There are two life lessons my parents started teaching me at a very young age. The first was how not to throw like a girl; the second was to evaluate the facts and come to a decision on my own. That lesson of open-mindedness has allowed me, on several occasions, to be an informed rather than ignorant participant in discussions. This has come in handy working for an industry with so much opposition to the way cattle are raised and the nutrition of beef.

Spending my days advocating for the beef community, it’s easy to know our facts. Cattle producers are the original stewards of the environment. Beef is an excellent source of ten essential nutrients.

However, I have a cousin who lives a vegan lifestyle, and encourages the rest of us to do the same. I frequently get emails from her on the latest science supporting veganism, but rather than rolling my eyes and moving them directly into the trash folder, I often take the time to read them. As an advocate, I need to know what the other side is saying. As a human being, I’m curious. I read testimonials. I watched The China Study. And a year and a half ago I decided to take it to the next level. I felt I needed to give myself a bit more credibility in the discussion, to combat the “but you’ve never tried it” argument. And that is when I dubbed ‘Meatless March.’

Already unable to eat dairy products, I eliminated all animal protein from my diet. I became a vegan—at least as far as food consumption goes. I replaced my scrambled eggs and fresh fruit breakfast for vegan protein powder mixed with almond milk. I bought the Forks over Knives cookbook and traded in my extra lean ground beef for quinoa and lettuce. For a full month, I tracked calories and recommended daily values, while I ate my way through fruits and vegetables, trying to find ways to replace the protein and nutrients I was avoiding from meat with raw alternatives.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation with a friend of mine who fancies himself a triathlete. He made a comment about how “meat is gross,” and I promptly started in on what he would certainly call a rampage about all the health benefits of beef, especially for athletes. Phosphorus, which builds strong bones. Riboflavin, which converts food into fuel. Iron allows the body to use oxygen appropriately. And 48 percent of the daily value of protein comes from just three ounces of beef. Let’s not forget protein preserves and builds muscle. All of these seem pretty important for someone who is planning to swim 1.5 kilometers, bike 40, and run 10 in the Spudman Triathlon.

Of course, his response to my education was, “They pay you to say that.”  And I replied by telling him of my Meatless March experiment and outlined for him exactly what it did to my body.

The first couple of days I had to remind myself I wasn’t eating animal proteins. I loaded extra vegetables on my spinach salad and ate my way through a few handfuls of mixed nuts. By the end of the first week, I was craving the nutrients I was lacking. A tablespoon of peanut butter was certainly no substitute for steak. During the next two weeks, I noticed definite physical changes. The pink in my cheeks was replaced with pallor, and I developed alarming dark circles under my eyes. I was sleeping poorly, was irritable, cranky and exhausted.  Workout recovery time lengthened and stamina decreased, and by the end of the fourth week I had gained seven pounds.

Yes, I do get to spend my days promoting cattle production and beef consumption, but I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t believe in it. I may have cousins and friends who choose not to eat meat, but I know they would feel a lot better if they did. Incorporating beef as a regular part of your diet provides you with better energy for an active lifestyle. It also reduces your risk of injury by strengthening bones and building muscle, and helps protect cells from damage.  Beef supports nervous system development, improves brain function, and helps maintain a healthy immune system. Workouts are more effective when fueled by a higher-protein diet. Beef makes a difference!

For more nutritional information about beef, check out these Beef Nutrition facts or check out this pdf ProteinsAreNotCreatedEqual.

I’ve always been fascinated about nutrition, specifically the relationship between what you put into your body and what you get out of it, and this experiment illustrated to me that while fruits and vegetables taste great and are good for you, they simply aren’t enough. Beans and broccoli and almonds just can’t provide the nutrients beef can for the same caloric intake, and your body—regardless of your physical activity—needs those nutrients to function properly at optimal levels. That’s what Meatless March taught me.  Beef fuels me.

~ Britany

When I married my husband, I knew I’d never live in town or drive a beetle car. I’d need four-wheel drive and it’d be easier to see across my field than into my neighbor’s window. I knew there would be dirty boots by the door. On our honeymoon, we bought a sign that reads, “Please remove your spurs before getting into bed.” We anticipated cattle and hard work, but we pictured it with the bliss and naivety with which every newlywed couple enters into marriage.

Enter reality. No matter what time of year it is, there is always a potential for hay slivers in the sheets. I learned how to cook on a budget. I made a lot from scratch. Actually, it’s been sixteen years and I’m still doing that.

Showing the kids how shots work.

The reality is that we all have dreams and ideas of what life will look like. We imagine how it will transpire and it is beautiful!! Everyone is healthy, the work gets done in record time, and nothing ever breaks down or slips past a fence. Dreams are good for creating a hopeful platform as they propel us to keep going. Yet, I certainly never pictured tractors breaking down, bailing hay through the night to beat a storm, or feeding cows while having the flu.

On the flipside, I also didn’t imagine that ranching would rope me in and dally itself right to my identity. I had been raised in town. Please don’t stop reading. City girls can go country!
I met my husband in college at a country dance that someone coaxed me into attending. I gave him my number and didn’t think I’d hear from him, but I did and we started dating.
He took me riding, moving cows, and showed me everything I never thought I’d know about ranching. He didn’t get embarrassed of my lack of knowledge or ability, but kept encouraging me to try. It wasn’t until later that I realized this was in his favor, as now all my training came from “his” way of doing things.

