2024 ICW Scholarship Application

2024 Simplot Scholarship Application

2023 ICW Scholarship Application

2023 Simplot Scholarship Application

2022 ICW Scholarship Application

2022 Simplot Scholarship Application

2021 ICW Scholarship Application

2021 Simplot Scholarship Application

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.

2020 ICW Scholarship Application
2020 Simplot Scholarship Application

We know consumers have a lot of questions these days about where their food comes from. We cattlewomen are still learning and also have questions about agriculture. Bottomline is as agriculturists, we have a strong tie to the land and animals in our care. Providing safe and nutritious food is our number one priority. We’re feeding our families too! Please know if you have any questions about your food or how it’s produced, you can reach out and ask. We’d love to hear from you!

Links

 Idaho Cattle Association ~ www.idahocattle.org

 Idaho Beef Council ~ www.idbeef.org

 Beef Counts ~ www.beefcounts.org

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

Day 1: Women in Ag: Idaho CattleWomen Chair, Robin Lufkin

Day 2: Women in Ag: Idaho Agriculture Director, Celia Gould

Day 3: Women in Ag: UI Research Technician, Megan Satterwhite

Day 4: Women in Ag: Weiser Cattlewoman, Julie Kerner

Day 5: Women in Ag: Camas Prairie Cowgirl, Diana Graning

Day 6: Women in Ag: Agriculture Devotee, Christie Prescott

Day 7: Women in Ag: ICA Board Member, Dawn Anderson

Day 8: Women in Ag: Simplot Land Manager, Darcy Helmick

Day 9: Women in Ag: Rangeland Resource Commission Director, Gretchen Hyde

Day 10: Women in Ag: Idaho Purebred Breeder, Maureen Mai

Day 11: Women in Ag: Trade Specialist, Leah Clark 

Day 12: Women in Ag: Social Media Savvy Cowgirl, Chyenne Smith

Day 13: Women in Ag: Natural Resources Policy Advisor, Karen Williams

Day 14: Women in Ag: Range Management Specialist, Brooke Jacobson

Day 15: Women in Ag: Cowboy Girl, Jayme Thompson

Day 16: Women in Ag: All-Around Ranch Wife, Trish Dowton

Day 17: Women in Ag: Small Town Superwoman, Jodie Mink

Day 18: Women in Ag: Livestock Marketing Communicator, Kim Holt

Day 19: Women in Ag: All-Around Cattleman, Jessie Jarvis

Day 20: Women in Ag: Idaho Cattle Association President, Laurie Lickley

Day 21: Women in Ag: County Extension Agent, Sarah Baker

Day 22: Women in Ag: Corporate Marketing Specialist, Alethea Prewett

Day 23: Women in Ag: ICA Membership and Productions Manager, Dawn Schooley

Day 24: Women in Ag: Top Hand, Kara Kraich Smith

Day 25: Women in Ag: Animal Health Territory Manager, Carmen Stevens

Day 26: Women in Ag: Fourth Generation Rancher, Sarah Helmick

Day 27: Women in Ag: Ag Communications Professional, Maggie Malson

Day 28: Women in Ag: Rural-Loving Ranch Wife, Tay Brackett

Day 29: Women in Ag: Cattle Industry Champion, Ramona Karas

Day 30: Women in Ag: Rancher and Everyday Agvocate, Linda Rider

Please feel free to continue sharing these stories, and if you have any comments or questions about future Women in Ag posts, please contact us at info@idahocattlewomen.org.

The beef community came together in 2010 to create a rancher-led initiative to provide a more consistent supply of protein to those in need through The Idaho Foodbank. Partners include the Idaho Cattle Association, Idaho CattleWomen Council, Agri Beef Co., and the Idaho Beef Council. Through the program, ranchers can donate an animal to be auctioned off at participating auction yards around the state and the proceeds are used to purchase ground beef or roasts for the Foodbank. In addition, anyone can make a cash donation to the program, which will be used to purchase beef. Agri Beef Co., matches every donation, so every dollar donated goes farther. Since it started, Beef Counts has distributed more than 650,000 servings of beef—a complete, nutrient-dense source of protein, iron, zinc and B vitamins.

To learn more about the program, visit Beef Counts or The Idaho Foodbank.

You can Donate securely online today. Please indicate you want your donation to go to Beef Counts in the comment section of the online donation form.

You can also fill out and mail in this form. Click image to link to printable pdf.