Our sheep resource person is Chuck Ream who owns and has managed sheep on his Windswept Ranch in the mountains northeast of Willits for 35 years. Chuck's many years of experience and involvement in agriculture in Mendocino County make him an valuable resource for the Rainbow Family Farm.

Though he started out with a small commercial flock, when he became the Agricultural Instructor at Willits H.S., like many FFA advisors, he commenced upgrading his flock by bringing in outside sheep and eventually purebred Dorsets and Suffolks in order to provide higher quality sheep projects for his students. After several years at Willis, he was hired as the first Agricultural Instructor at Mendocino College where he taught for three years, then missing the one on one competitive aspect of working with young people and their projects, moved back to Willits H.S for several years. Several years later, he accepted the teaching position at Potter High School where he developed the most competitive livestock team in the county for several years. He has also served as a 4-H leader and advisor in both Willits and Potter Valley for 33 years.

A member of the Mendocino County Jr. Livestock Committee for 33 years, he served as it's chairman for 13 years and still serves as a member-at-large. Chuck served as President of the California Dorset Ass'n for 4 years, until his decision to concentrate on what was becoming his favorite breed, the Suffolk , which has been his main passion for many years. He has served as a member of the board of the California Suffolk and Hampshire Breeders Ass'n,and was their Jr. Co-Ordinator for three years. He is the creator and the Chairman of the Northcoast Junior Breeding Sheep Show, now in it's 8th year, held annually in conjunction with the Redwood Empire Fair, and he is the founder-host of the California Jr. Fitting and Showmanship Camp, held each summer at his Windswept ranch on the Eel River, attended annually by young sheep enthusiasts from throughout California and Oregon.

For the past four years, Chuck has served as the National Junior Co-Ordinator for the United Suffolk Sheep Association, the national registry and organization of the Suffolk Breed. This job entails being the organizing person for about 1000 Junior Suffolk members across the U.S. and organizing and running their annual National Jr. Shows which have recently been held in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Springfield, Illinois, Springfield, Ohio and Laramie, Wyoming. Enjoying breeding many State and been the breeder and exhibitor of the 2003 National Jr. Champion Ram and the 2004 National Jr. Champion Ewe at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky, which hosts the National Suffolk Show , as well as 10 other breed National Shows, with a total of 5390 sheep entries.
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