Our Story
Myself, Kari Powell, along with my husband, Greg Sokoliuk, raise year-round fresh lamb. We started in 2016, after we had purchased our land and needed to make it work for us. We only have 80 acres so figured sheep were the best option. We are an off-grid ranch, relying on solar, batteries and a generator for power. Our researched showed that a shedding sheep or hair sheep would be the best option as the price of wool didn’t cover the cost to get the sheep sheared. We have also found the hair sheep eat more than just grass; they ‘browse’ all vegetation which helps improve the land they graze on. We have been working on increasing our flock size to where we are today and can now branch out from just selling at farmers markets to supplying retail locations and restaurants. As well as fresh lamb we also produce lamb jerky, lamb pepperoni and lamb sausages, in a variety of flavours, as well as lamb burger patties.
Our sheep and lambs are grass-fed and finished, raised on pasture or at least outside with the exception of lambing. This allows them to be sheep and makes for calmer animals that are easier to handle with less stress. This makes for ‘happy’ meat. As stated above we raise a hair sheep, which is meant for meat meaning they have a milder flavour.
Whistling Wind Ranch
Whistling Wind Ranch is the umbrella that our purebred Dorper sheep, commercial breeding stock, products sold that are made on the farm, and the BC Grass-fed lamb label fall under. The name comes from the extreme winds that we get located up in the hills south east of Kamloops and west of Monte Lake. At the time we were unsure of what we were going to raise and grow on the farm so we chose a name that would best suit the environment we are working with. In the future we hope to continue to add to Whistling Wind Ranch products, such as sheep milk products and wool based items from the limited dairy sheep we currently have, and even items and ideas to help other future farmers thrive and learn from our experiences as we grow our farm.
Breeding Stock
During our initial start-up on the farm and introduction into rasing sheep we experimented with running a couple different breeds to find what suited our management style and grazing environment. What we eventually found was that the purebred Dorper sheep was a great fit for us, and such we begun to start on a purebred breeding program to not only expand our flock, but offer quality animals for other breeders to introduce the Dorper into their operation as replacement animals or as terminal and commercial breeding stock. Recently we have started introducing East Freisian X Lacaune dariy sheep for our personal needs at reducing input costs for bottle lambs, and cutting our own grocery bills
BC Grass Fed Lamb
BC Grass Fed Lamb is our "bread and butter" products. Aiming to provide the best quality lamb for direct to customer sales and wholesale to grocery and restaurants all the while ensuring we raise our animals with their "best lives" as priority until they head off to market. We want to sell a product that our end customers can feel secure that the lambs have been raised as they would if they were rearing livestock. It may seem odd to think these lambs can be raised ethically while having an end destination being on a plate for dinner, but through those animals off to 'freezer camp' they pay for the next generation of lambs and the flock as a whole and ensure the sustainability of the farm operation and increase the food security for the towns we supply.
Environment & Sustainability
We are working to create a farm that will be around for a while to provide food security to our local communities all the while striving for the best environmental practices to ensure the animals and the land will foster a symbiotic relation. Follow our social media accounts to watch as we build our regenerative farming practices. We will be documenting the impacts to the soil and native foliage during this endeavour so be sure to watch if we can make a difference. Don't forget, we are off grid, is this adventure really a good option for the future, what kind of things can we adapt old school living with modern technology to make a comfortable lifestyle.