How are you involved in agriculture today?
I am currently an agricultural engineer for AGPROfessionals focusing on drainage, engineering and permitting for Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) all across the western United States. I love assisting owners and operators with achieving their goals and keeping production animal agriculture alive.

Outside of the office and as a passion project, I am a co-host for the Millennial Ag Podcast. Bringing the perspective, hot topics, and real life stories of agriculture to the public through the lens of millennials.

And when I have free time, I spend it riding my horse and assisting my family on their cow-calf operation.

How has your life been shaped by agriculture?
Agriculture is deep in my veins and it has and will always be a large part of my heart. When I graduated high school, I knew I wanted to be involved in agriculture and work towards making a difference in my community. I ended up pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering and continued to stay involved in agriculture in a variety of ways. During that time, I always thought that the agriculture community was who could influence me the most. While this is true and I have a lot of people to thank, I had a very closed mind. I ended up being influenced a lot by people outside the agriculture community and those who helped me understand the other 98% of the world who eats, wears and uses the products we produce.

Who inspires you or serves as a mentor?
My family, and specifically my parents, Bill and Laurie. They have always worked humbly and hard to be involved in their communities and take a lot of pride in their work. I am so blessed and grateful to have role models that answer my silly questions and guide me in life, the cattle markets and my career.

How do you provide encouragement to others?
In the last six months, I have co-hosted the Millennial Ag Podcast with my good friend Katharine Lotspeich. Through the podcast we talk about real issues, real stories and allow agriculture to be vulnerable with the consumers and themselves. We try and tackle the real hot topic issues but we always try and leave everyone with a positive thought, idea or action item. We want to give hope to agriculture and allow agriculture to begin to have those tough conversations that we have been avoiding for years.
Our podcast can be found on any major podcast platform (Apple, Google, Spotify, Podbean, etc.) or at millennialag.com.

If given the chance, what message about agriculture or the beef industry would you share with a large group of people?
Dare to be different and Dare to take a chance! As a fifth generational rancher, I never imagined I would ever rock climb, run long distances or hike tall mountains. I also never thought I was capable of starting a podcast or leading a team of professionals at 25. Once I shook off the control and tunnel vision of the life I thought I should be living, the opportunities and connections I made were better than I could ever imagine. Life is not going to be easy. We are going to fall flat on our face, but we have to have faith, work hard and stay true to our roots while opening our eyes to the possibilities.

What are you most thankful for?
I am grateful for my faith, my community (family and friends) and adventure!

What is your favorite meal to cook yourself or for others?
You cannot really beat a good T-bone steak, sweet potatoes and a fresh veggie. Easy, tasty and nutritious!

Valene (center) with her parents, Bill and Laurie, participated in the Race for the Steaks to benefit Beef Counts and the Treasure Valley YMCA.

What is your favorite childhood memory?
One of my favorite childhood memories was getting a group of friends together and catching all our “broke” horses to play football on bareback. When we would get bored playing football, we would run them through the pivot sprinklers and jump the pivot tracks. How we didn’t fall off or get bucked off more times than we did is still a mystery to me.

What are a few of your guilty pleasures?
Wine or a cold beer (depending on the time of year) and lots of laughs with friends and family!

Where is your favorite place to shop?
My Mom’s closet… My mom loves clothes, has better style than I do,   and her rule is that anything that comes into her closet, something has to go out. So it is a win-win situation.

Gwenna and Wade Prescott.

The Prescotts-Wade, Gus, Gwenna (with Agnes), Christie and Wyatt (holding Virgil)

As the new Cattlewoman Chair for the Idaho Cattle Association, I am humbled to serve our state cattle industry and feel we all have a very important story to share with modern day consumers who want to understand how their food is grown. Furthermore, we all share a sense of responsibility to do our part in ensuring the future of our states cattle industry. Now is my turn. I have never known a life outside of agriculture. I was born and raised on a row crop and livestock farm and married a cowboy, from which we have made a living and life ranching and feeding cattle.

In my kitchen, hangs a sign that reads, “Behind every successful rancher is a wife that works in town.” It is a sign that rings true in our life. I have always worked in banking and the success of this job in town to our operation has not been as much about the off-ranch income, as it has been about the off-ranch skills. While I have never personally thought of my role in the operation as critical, it is and the role of women in agriculture is and always has been. My career in banking also enabled me to keep tight books and understand balance sheets, budgets, and capital access that enabled us to start and restart on occasion in this industry and bring along children with cattle as well.

Above and beyond, like many others, I’ve spent a lifetime shifting gears from my bank clothes after work to driving silage truck or sorting calves, then getting dinner on the table. Oh, then making sure the boys had lunch for the next day or else they won’t eat, to balancing the checkbook after bedtime, to waking up the next morning before daylight to help load a truck all before going to my job in town. I am not alone. Many of us do this day in and day out just to keep living this lifestyle in a business whose real purpose is to put food on the table for the world.

At times, in the day-to-day challenges, it’s easy to lose perspective of what we are really creating. I don’t know how my husband and son can work twelve hours straight and only say twelve words to each other, yet know exactly what the other is thinking or asking. I don’t know how the words “in” and “bye” can sound so similar, or how I am ever supposed to know exactly which black cow to get out when I am told to get the black cow over there. I don’t know why every time we work cattle it always takes twice as long as they say it will, yet they never adjust how long they say it will take or why cattle are always out on holidays and birthdays, but it just seems to happen this way. I’ve said on many occasions that maybe we ought to sell the whole damn thing.

There was a time where I encouraged my boys to pursue careers outside of agriculture. Those have always been fleeting moments, not only because I have some strange addiction to having cattle around or that I believe that producing beef for people far and wide is truly a noble and rewarding occupation. For me, this business and lifestyle also has another self-serving amenity. There is no better way to raise a family.

It is family that makes serving as Cattlewomen Chair truly rewarding. It is families like the Kerners, who epitomize this family fabric that means so much to me in this cattle world. The Cattlewomen are honored to partner with them this year for the Julie Rae Kerner Memorial Scholarship. The scholarships that the Cattlewomen are able to help provide are important to me. Having raised two boys with cattle and knowing my grandbabies will be raised the same way leaves me with sense of peace that not much else could. In one way or another cattle paid for my kids’ education, and it’s important the Cattlewomen and ICA help another family and young producer in this way. Thanks to our annual saddle raffle and partners we were able to give four $1,000 scholarships’ last year. Invest in our cattle kids, and support the Cattlewomen.

Thanks to everyone who commented on our Levi’s Lost Calf book giveaway! The winner is Mandy Blank! Email us at info@idahocattlewomen.org to redeem your book!

Can you capture the beauty of the Idaho cattle industry at its best? Then put your eye and your camera to the test. It’s time to prepare for the 7th Annual Idaho CattleWomen Council Photo Contest. We have some new categories and new rules, so be sure to read through everything. It’s never too early to capture the beauty of Idaho and the cattle and people who make it great. The photo contest takes place at the Idaho Cattle Association Annual Convention, Nov. 13-15, 2017. Photos will have the opportunity to appear in future ICA publications and communications materials. Watch for contest rules and details in the fall edition of the Line Rider. Click here for all the rules and entry forms.

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.