The beautiful bride!

Ok - obviously I've been neglectful in my blogging. I have excuses I promise! :) September and October have become akin to the April I had this year, which was busy let me tell you. I was on the interview trail during April, so much so that I was only "home" 17 days out of the whole month. Yowza!

September was chock full of meetings, fields days, Mom's birthday (the big 6-0), more meetings, beef harvesting (butchering), the Lost Rivers grazing Academy in beautiful Salmon, Idaho and the wedding of an amazing lady to an amazing guy! I was home for half of the weekends in September. Again, yowza!

Turkey number 1 of 3:56 lbs of meat overall.

October has been a bit more laid back than September - I'll be home three out of four weekends. Ha! Meetings, coaching team members from Idaho's state 4H livestock judging team, again with more meetings, a full week of new employee orientation in Moscow on the University of Idaho's campus, poultry harvesting, and my first evaluation as a UI Extension Educator are all on the docket for October. By this time yowza might not cover it. :)

However, my freezer is full, my pantry is going to be full once I get all the produce I picked up in the Yakima Valley canned-up, I've gotten to visit with my equally as busy brother and sister-in-law and parents. My girls (goats) are bred and in 4.5 months the babies will arrive, milk will flow, cheese and yogurt will be made and the bottle feeding of day-old calves will begin. My other girls (dogs) are very happy I'm home (and so am I!) that they want to cuddle all the time. I get a temporary roommate in December (I'm hosting a local ag student teacher).

I am very thankful for the opportunities I've had to re-establish relationships with friends and family, as well as begin new friendships with people in the area. As busy, and a yowza, as my life gets, I enjoy it. But I need a nap! ;)

Pretty Spring Pictures from the Yakima Valley...



A honeybee on a dandelion in mom's garden.



I know - I'm not doing too well with keeping you all up to date with the Montana life. I do have a valid excuse this week. I am home in the Yakima Valley! I am so happy to be here it's ridiculous. The sun has been out for the most part while I've been home. It hasn't been super warm but I will take it for sure! The day before Easter the most gorgeous day I have seen since leaving Washington and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I spent time with my brother catching up and just plain being in the same area as each other.



Mom's spring flowers. B-E-A-utiful!



I am lucky to have a job that allows me to take extended vacations when ever I want. I am working through some personnel issues at work as best I can but it can get extremely frustrating at times. This break was desperately needed for that reason and to escape the poopy weather in North central Montana. :) It'll all work itself out but some days are just too much and this chick comes home to drink a beer or glass of wine. Trust me, that's an extremely rare occurrence. I should stock up on some ultra good Yakima Valley wine while I'm home. :)



Apparently eg-laying time is a community event.



While in Washington, I took the opportunity to visit WSU and straighten some things out. This visit not only wasted a day but didn't really accomplish anything but honestly pissing me off. I can't say it was all my fault but I guess I didn't do things in a timely manner what with getting used to a new job and all. I am also caught in the middle of a pissing match between the higher-ups at CAHNRS and that I do not appreciate. Bottom line is that pissing match is going to result in me having to add 6 credits to my degree without receiving "credit" for them towards my degree. Oh well I guess....what can ya do?

I miss the Yakima Valley so much while I'm away but when I'm here I truly miss my work and the people that go with it. Tough choices I tell ya! Anyways here are some pictures from around the farm to tide you all over until I get back to the Treasure State. That's Montana's motto for those of you who don't know. :)

 A couple pictures of mom's dogwood tree. Gorgeous! :)

 

"There are half as many farmers and ranchers today feeding a population that has more than doubled."

I would like to highlight "The Cattleman's Stewardship Review: Connecting Our Vision and Values" that has just come to my attention. It is a report that was funded by Beef Checkoff money and sponsored by the Cattleman's Beef Board and the National Cattleman's Beef Association. It discusses the beef industry's influence on communities, the economy, public health and the environment, and it turns out it's pretty interesting!

The world population is currently at 6.8 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, while there are only 742,000 farmers (USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture). According to the the review, there are half as many farmers and ranchers today feeding a population that has more than doubled.

The U.S. produces 20 percent of the world's beef while raising 7 percent of the world's cattle and they do this in a way to ensure quality. The report states, "it is estimated that farmer- and rancher-funded Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) programs influence the handling and management of more than 90 percent of the feedyard cattle raised in the U.S. today. Due to these practices, the 2005 National Beef Tenderness Survey found an 18 percent overall improvement in tenderness since 1999 and three-in-four consumers say that they have a positive beef eating experience."

