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“A TRIBUTE TO LES OESTERREICH, ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E226 on Feb. 15, 2011.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
A TRIBUTE TO LES OESTERREICH, ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT
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HON. DANIEL E. LUNGREN
of california
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Les Oesterreich, a resident of Dixon, California, a man respected as an American, a husband to Pat Oesterreich, a father to their combined seven daughters, and a grandfather. Perhaps more germane to this moment is his position as chairman emeritus of Superior Farms, the largest harvester and processor of lamb in the United States. Under his leadership, the company has grown from having a single plant in Dixon, California, to having plants in Denver, Colorado, Boston, Massachusetts, Hawarden, Iowa, and Blue Island, Illinois, with contractual arrangements in Australia as well. Today, Superior Farms employs 494 employees and operates under an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), so that every employee has a stake in the company's bottom line.
As CEO of Superior Farms, Mr. Oesterreich skillfully guided the company by working with other industry organizations. He was honored in 2008 by the American Sheep Industry Association with its Camptender Award. He served several terms as a director of the National Meat Association, and as chair of its Small Stock Committee. He was recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture for his work with the Agricultural Marketing Service on the implementation of fair standards for lamb grading. He served on the Advisory Committee for the Animal Science Department at California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo and the University of California at Davis. His input to the American Lamb Board and the California Sheep Commission has guided those organizations, and during all these activities he has guided the growth and prosperity of Superior Farms to ensure that he recruited the brightest and best professional management talent available.
Mr. Oesterreich's father worked for Armour Food Co. for 35 years and he learned a lot about the meat business during his formative years in Brownsville, Texas, and Sterling, Illinois. He started work in the slaughter facilities at age 16, then learned how to load trucks, and was finally trained in meat cutting, all at Armour. He joined Superior Farms in 1981 as general manager of the Dixon, California, facility and moved up the chain of management, by dint of hard work, to become its CEO in 2004.
Off the job, he has served as president of the local fire district in Dixon; he is passionate about cars and horses; and he is a member of the American Quarter Horse Association.
As Mr. Oesterreich moves into retirement, he leaves behind an incredible legacy to be continued by the professionals that he has recruited to Superior Farms. Men like Mr. Oesterreich make the United States of America a wonderful place to live. Congratulations, Les Oesterreich!
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