Hi, my name is Laurie Lickley, and I’m proud to be an Idaho rancher! We live outside of Jerome, Idaho, on our family’s “century operation”–which means it has been in my husband Bill’s family for more than 100 years. Our kids, Valene and Cole, are our operation’s 5th generation of Lickleys.   

Over that 100+ years, our operation has constantly developed and evolved to fit the time’s best management practices. Our most recent change has come in the last seven years, where we’ve started running our cows year-round in northern Nevada. We winter them on the river, where warmer conditions provide excellent winter forage, where we supplement with hay as needed. We move them to the mountain in March, where they will calve in April. Our calves are weaned in October, backgrounded, and shipped by the middle of November. We run our replacement heifers in California before coming back to the ranch for April calving with the rest of our cows. On our home place in Jerome, we also raise a few different crops, primarily growing alfalfa hay, corn silage and potatoes, all on a rotating schedule.

I love everything beef–it’s the world’s premier protein! Our family markets both conventional and grass-fed cattle, which allows us to create a product that can appeal to all consumers. It’s such a satisfying feeling to know that people across the world are able to sit down and enjoy something that my family and I have worked so hard to produce!

Why are you passionate about the beef industry? Preserving and protecting our ability to pass this business on to our children and grandchildren.

What’s your favorite beef meal to cook (or favorite beef recipe)? The Mississippi Pot Roast is so versatile and easy, although I’m extremely partial to a thick medium-rare New York Strip.

When you’re not busy ranching, what do you like to do to “unwind”? I absolutely love to travel and experience different cultures. A glass of red wine and a good book will do, too.

What is your favorite part about Idaho? The people. Never have I met such hard-working, humble folks who sincerely care about their animals and contributions to their rural communities.

Hi, I’m Maggie Malson. I’m a farm girl turned Idaho cattlewoman. I grew up a farmer’s daughter in small town Kansas. My husband, Josh, and I met in college at K-State, got married, and moved to Idaho to join his parents and siblings in the family operation. Our ranch is located near Parma, in southwest Idaho. We raise registered Angus and Hereford cattle, selling bulls and females to commercial ranchers and other purebred producers. We have three generations on the ranch, including our four children.

What is your favorite part of the beef industry? The people! People in the Idaho ranching community care about each other, their animals, and the land. They are kind, intelligent, and hard-working. I love being a part of the agriculture industry and helping to feed people. I’ve met so many people across the country and traveled to different places because of agriculture.

Why are you passionate about the beef industry? I love our product—beef! It’s such a nutritious and delicious source of protein. I love raising the cattle, seeing our kids learn responsibility and work ethic by taking care of the animals, and sharing the story of agriculture with others. I don’t know another industry that has such a global reach, yet is also feels like a small, connected family.

What’s your favorite beef meal to cook (or favorite beef recipe)? Oh, this is hard! I have so many beef dishes. I think my favorites tend to keep it simple. My family loves cuts like flank and skirt steak, and tri-tip, that is marinated, then grilled and served with a fresh vegetable or salad. I make a lot of ground beef soups and stews in the fall and winter too. My family has a couple favorite recipes I make—Steak Alfredo, which is fettuccine topped with a cream sauce and sirloin steak bites, and Creamy Crockpot, which uses round steak, peppers and onions, and is served over rice.

When you’re not busy ranching, what do you like to do to “unwind”? I love to read, play tennis, and watch my kids in sports, school, and 4-H activities.

What is your favorite part about Idaho? I really love Idaho. It has so many pretty places and the sunsets are amazing. It reminds me of where I grew up. The people are friendly and down-to-earth. I love that you can drive about two hours anywhere from where we live and you can be in the desert or the mountains. It’s been a great place to raise cattle and a family.

Hi, there! I’m Christie Prescott. My husband Wyatt and our two children Augustus(3) and Agnes (20 months) live south of Bellevue but we claim Picabo as it is the closest town. We are primarily background and stocker operators that finish most of our cattle in commercial feedlots. We lease pasture and feedlot pens wherever we can. We have cattle on pasture or in feedlots in Carey, Picabo, Bellevue, Fairfield, Bruneau, Filer and Garden City, KS. We also operate two small cow/calf herds both a fall and spring calving set of commercial cows.

Are you a native Idahoan?
You bet, I was born and raised in Southern Idaho, attended college at Boise State University and have never had any desire to leave Idaho.  

What is your favorite part of the beef industry?
Family tradition! I grew up on a ranch in Fairfield and am happy to be allowing my kids to grow up in the same fashion. Working with cattle instills work ethic, passion, and drive.  I remember my dad working hard and our kids see us working hard. We wouldn’t have it any other way.  We also love the community and people involved.    

Why are you passionate about the beef industry?
The thing about passions is that you can’t explain them. Sometimes there Is just a gravitational pull to them. Maybe it’s the animals or the land we love the most–at the end of the day we are producing something we are proud of.  

What’s your favorite beef meal to cook (or favorite beef recipe)?
I feel very fortunate to have a freezer full of beef. It provides quick, delicious meals for my family. I think my favorite is ground beef. It is so versatile. I brown it up with onions and garlic and it go many directions from there. Spaghetti sauce, tacos, enchiladas, shepherd’s pie, simply a bake potato topping or pizza topping are some of our favorites. My husband is also quite partial to my chicken fried steak, made with cube steak. I use my Grandma Davis’s recipe which is delightful to this day!

When you’re not busy ranching, what do you like to do to “unwind”?
It seems that we are always on the go. Lately, our evenings and weekends have been spent working cattle to go out to pasture. We consider ourselves lucky when friends will come and help us out. When the work is done and we can sit under the shade tree and relax is the best feeling.