Another key accomplishment cited in the review is the cattleman's investment in safety. The U.S. cattle rancher and farmer invested nearly $30 million in safety efforts since 1993 and the whole beef industry invests $550 million annually to beef safety efforts. "Due in part to these efforts and others, there has been a significant reduction in foodborne illnesses, including reducing E. coli O157:H7 incidence to help meet the 'Healthy People 2010' goal of no more than one case per 100,000 people."

America's farmers and ranchers are extremely innovative. The review highlights this concept through "a Washington State University study, where each pound of beef raised in 2007 compared to 1977 uses 20 percent less feed, 30 percent less land, 14 percent less water and 9 percent less fossil fuel energy." The drive and creativity of those farmers and ranchers has lowered the carbon footprint of producing a pound of beef by 18 percent; pretty good for a bunch of cowboys huh?

In 2002 the USDA studied the major use of land in the United States. According to that survey about 587 million acres acres of U.S. land, which isn't suitable for raising other food, is used for livestock grazing. Forest-use land is 29 percent of land use in the U.S; grassland, pasture land and range land uses 26 percent; cropland comprises 20 percent; special uses takes up 13 percent; and miscellaneous land uses 10 percent. Surprising to this blogger is that urban land only makes up 3 percent of land use in the United States. I honestly thought this number would be higher considering the startling rate at which we, the farming and ranching community, lose land to developers.

Now we all know that the farming and ranching lifestyle is one to be embraced and treasured, but did you know the nearly one-half of cattlemen and women volunteer with a youth organization (that's 47 percent) and more than one-third (35 percent) donate their time to other civic organizations? Compare that to the national average of only 7 percent and I think it's safe to say that farmers and ranchers most definitely give back to their community. Over 84 percent of farmers and ranchers also contribute to their church.

If that wasn't evidence enough of a community with a giving spirit here are some more statistics: "nearly one-fourth of U.S. cattlemen and women have served in the military" which is significantly higher than the national average of only 14 percent. Also, 94 percent of cattlemen and women vote in "national, state and local elections; comparatively, only 64 percent of the general population votes. One-half of cattlemen and women have run for an elected office and 81 percent have been elected to serve."

Perhaps the next time someone says something derogatory towards farming or ranching you can quote some of these statistics. You can find out more by downloading a copy of "The Cattleman's Stewardship Review: Connecting Our Vision and Values" or watch stakeholder interviews discussing the beef industry's accomplishments by visiting Explore Beef.

Pacific Northwest Young Cattlemen's Conference

I recently attended a Young Cattlemen's Conference focusing on the cattle industry in the Pacific Northwest literally from pasture to plate. A group of approximately 120 young members of the cattle industry traveled to Pasco, WA to meet up and travel to a cutting edge dairy, a cow-calf operation, tour the Simplt feedlot and the Tyson meat packing plant. While at Simplot/Tyson we had an amazing BBQ beef lunch! In addition to the tours, PNW YCC attendees were able to listen to some world-class speakers from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, U.S. Meat Exchange, University of California-Chico, Colorado State University and Beef Northwest. We were treated to a prime rib dinner where as a group we were able to pick the brains of these speakers to find out more about the topics they talked about. The dinner was yummy and me being me snagged an end piece because I'm not a rare meat eater. It had all the seasoning an actually Jenna took the rest of what I couldn't eat because of that, and her's was super rare!

The next day we travelled to La Grande, OR and attended the 6th annual Cattlemen's Workshop, which featured the speakers we were able to chat with the previous night. I learned a lot and it was very interesting, but after closing down the bar two nights in a row I was having trouble staying awake. I am so proud of myself thought becuase I managed to stay awake and even take notes! And that's actually a big accomplishment for me with the whole thyroid thing - your energy levels deplete three times faster than a normal person. I am a walking miracle! ;) Lunch was BBQ'd beef and salads prepared by the local cattlemen's group. It was super yummy but I can't remember the last time I ate so much beef. After the conference we traveled back to Pasco and traveled home. The next day I do believe I slept most of the day away after returning home from a gun show. Nothin' says conservative like clinging to your guns (and religion) right?

Shifting gears I think attending the PNW YCC will help me greatly in my preparation and candidacy for the Ft. Peck extension job I am interviewing for on Feb. 9th in Poplar, MT. I'm not really concerned about the interview but I needed a refresher course on the buzz words and the PNW YCC was perfect. If selected I would be the agriculture and 4H/youth development extension agent for the Ft. Peck reservation. I am trying not to get my hopes up but I feel confident that I would be an excelletn choice. My main concern right now is putting together my presentation and finding a way to get there. One thing at a time, all things in succession right?

Ok, so here is your website to checkout and gather some awesome recipies for...you guessed it, beef. YAY!
http://www.beeffordinner.com/  and it even has a mobile compenant. Enjoy! :)