Bianca is the 4th generation of her family’s sheep business, Talbott Sheep Company, and also works in the family’s targeted grazing outfit, Star Creek Land Stewards, Inc. Matthew’s family also has roots in ranching in Northern California; a decade ago he spent some time raising sheep in Penn Valley, Nevada County, CA, down the road from where his family ranched from 1852 to 1941. Fast forward to 2023, these two got married and decided it was time that after 102 years of Talbott Sheep Company (TSC) producing beautiful lambs and wool, that they should start giving folks the opportunity to enjoy its products directly. The truth is, the absolute best lamb any of us have ever eaten comes from the lambs we harvest out of our own herds, finished on the hills above the Central Valley.

Traceability

Talbott Sheep Company is double certified to the Responsible Wool Standard, and NATIVARegen. Unlike many other “regenerative” certifications, these certifications are third-party audited annually. These are both—without a doubt—the highest standards for animal husbandry, land management, and employee welfare in sheep ranching. By maintaining these certifications, TSC is able to sell its wool through the farm group, Shaniko Wool Company and provide full traceability. Talbott Sheep Company is also part of Shaniko’s Climate Initiative, where TSC has been tracking carbon sequestration in all the lands it grazes for the last four years. All of the lambs we sell are raised under RWS & NATIVARegen standards for their entire life. “RWS ensures the welfare of sheep, the land they graze on and the workers who tend both.” And so, just like the textile brands that buy wool, you too can know that when you buy our lamb or hides, you can be certain of the integrity of the sheep operation you are supporting.

Lamb

Talbott Lamb & Hide Company purchases finished lambs from Talbott Sheep Company each Spring. Those lambs have spent their entire lives in California: they’re born in the Central Valley in the Falltime and spend their earliest days with their mothers grazing dormant alfalfa stubble fields in and around Los Banos, California—TSC’s home base. In late Winter, ewes and lambs are moved up into the Panoche Hills and spend the Spring grazing the nutrient-dense range grasses and forbs in the foothills above the Central Valley. The lambs are harvested directly out of the hills, meaning that they are 100% grass-fed, which results in beautiful, high-quality meat.

Hides

Talbott Sheep Company also works to have incredibly high quality wool and that quality is reflected in the sheep hides available by Talbot Lamb & Hide Co. As it turns out, high quality, fine wool results in an extremely soft sheep hide. As a family who owns quite a few sheep hides from many different places, we were shocked to receive our first shipment of Talbott hides and feel the difference. All of them are from Rambouillet x Merino sheep, some of the best wool producing breeds in existence today.

We are excited for you to welcome our sheep ranching legacy into your families and homes.