Story: Here at Dot Ranch, we pride ourselves on our stewardship of both land and animal. We raise some of the oldest breeds of domesticated animals in all the Americas. The central focus of our ranch is the oldest breed of domesticated sheep in America, the Navajo-Churro Sheep. We also raise one of the oldest goat breeds, Navajo Angora Goats, and the second oldest chicken of the United States, the Mottled Java. Our ducks are the oldest domesticated animal in the Americas, Muscovy Ducks, and we also breed the venerable Irish Dexter Cattle. We choose to work with heritage breeds instead of more common, modern production bred animals because we believe that ranching is about more than just the bottom line, it's about history, conservation, and preserving the spirit of the American West. There's more to our animals than RFID tags and recorded weights, there's a sense of connection that only comes from daily and intensely personal interaction.

When we say our animals are pasture raised, we genuinely mean they live with grass beneath their hooves and open air above their heads. Our calves are born in the field, and our lambs are born in the field or in the barn, depending on whether the weather is good enough for pasture based lambing. Our animals are grass fed, which means that they get to graze year around, and they receive grass and alfalfa hay when our grass isn't growing as fast. During winter, we bring the sheep and cattle back in to sacrifice pasture so that the rest of our pastures can get a break and regrow. Even then, our animals are never confined indoors, and they always have open access to field or barn. We never use hormones or medically unnecessary antibiotics, and we never submit our animals to unnecessary vaccinations or medications. We keep detailed health records on all of our animals, so we know who has sneezed when and why for. This allows us to provide the highest quality care to our animals, and the highest quality products to your family.

All too often today, people have no idea where their food comes from, or what's in it. In urban communities, it is often difficult, if not outright impossible, for people to grow their own food, and the cost of unprocessed food continues to skyrocket. Certified Organic doesn't mean what people assume, and Locally Sourced often is only as local as the continent it's sold on. Navigating food labels and certifications is a maze of regulations that rarely reflect the words used. Factory farming, with its reliance on bigger, quicker, faster, has turned its back on the animals that kept our ancestors alive. We would like to see that change. We believe in the right of every day people to know where their food comes from, and to know how it was produced. When you buy lamb, beef, poultry, or eggs from Dot Ranch, you're getting more than just a good deal. You're also getting the assurance of knowing, beyond doubt, that you are supporting an actual family with your purchase. You're getting meat from identifiable animals, who were named, loved, and treated with dignity throughout their lives. We welcome visitors to come see for themselves just how our animals are treated, so that you too, can eat with a conscience.

Tribal Affiliation Oglala Lakota mother and Dine son team

Category: Cattle Ranch

Location: PO Box 3 Scio, OR 97374

Products: Navajo-Churro Sheep, Navajo Angora Goats, and Murray Grey Cattle. Sell Breeding stock, meat, hand tanned hides, skulls, wool, and mohait products. We also facilitate direct sales of Navajo rugs from weavers to clients worldwide. Plant medicine, jams, cattle and other domesticated animals, fresh produce, wool and mohair for weaving dye plants.

Processing:Dehydrating, canning/jarring, frozen meat, raw wool, processed wool roving

Selling:Online

Target Customers: For our culinary clients, we cater to families & small volume restaurants looking for quality Navajo-Churro lamb, Navajo-Angora goat, and produce including native corn and squash. We also produce high quality roving for Navajo weavers, as well as raw mohair for tufted weaving, and native dye plants for all your wool dyeing needs.