Welcome to Mountain State Lamb

Dr. Dennis Stiffler

MOUNTAIN STATES ROSEN TAPS CEO

Dennis Stiffler, Ph.D. has been named CEO of Mountain States Rosen. Stiffler assumed his responsibilities on October 20, and will be based out of New York as he manages the company in its Bronx, NY and Greeley, CO locations.Stiffler earned his Ph.D. in Food Science from Oklahoma State University in 1976 and has a Master’s in Animal Science. Dennis was an associate professor at New Mexico State, and then Texas A&M, before going to work in the meat industry in 1984. Since that time, he has been involved in management, marketing, quality assurance, and research and product development for a variety of meat companies. From 2005 thru 2008, Stiffler served as Executive VP of Technical Services for Coleman Foods and was in charge of Food Safety, Quality Management, Product Development and Improvement and Education. He had previously served as Executive VP of Sales and Marketing for Coleman’s Red Meat Division.Mountain States Lamb Cooperative Chairman Frank Moore states, “We are very pleased to have Dennis leading our subsidiary, Mountain States Rosen. The Mountain States Rosen Board of Managers believes he brings the experience and background needed to help our meat company reach its full potential.” The Staff and Board of Mountain States Lamb Cooperative all welcome Dennis Stiffler to the Mountain States Family.

Promoting Mountain States Lamb

PROMOTING MOUNTAIN STATES LAMB

Fred Roberts, and Kathy and Henry Etcheverry, served grilled Mountain States Lamb to consumers at the Jackson Hole Grocer Harvest Festival during October. Despite snowy weather, there was a good crowd, and this was a great opportunity to serve our delicious lamb to the participants and tell the Mountain States Lamb Cooperative story.

The Jackson Hole Grocer features our Shepherd’s Pride All-Natural product. This event emphasized healthy, natural, local and regionally grown products. Fred, Kathy and Henry reported that there was great interest in our product and participants loved the taste of the lamb.

Thank you to the Etcheverrys and Fred for taking time out of their busy schedules to promote our product, the Co-op, and our meat company. If you are interested in promoting our product at a similar event in your area give the Co-op a call.

Procurement Notes

Producers should contact us with approximate head counts and weights as they put lambs on feed. Remember, we are no longer requiring that you slot your lambs, but we do need to maintain an inventory of lambs we have on feed as we plan the Co-op’s delivery.

Please note, Bob Harlan, Procurement Manager, can be reached on his cell 307/267-9571 or in his home office at 307/738-2622. His home office is the best place to leave a message. Bob’s old cell number has been disconnected. Please use the above numbers.

Oxarango has September’s Top Lambs

Oxarango Lamb and Wool, Soda Springs, Idaho sent the top load of lambs in September. The load fed at Double J was 65% Y2’s and 34% Y3’s. They earned an average of $7.42 per head on our marketing grid and an additional $4.99 in natural premiums, for a total average premium of $12.41 per head. The average lamb marketed through Mountain States Lamb Cooperative in September earned $3.52 in marketing grid premiums. The average pelt returned $8.42.

COOL AFFIDAVITS

If you have not returned a COOL (Country of Origin) affidavit to the office please do ASAP. If you need a blank form give us a call. We only need one signed affidavit for our files. You are not required to send an affidavit on each load. You, however, must notify us if any lambs you plan to market through Mountain States Lamb Cooperative are not born and raised in the United States.

Share Management

As 2008 winds down, we are asking our producers to check to see where they stand on filling their shares. Remember, per our marketing agreement, you are responsible for filling your shares. If you have not sold lambs outside the Co-op you are eligible to put unused shares in the pool. There is no guarantee that shares put in the pool will be filled, but the earlier you get them put in the better your chance of getting them filled. Requests to put shares in the pool must be received in writing (mail, fax or email) by the office.

You can also lease your shares to other members. MSLC has a standard lease form that must be completed and signed. Contact the office and we will assist you with this.

We also have a list of producers with shares for sale and those with shares for lease. If you are interested in either of these lists contact the office and we will see that you get a copy.

We are currently experiencing a high degree of interest in the Co-op. Market conditions, our track record, and the recent purchase of the remainder of MSR all seem to be a factor. If you have neighbors raising quality lambs it may be a good time to visit with them about the Co-op. MSLC is particularly interested in new members who can deliver lambs during the summer months.

We have a packet of information about Mountain States Lamb Cooperative that we can send out on request. Just encourage interested producers to give the office a call.