Imperial Stock Ranch (est. 1871) has a rich history of more than 150 years producing sheep, cattle, grains and hay. In recent decades, the ranch has made leading efforts in progressive agricultural practices, ensuring its future; and the headquarters are recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.
In the late 1990s, with a collapsing wool market and diminished U.S. textile infrastructure, they moved from commodity wool sales in a new direction. Motivated to keep sheep on the landscape, Dan and Jeanne Carver led them in new directions, developing yarns, fabrics and finished goods for apparel and textile markets, and selling lamb direct to restaurants in Portland, the Columbia Gorge and Central Oregon. By 2014, the Imperial Stock Ranch had become the face of Ralph Lauren’s Made in America Olympic uniform program with their wool yarns, and by 2017, Imperial Stock Ranch became the first ranch in the world certified under a new international program called the Responsible Wool Standard, a benchmark for leading practices in wool production for sustainable textiles. Dan and Jeanne Carver have been award-winning agricultural entrepreneurs receiving numerous awards in business and agriculture since the 1990s.
Tours are available by appointment.