What is your favorite part about Idaho?
My favorite part about Idaho is that we are lucky enough to get to call it home.   

Did you know that July is Idaho Beef Month? The Idaho CattleWomen are excited to be partnering with the Idaho Beef Council, as we spend the month introducing you to different ranching families across Idaho, here on our blog and Facebook page!

My name is Dawn Anderson, and I’m a born and raised Idaho rancher. We own and operate a registered Hereford and Red Angus operation, JBB/AL Herefords & Reds, that’s located halfway between Gooding and Bliss along the Malad River. My parents began raising registered Herefords 50 years ago. I had my own herd of Hereford cows growing up and was fortunate to marry someone who was interested in the ag industry. My husband, James, and I entered a partnership with my parents, John and Bev Bryan, in the early 1990’s. Our children, Bryan and Jae, started their own herd of registered Herefords as well. In 2012, my son and my Dad decided it was time to add a second breed to our operation and purchased our first group of Red Angus heifers.

We maintain a herd of around 125 spring calving cows and hold a production sale the 2nd Monday of March in conjunction with Spring Cove Ranch.  Our offering includes bulls and heifers.  We also farm and raise primarily corn and hay.   

What is your favorite part of the beef industry?
It’s difficult to identify one part of the beef industry as my favorite.  It is probably the connections it creates among producers and beyond.  I enjoy talking with people who have been in the industry a long time and hear about the changes that have occurred as well as to those individuals who know very little about “cows” and assume I raise black and white animals that produce milk for public consumption.  It’s exciting to share our story.    

Why are you passionate about the beef industry?
There is no better way to raise a family.  It provides a great opportunity to teach children responsibility and that we have a greater responsibility to the world in providing a wholesome, nutritious product.  I was fortunate to be raised in this lifestyle and to be able to raise my family in this environment.  It is imperative that we be good stewards to provide the same opportunities for our children to raise their families here if they desire to do so.  

What’s your favorite beef meal to cook (or favorite beef recipe)?
I don’t like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so my favorite is fast, easy and delicious.  You can’t go wrong with a steak (any kind) on the grill, with freshly picked asparagus, and a baked/grilled potato.  

When you’re not busy ranching, what do you like to do to “unwind”?
I’m not sure how relaxing it is but I enjoy golfing whenever I get the chance.  

What is your favorite part about Idaho?
I recently made a trip to the Moscow area and it reminded me of the variety of terrain Idaho offers.  It’s amazing and beautiful.

To catch up with Dawn Anderson and her family on a regular basis, you can keep up with her ranch’s Facebook page!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is excited for the new year ahead! It always brings a sense of renewal and possibilities. A new blog series Jessie introduced Wednesday is a Year’s Worth of Beef, which we’re excited to start sharing with you. We hope you keep checking back each week to read as she’s cooking her way through a freezer of beef.

Before we get too far into the year, I wanted to recap a fun gift exchange I participated in with fellow bloggers and ag enthusiasts called Christmas in the Country. I was invited to join by a new friend I made when I attended a conference last spring, Laurie Link. She and her family raise crops and cattle in Missouri, and she blogs at CountryLinked. (I love her blog name!) #CITC is set up like a Secret Santa where the hosts (who did a ton of behind-the-scenes work to get this going) match people up, participants get to know their matches “secretly,” then send them a gift. This week we’re all “linking up” to share more about our gifts and the new friends we’ve made through the secret exchange.

We were gone during the holidays, so I was excited when we returned to find the cutest red and white package waiting for me! So excited, in fact, I totally forgot to take a photo! Anyway, Heather Maude of South Dakota had my name.

She is a fellow cattle rancher, freelance writer and photographer like me, so I love that we also share that connection. She also happens to be a relative of another ag communicator I’ve known since my college days. Such a small world! Heather blogs her photography and agriculture stories at Double H Photography.

I loved the thoughtful gifts she put together for me.

As we both share a love of livestock photography, I really appreciated the notecards and calendar with her photographs. I also needed a 2016 calendar so this is my favorite treat she included.

She learned I was a coffee drinker and the travel mug is great for taking a hot cup with me on-the-go!

Heather also included an angel cookie cutter because she thought it was cute, and I couldn’t agree more. My kids love baking and decorating sugar cookies, so this was a fun treat we can all enjoy.

The lip balm and ear warmer are much appreciated to combat the cold, dry air we experience during our Idaho winters.

Another gift was a Jesus Calling devotional. Great minds think alike as a dear friend of mine gave one to me for my birthday a few months ago. It really is a wonderful devotional and I’m going to be able to bless someone else by passing it on to them!

The last treat at the bottom of the box was a bag of Christmas M&M’s. One of my favorite cookie recipes are these M&M Cookies, so the chocolate candies were put to good use in a sweet treat we also shared with friends. You can find the recipe below.

Thank you Heather for these thoughtful gifts!

I had a lot of fun participating this year, as I put together a gift box for Jamie Rhoades at This Uncharted Rhoade. You can learn more about those on her blog. I’ll also have an upcoming post with more details about the projects I made for her!

I’m so glad I participated this year! It is a fun way to bring some Christmas cheer to someone, as well as learn more about others in our industry. You may want to think about joining in the fun next year! You can check out all the other participants at this LinkUp!

M&M Cookies
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
2 cups oatmeal
1 package M&Ms (I use colors available for each of the holidays)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spoon flour into measuring cup then level off. Sift together with  other dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add peanut butter, eggs one at a time, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients until combined. Drop by spoonfuls onto baking sheet. (I like to use parchment paper or a silicon baking sheet.) Bake for 8-10 minutes.

~M