From the Fields - Loren Poncia

By Loren Poncia, Marin County rancher 

We just got 2 inches of rain in the North Bay, so things are starting to green up and grow, which is awesome. We’re optimistic for a good grass season and high cattle markets. We’ve had a pretty good year so far, and we’re hopeful that we’ll get rain into the spring. Our most important rains are the first one and our last one. We got 2 inches to get started, so that’s great. Now we just need some good wintertime and spring rain.

Last year we had a very tough winter. It rained so much and was so cold that we didn’t get much grass growth until May, and then we had a great May and June. But from December to May, it wasn’t very good. Overall, it’s been a good grass year for us. 

I produce beef, pork and lamb. I also sell chickens, but I don’t raise the chickens myself. We’re trying to diversify to have all our proteins covered. Cattle markets are close to an all-time high, which is really good for cattlemen. The pork market is pretty low. 

The lamb market is pretty flat. We have consistent customers, but they’re not really growing. We do what’s called climate-beneficial wool. We sell our wool to Coyuchi. They make down comforters and bedspreads. We don’t make a lot of money on it, but it pays for our shearing, and we make a little money.

We’re different from most other ranchers because we sell most of our product direct to consumers. It’s less of a price issue annually because the price is what we need it to be. But I’m concerned because the consumer can only pay so much for meat, and the price of beef is so high that consumers are going to start switching to pork or chicken. We prefer to eat beef at our house, but some people like chicken. We are starting to see people switch away from beef.