Talk:Orville Schell

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the savage reference is not relevant to Schell's bio.

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Not sure what is meant by a claim that any of the biographical material is negative. The subject of factory farming may be controversial in some circles, but neither the fact that he criticizes it nor his participation in Niman Ranch are in question.

Also not sure what to make of his reported resignation as journalism dean of UC. He announced it in April, 2006 (as per the news article) but is apparently still Dean and no replacement has been named as of January, 2007. Wikidemo 19:35, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks to Gamaliel for cleaning up the references and rewording the discussion about Niman Ranch. The sources conflict, but it is clear that although Schell is often listed as a founder Niman started Niman Ranch in 1969 and that Schell joined much later, in 1978. The designation of the title "founder" is an honorific and credit is often given to later-joining partners for starting a business, which can wreak a little havoc in terms of accuracy of founding dates of a business. The history is described (and referenced) in more detail in the new article on Niman Ranch. To make it more accurate without having to get into this trivia, I changed the word "founded" to the more general "joined" to describe his entry into the business. Wikidemo 20:27, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

The only source I've read is the San Francisco Business Times article, which states "Orville Schell...teamed up with his neighbor, Bill Niman, to start a small farm in Marin County." What is the source that contradicts this? Gamaliel 20:54, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

It's clear and in many sources (we could add a few) that Schell joined more or less in 1978 and there are several articles that mention that Niman bought the property years earlier and was doing something agricultural there. I cite a few of them in the article on Niman Ranch. Here's one example, that mentions Niman bought the property and began farming it in 1969 --http://www.answers.com/topic/niman-ranch-inc. That's nearly a decade before Schell joined, so calling him a co founder might be a stretch.

The question of who is and is not a founder is probably one of semantics. Kind of a business designation or honorific to acknowledge his importance in the company more than a description of events. Niman was definitely ranching the property beforehand When Schell joined they became a bigger operation. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Wikidemo (talk • contribs) Wikidemo 07:44, 26 February 2007 (UTC)