Dan Lamb was no ordinary man; in fact he was no average harvester. He was born in Mesa, Arizona, a son of a dairyman, the 9th child and youngest son of the family. While living on his father's dairy farm in Gilbert, Arizona, Dan developed a great love for the harvesting side of agriculture. Early in his life, he was exposed to long, hard days of work and the never ending routine of chores that needed to be done. Dan liked the machines and the fulfillment he saw in delivering crops to dairymen and he loved to work hard.

In his teenage years he worked for a local harvesting company, he loved it, in fact, he was hooked. After high school, he served a volunteer two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Massachusetts-New England area. When he returned home, he married Susan Douglas. They purchased a pull type harvester and started a green chop business in Gilbert, Arizona. After a year or so, the harvesting business was not as profitable as he had hoped and could see that the future of harvesting in Arizona was growing bleak. Farms where crops once grew were being sold for housing developments. Dan was very forward thinking and could see there were more harvesters in Arizona than jobs. He made the trek west to California with his company. He learned of a green chop business in Bakersfield, California that was relocating out of the area, and was able to acquire these new customers. He loaded up his family belongings and headed to California, leaving Susan nine months pregnant and 17 month old son behind in order to pursue the new business opportunity. Susan followed two weeks later with a toddler and new baby boy. They are the first boys of what would eventually turn out to be a family of ten children.

In the spring of 1982 after two years of trying to grow the green chop business as local silage harvester, Darwin Omdahl approached Dan about selling his company to him. Darwin had been around Dan enough to see his work ethic. Darwin knew he wanted Dan to service his customers because of his ability to work and care to their needs like he would. He did not want to let his competition inherit his accounts upon his retirement. In 1983, Dan began working closely with Darwin. Dan worked for three to four months, and knew he would need some help. In June, Dan asked Keith Lamb, his brother, to come and work for the company also. Dan and Keith joined together and they purchased the company from Darwin in 1983.

The company was called Omdahl Harvesting Inc. In 1985 Dan and Keith changed the name to Lamb Chops Inc. as a bit of play on words so it would be easy to remember. After thirty years in business, Lamb Chops would become a company known throughout the United States and internationally. The company began with two choppers and ten trucks. Dan was very active in the harvesting industry. He used many different machines, manufactured by different companies. He went from a pull type chopper to a New Holland 1880 to a John Deere 5830 and then onto Claas and Krone, and was excited to try the new Fendt machine as soon as it came available.

Dan was actively involved in attending the Tulare, California Farm Show, now named the World AG Expo. Lamb Chops became a leading name in the California San Joaquin Valley. WIth the last name of Lamb, it was easy to remember this company name and many farmers in California and Arizona loved to sport their "Lamb Chops" hats and gear. Over his 30 year career, he was always looking to find new and innovative ways to make harvesting better, faster, and more efficient, while delivering a superior quality product to the customers.

Dan's love for the harvesting industry prompted him to organize and plan a Chopper Challenge in Bakersfield, California. The Chopper Challenge brought together different types of machines to see which could "out chop," outperform and was the most efficient, while using the least amount of fuel. He loved participating in this challenge so that harvesters, as consumers, would have an unbiased comparison. Thereby pushing machinery builders to make the finest, most efficient machinery for all harvesters to use in order to increase their productivity. Dan Lamb was the founder of the Chopper Challenge.

Dan traveled extensively, to network with harvesters from all over the world. A highlight was being able to attend the world's largest farm equipment trade show, Agritechnica in Germany, and Sima in Paris. When harvesters from Argentina wanted to come to California to see Lamb Chops in action, he gave them a tour of several California harvesting businesses and they filmed their interview with Dan. He attended the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin and was asked to be a guest speaker at times, for groups such as the Vita Plus Organization. Dan was an active member of the US Custom Harvesters, Inc loved attending conferences held by them. He was a major contributor for seminars put on at the convention because of his work with the Chopper Challenge.

Although Dan Lamb never received any formal awards for his dedication and service to the agricultural industry, his influence will be felt for generations to come as his legacy of leadership, innovation and dedication to improving the harvesting industry are his greatest professional accomplishments. On a personal level, he influenced countless youth through his leadership in the Boy Scouts of America helping boys earn merit badges. He often provided employment and countless opportunities to model his worth ethic, dedication to God and family. Dan was a true role model, possession a strong moral compass. He served as a Bishop for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for five years on a volunteer basis.

Dan was hard working and consistently made time for family. He would share his love of harvesting with his family; he took his children and grandchildren for rides on the machinery. Sometimes, during the harvest season, the only time he saw his family was in the field. He instilled a strong work ethic in all of his children, providing the opportunity to work at a young age and a desire to work hard in order to achieve success. All of the Lamb children and numerous nieces and nephews worked for Lamb Chops.

In the off season, he took time to go to the beach, or the sand dunes to ride sand rails and four wheelers. He loved camping and the outdoors. He loved sports, loved to gold and would use the joke that "it takes a lot of balls to play gold like I do." He promoted and attended basketball games for a local team, the Bakersfield Jam. He always wanted to share this opportunity with others, taking many people with him to the games. He learned to fly, and became a pilot. His sons are now pilots. Flying is another example of his desire to do things more efficiently; saving hours of travel time. He was always seeking to improve the quality of his family's life. He loved his Family; his wife Susan and their ten children, six boys and four girls, and eighteen grandchildren.

Dan Lamb was a generous man, sharing his wealth with others. Dan was consistently doing secret acts of kindness. He delighted in sharing all of his bounteous blessings with others. Thousands have been influenced and affected by just one man, one man, who loved God and family first. One man, whose life touched so many people throughout the world; not only on a personal level, but as a major influence, making many contributions as a custom harvester to the world of agriculture.

Dan Earl Lamb

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 97; Sylvia, KS 67581

Email: office@uschi.com
Phone: (620) 200-1381

U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc.

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