. Instead of loading the lambs on a truck once a year, we are processing lambs every week. As it’s grown, I’ve added other producers to the program from the region. They have different lambing dates, so we have fresh lamb all year long. This a big plus for the shelf space. Once you get it, you want to keep it. I’m also able to sit down with the retailers to discuss my cost and a price I would get for my lamb. We try to keep our prices steady for both the producer and retailer. The price stability helps everybody I THINK THERE ARE TREMENDOUS GROWTH OPPOR TUNITIES out there for all wools. You have to make those connections and have a story to tell about your products. Wool – whether it’s fine or coarse – is such a great product. Our tag line at Sonoma Wool is “Rediscover The Wonders of Wool.” We moved away from that during the synthetic revolution, but if you listen to their advertisements, they are mimicking everything wool does. It wicks away moisture, it breathes, it dries, it’s odor free. Wool does all of this by itself without any chemical manipulations. It’s been exciting for us to bring consumers back to the wool market. I WONDERED IF I SHOULD RUN FOR THIS POSITION or not. But I feel like the industry has been good to me, and it’s important to give back. Several people had asked me about doing this in the past and I decided if I was going to do it, I needed to do it now. I hope I can make a difference by pro viding some valuable input.

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