Sharon Hoyt has no regrets about the transition of her career at a young age from diamonds in a jewelry store to calves, kids, lambs and puppies in barns and pastures.

Hoyt knew about the ranching lifestyle, having helped as a teenager during lambing seasons on her aunt and uncle’s Eastern Oregon ranch. But after graduating from North Eugene High School in Eugene, Ore., in 1983 and then earning a business degree at Lane Community College, Hoyt became a buyer for a chain of jewelry stores.

Her career change happened a couple years later, when she met Bill Hoyt during a group dive trip to the San Juan Islands. Bill Hoyt was a full-time rancher on his family’s property just south of Cottage Grove, Ore.

Bill and Sharon married in 1989 and the two have since been partners in Hawley Land and Cattle.

“I had a very good idea of what I was getting into,” Sharon Hoyt said of her marriage to Bill and ranching.

“Growing up, there wasn’t a bird, a dog, a cat that I didn’t try to save. Anything to do with animals, with horticulture, became a self-education process for me.

“I’d rather be outside than in the house,” she added.

Bill and Sharon are the fifth generation to own and operate the family’s Cottage Grove ranch that was purchased back in 1852. They also run livestock on four leased properties.

Historically, the ranch was home to goats and sheep, but they were phased out and the focus became cattle. But just a few years after Sharon became a rancher, her encouragement resulted in sheep being added to the business in the mid-1990s with the flock growing to 800 ewes. She had some help, but she was the lead person during several lambing seasons. To help manage and move the sheep, she trained border collie dogs.

To protect their sheep from predators, the Hoyts purchased some Akbash dogs, a Turkish breed that is bred to protect sheep.

“I loved the dogs. They are a passion for me,” Hoyt said.

Sharon Hoyt was on the Akbash Dog International Board for several years from the late 1990s into the early 2000s.

When a niche market developed to raise goats to lease out for invasive weed control, Sharon was the lead on adding 700 does to the ranch. At about the same time, the sheep flock was cut back to 300 ewes. Sharon helped the ewes during lambing season, then the goats during kidding season and was available to help if needed during calving.

“It’s almost indescribable,” Bill Hoyt said of his wife’s importance to the ranch. “I wouldn’t be in the sheep or goat business without her. I probably wouldn’t have gotten involved with border collies without her. I followed her passions.

“She’s the most important thing that ever happened to me in so many ways,” he added. “Certainly the ranch is very dependent on her.”

Sharon’s abilities have also allowed Bill to take the time needed to be a president of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, a member of the Oregon Beef Council and a lobbyist in Salem for the state’s livestock industry.

“He’s very effective at it,” Sharon said of her husband. “I might whine about it every now and then, but he needs to go to fight the good fight because somebody needs to for the industry.

“God has blessed me and Bill to be able to do what we do and where we do it,” she added. “It’s a privilege to be on the same ranch that’s been in the family since 1852 and to be involved with agricultural people who by far are the best people I’ve ever worked with.”

A Capital Press’ annual special section that highlights the contributions women make in the agricultural sector.

Read the stories of the exceptional women featured Women in Ag 2023:

Erika Ackley: ‘I like the independence of farming’ 

Geri Byrne: ‘I love to organize’ 

Lerrina Collins: Fluent in the language of stockdogs 

April England: ‘It’s not just a job, it’s a life’

Suzanne Gallagher: ‘I love the work, I love the land and I love the cattle’ 

Denise Godfrey: A love of plants, and for the community 

Mary Hood: Shattering ceilings in ag banking 

Sharon Hoyt: A passion for the ranching lifestyle 

Jessica Jansen: ‘I love agriculture, and I love teaching people about it’ 

Jean Kurtz, Ali Rodgers: Telling wine’s story in the Umpqua Valley 

Anne Mitchell: Perseverance pays off 

Lori Moore: A bison believer turns vision into reality 

Keri Roid: Lavender farm a dream come true 

Nicole Sanchez: Taking on new challenges 

Wendy Swore: Staying busy with farming, writing