Nehalem River Ranch is committed to the long-term business of regenerative ranching and providing ethically sourced meat to their community.
Funded on 06/09/2021
Since 2014, Nehalem River Ranch’s (NRR) grass-fed & finished beef and pastured-pork operations have been growing their regional market, evolving their pasture and grazing practices, and revitalizing the land they steward. A family-owned livestock ranch on over 100 acres of lush, fertile land in the foothills of Oregon’s Pacific coast, NRR not only produces delicious, ethically raised meat, they’re also a hub of local regenerative farming, learning, practice, and mentorship. Owners Jared and Hilary are Renaissance farmers in the truest sense: they are champions of the healthiest sustainable ranching practices prioritizing animal welfare, land stewardship, and financial sustainability, all while facilitating greater awareness of and accessibility to those practices for other ranchers in their community.
In their seven years of operation, NRR has seen a steady revenue increase several times over as they’ve scaled-up on-site beef and pork production. In that time, they’ve also tapped into a network of like-minded livestock producers in the region and built an aggregated wholesale operation, Nehalem Valley Provisions, which sells high-quality meats to restaurants along Oregon’s north coast, SW Washington, and into the Portland Metro Area.
Now that Nehalem River Ranch has been established and validated, more permanent financing will reduce their overall cost of capital. Owning their land outright is a key part of NRR’s mission to steward the land with the highest standards of regenerative ranching and animal welfare. Minimizing the pressures of higher interest rates will allow NRR to pay off debt sooner and commit more resources to business growth and revenue-driving ventures. With Jared and Hilary’s experienced financial backgrounds and deep knowledge of sustainability, permanent land tenure is a great opportunity to continue to spread insight into regenerative practices to their community.
A portion of funds raised will also allow NRR to make several farm infrastructure improvements, including new gates and fencing needed to expand their existing pig operation and adding local honey to their offering with new bee hives, boxes, and trailers.
Nehalem River Ranch champions regenerative practices in low-stress animal husbandry, soil-building rotational grazing, and ethical meat production. Their practices are backed up with certifications including: Animal Welfare Approved, certified Grassfed cows, and only working with a handful of butchers who are audited and certified as Animal Welfare Approved. Additional regenerative practices include:
So much gratitude to each of you for helping make this loan a reality. With your help, we are able to strengthen our land security on this 100 acres of lush, fertile land located in the foothills of Oregon’s coastal rainforest.
This loan helps us make some critical infrastructure investments to grow our pork operation and improve our cattle efficiencies. It also funded the acquisition of an existing commercial size honey bee operation that a retiring beekeeper has had on our property for many years. Hilary is SOOO excited about her bees so if you’re able to come for a farm tour plan a little extra time as her excitement and rapidly increasing knowledge from her master beekeeper mentors is captivating.
As we continue to dance with the changes Covid and its impact on our business (and all of our lives including personal losses), we continue to see how we are emerging stronger, and ready to keep diversifying the Ranch. Those of you who don’t know us as well, we host multiple new and expanding farmers including goats for milk and soon a licensed creamery for cheese(!), flower and vegetables that a couple with a young family makes their sole living from, an additional beekeeper/mentor who takes advantage of the prolific Japanese Knotweed and its amazing dark honey, a second vegetable farmer who recently secured funding for a hoop house to extend her seasonal veggies, and soon an herbalist who will partner on a grant funded project to plant 75,000 shrubs, many of which will be medicinal or culinary herbs, all of which continue to add diversity to this 100 acres of lush, fertile land nestled in our little slice of heaven in the foothills of Oregon’s coastal rainforest.
It is hard to put into words the feeling of support you all bring. Having such a local and extended community behind us gives so much confidence to continuing doing what we love to do on this property. Hilary and I are passionate about keeping money local. It’s a big reason why we started Nehalem River Ranch; to not only be stewards of this amazing land, but to do it alongside our customers, partners, and community and build a more equitable and viable food system.
We really believe in the Steward model and how we can keep interest earnings local and in the pockets of true champions of regenerative land management while we collectively re-localize our food systems! Stay tuned for future loan participation opportunities (like our cheesemaker friends, or Phase 2 of our regional food system collaborative project the Astoria Food Hub).
With Gratitude,
Jared, Hilary, and family
This loan will be made to Nehalem River Ranch LLC, an Oregon limited liability company owned by Jared Gardner and Hilary Foote. Nehalem River Ranch (“NRR”) grows and sells pasture-based meats.
The loan will be secured by a second mortgage on real estate located at 22095 Foss Rd, Nehalem, OR 97131. The first mortgage is held by the previous landowners who provided seller financing for NRR’s original land purchase in December 2019.
This loan will be used to refinance an existing short-term loan to NRR, which was provided by a local HNW lender. Additionally, funds will provide some infrastructure improvements to expand their pasture-raised pig operation as well as their honey bee production. The total loan amount of $300,000 will assist Nehalem River Ranch by providing secure land tenure to continue to grow and serve its customers.
This loan is set at a 5% interest rate, with an 8.5-year term, with payments beginning in one month after funds are disbursed. The loan will partially amortize over the loan term on a 20-year amortization schedule, meaning that the loan will mature in 8.5 years, at which time there will be a balloon payment due.
NRR intends to refinance the first and second mortgage loans simultaneously at the maturity of the second mortgage, as the current first mortgage loan prepayment penalty terminates in December 2029.
$250,000 - land refinance
$15,000 - hives, boxes & trailers to expand to honeybee production
$25,000 - fencing & gate improvements to expand pasture-raised pigs
$10,000 - closing costs
Total Budget - $300,000
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