Our girls heading out to help move cows.

So I married him and he carried me off to our first little trailer home.
Older than most of the dirt that held it together, it felt like a mansion.

Then something unexpected happened. Instead of me working for years alongside my man to get ready for a place of our own…we had a baby. Ahhh. Yes, it was wonderful. She is wonderful. But it is hard to ride pregnant, especially while still a beginning rider. Then we had another baby and another. Motherhood is the most amazing thing that could ever happen to a person, but also a fair amount of work. We didn’t have family around, so it was up to us to bring these babies everywhere we went. Our oldest daughter spent much of her first birthday in her daddy’s saddle, on his lap, while working cows. (That was a good horse.) I’ve ended up growing up in ranching along with my kids.

True, I never really knew what I was getting into, but I wouldn’t change it. Well, not most days. Guess what? Those dirty boots by the door? They aren’t going anywhere. They are mine.

~Marci

Marci is a city girl gone country. She married her cowboy and never looked back. While life may be different than what she first imagined, it’s also better than expected as well. She and her husband are raising their three kids on the ranch, and she has grown used to all the boots by the door.

Black Angus cow and calf at sunset.

Hi! I’m Maggie. So glad you stopped by! If you come back often, you’ll get to meet many different women and families who share a passion for the Idaho cattle industry. Our stories are similar, but unique. There’s a lot of diversity in our industry and our people, but one common theme—a passion for raising cattle, eating beef and living this lifestyle.

Hereford cows grazing on summer pasture.

I grew up in a small Kansas community as a farmer’s daughter. Agriculture is in my blood and I always knew I wanted to be a part of the food and fiber industry. I just wasn’t always sure about how I would be involved. My interest in language and fine arts led me to study agricultural communications while in college. Now, my work involves telling the story of agriculture—and the people who raise our food—through writing, photography and design. My husband and I met in college and after graduating, we decided to return to his family’s operation. Now we’re raising cattle and kids in the Gem State. We feel very blessed to live on a ranch taking in God’s beauty every day, raising our kids to work hard and doing exactly what we love. It’s certainly not easy, but definitely worth it!

Love raising our kids on the ranch. Playing on the hay bales…

Our ranch raises registered Black Angus and Hereford cattle. Basically we are raising cows and calves, but our cattle are all purebred or seedstock. We breed the parent stock (females and bulls) to sell. Our bulls are sold to cow-calf producers to raise beef for our dinner tables. Most of our females are sold to other purebred breeders raising seedstock as well. Basically, we are raising the parents of the cattle that becomes the beef on your plate.

As a family, we enjoy showing our cattle. It’s a way to advertise the genetics we offer. We also like seeing our kids take responsibility for an animal and work together to get things done.

Our lives are busy and a little chaotic at times, but I am trying to simplify what I can and embrace the rest. I’m a mom like many of you who also juggle work and family life. It’s important my kids learn how to work hard, but we have fun too. Sports, showing cattle, 4-H, church and other activities fill up most of our free time when we’re not helping on the ranch. I love to cook, our oldest daughter loves to bake and I’ve been known to try a DIY project every now and then.

Our baby girl checking out the mamas and babies in the pasture outside our yard. Not going to lie—I love looking out our windows and seeing pastures full of cows.

So, if you stay tuned, I’ll be sharing some recipes and a little bit more about our life on the ranch.
~M

Hi there! Whether you’re a cattlewoman, beef consumer or just happened to stumble upon this blog, we’re so very happy to have you here! My name is Jessie, and ranching is in my blood. Literally. I’m the third generation to live and work on my family’s cattle ranch, which is about an hour outside of Boise. We have a cow-calf operation, so that means we focus on raising mamas and babies. The majority of our cows are black, but we’ve got a few red ones here and there.

A fresh baby from this past calving season.

I haven’t always lived on the ranch. In fact, I spent six years away, before coming home. I went to college and received a degree in Business Administration, and had a really great job directing the communications for a statewide interest/policy group that focuses solely on Idaho’s cattle industry. But I realized something was missing. After contemplating about what I should do, I finally realized the answer was pretty simple. I packed up my stuff, and relocated to the same small town I grew up in.

Overlooking the little spot I get to call “home.”

So far I’ve been home for seven months, and I can honestly say that I’ve never been happier. I find it so rewarding to know that each day our family business is in a better place because of the work I put in. Its especially important to keep this little ranch going and growing, because its the place where my own “someday family” will be raised. Speaking of which, these days when I’m not tasked with ranching, I spend my days wedding planning!

I plan on posting a little bit about everything; ranch happenings, recipes (more than likely of the beef variety), and what its like to have the life of a cattlewoman! I’m also currently working on a few DIY wedding projects; some of which, I’ll be sure to share!

Thanks again for stopping by, and be sure to check back often! J.

We’re excited to welcome you to the blog and website of the Idaho CattleWomen Council!

Here you’ll find more about women who are passionate about the Idaho cattle industry and who support the beef industry. Many of us may be your friends and neighbors. We work hard every day to raise beef for your table, as well as our own. We hope to share with you the diversity of the women and their families who make up our cattle community here in the West. We welcome comments and questions, and hope you check back often!