These spry young men were spotted in Gillette recently attending function honoring World War 2 veterans. Chet Haagensen on the left and Bill Prell on the right were some of the recipients in the 2014 Buffalo Stampede Charity Race last summer at the Durham Ranch. John Flocchini was happy to shake their hand and get a great picture. Thank you for your service! Click to read more!
We were honored to host many of our elected officials who recently completed a fact-finding trip, focusing on energy production and tourism in our area. Durham Ranch Manager John Flocchini led the discussion on AG & Energy and gave a brief tour of the expansive ranch, highlighting some of the holistic ranch management principles that Durham Ranch implements to allow for sustainable bison ranching.
Among those in attendance were:
Hayden Rogers, Chief of Staff and John O’Donnell Senior Advisor to U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), who sits on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and chairs its Public Lands, Forests and Mining Subcommittee.
Anthony Sedillo, Professional Staff Member U.S. House Natural Resources Committee (Minority)
Tara Billingsley, Senior Advisor to U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), who serves on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power and Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and Mining.
David Rosenbaum, Legislative Director to Office of U.S. Representative Dina Titus (D-NV-1), who serves on the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittees on Aviation; Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management; Highways and Transit; and Water Resources and Environment.
Becky Cruz Lizama, Legislative Director for U.S. Representative Gregorio Sablan (D-Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). who serves on the Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation and Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs.
Logan H. Ferree, Senior Legislative Assistant for Office of Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), who serves on the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation; and Subcommittee on Water and Power.
Mike Lucier, Legislative Assistant Office of Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA-8), who serves on the House Appropriations Committee as Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on the Interior and Environment.
Ben Lieberman, Majority Counsel for U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce (Majority)
Tristan Abbey, Professional Staff Member for U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources (Minority)
Nick Abraham, Legislative Clerk for Energy and Environment for U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce (Majority)
Ron S. Faibish, Ph.D., Professional Staff Member for U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (Minority)
Annie Caputo, Senior Policy Advisor for U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce (Majority)
Caleb Paxton, Legislative Assistant for Office of U.S. Representative Jeff Duncan (R-SC-03), who serves on the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources and Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs.
Don Benton, Washington State Senator (R)
PRESS RELEASE:
It is with great pride that we announce that Sierra Meat and Seafood of Reno Nevada, along with our sister company, Durham Ranches Inc. of Wyoming, have entered into a purchase agreement with the Strube Ranch of Texas to purchase Strube Gourmet Wagyu Meat and all their Wagyu cattle on feed. The Strube family shall maintain ownership of their ranch in Texas along with the Wagyu cow calf operation there.
Sierra Meat and Seafood and the Durham Ranch are owned and operated by the Flocchini family. Sierra Meat and Seafood is run by Chris J Flocchini in Reno Nevada and the Durham Ranch is run by John Flocchini III, in Wright, Wyoming. The Strube Ranch is located in Pittsburgh, Texas and is owned and operated by Larry and Linda Strube along with their daughter Tia Strube Ables and her husband Zane Ables.
This new partnership will allow our families, Strube and Flocchini, to concentrate on our respective areas of expertise, and continue to meet the growing demand for All Natural Wagyu Beef.
Sierra will be responsible for the meat sales and distribution of Strube Ranch Wagyu Beef, Durham Ranch will be procuring Wagyu feeders from the Strube Ranch, and the Strube family will look to expand its Wagyu cow calf operation in order to grow the supply of Wagyu feeders.
Sierra Meat and Seafood processes and distributes the Durham Ranch Brand of natural and sustainable specialty meats to over 100 foodservice and retail customers throughout the United States. Durham Ranch, located in Wright, Wyoming, is one of the largest bison ranches in North America which has been owned and operated by Flocchini family for 50 years. The Strube Ranch has been one of the pre-eminent Wagyu ranch operators in North America and the Strube family has been Ranching in east Texas for over 100 years.
The deal successfully closed on May 5th, 2014.
With the demand for healthier options a growing reality around the globe, the Durham Ranch team embarked on a reconnaissance mission to Hawaii to spread the word about bison as a protein alternative. They met with long time Executive Chef Perry Bateman of the famous Mama’s Fish House on Maui’s north shore. Chef Perry serves over 30,000 meals a month and was eager to hear about the health attributes of bison meat and sustainable ranching on Durham Ranch.
In total the mission encompassed visiting with chefs and managers from multiple properties on Maui and Oahu, as well as our distributor friends at VIP. Each visit was met with a great deal of enthusiasm about the Durham Ranch and the possibility of using bison meat on their menus.
When combining healthy and sustainable, Durham Ranch Bison is an excellent choice!
Photo: Maui Jim/aka “Uncle Buck”, Gaylynn and John working hard on Maui!
In visiting a restaurant, patrons were once interested mostly in the taste of the food and the ambiance. While that still holds true, the push for sustainable, local and organic skyrocketed, and it became just as important to find out about the mission of the restaurant. Where do they obtain their food? Are they supporting local farms? Do they use the freshest ingredients? All of this while still, of course, maintaining a menu you can sink your teeth into and an ambiance you love to experience. 
Any time you order Durham Ranch from the menu, you can be assured that the meat was raised in a natural and sustainable way, and likely came from a small family farm or ranch. But what about the greens? … why, they’re on the walls! Read more…
