The business meeting included updates on the committees—website, store, saddle/scholarship. A committee was formed to discuss the possibility of ANCW membership. They will report back during the summer meeting in June 2024. In addition, the resolution in regards to the Idaho Cattlewomen Council and ANCW was reaffirmed.

New leadership for ICWC is Tay Brackett, who moves up into the ICW Chairman seat and onto the ICA Executive Committee. Christie Prescott becomes the ICW Rep to the ICA Board of Directors.

We had another great turnout for the Annual Photo Contest. All entered photos need to be emailed to Morgan at the office if they haven’t been yet. They will be used in future promotions and marketing materials for the association.

L-R: Anita Gonzalez, Saddle and Scholarship Chair, Tay Brackett, ICWC Chair, Christie Prescott, ICW Rep for ICA Board of Directors

Congratulations to Kevin Byington who won the 2023 Saddle. Thank you to our sponsors, AgWest Credit, Amie Halstead and D&B Supply for your support. Thanks to all who purchased tickets. Proceeds go toward our scholarship fund.

Laurie Lickley, who has served as a past ICWC Chairwoman and ICA President, announced her bid for the Idaho Senate. The cattle industry is proud to stand behind this rancher and industry leader.

Megan lives with her husband and three sons on a multi-generational cow-calf ranch in south central Idaho. Megan serves as the ICW Representative to the ICA board of directors. In her spare time, she enjoys working and playing with her family, reading, gardening, fishing and watching her sons play football.

How are you involved in agriculture today? I work as an agriculture research technician in the soil science division for University of Idaho Extension. When I am not working in town I help my husband, Kabel, on the family ranching operation.

How has your life been shaped by agriculture? I grew-up on a small farming/cattle operation and developed a love for the land and animals at a young age. My passion for agriculture continued into college as I pursued an Agricultural Science degree. Yeah, I know it’s weird, but I enjoy working long hours outside, and getting dirty!

Who inspires you or serves as a mentor? There have been several individuals who have inspired and encouraged me throughout my life, but my daily motivation is to be a better person today than I was yesterday.

How do you provide encouragement to others? One way I offer encouragement to my children is to live by example, although that is not always easy. Oftentimes when a close friend needs encouragement and I don’t have the right words to say I will refer to scripture, some of my favorites include Proverbs 3:5-6 and Isaiah 40:31.

If given the chance, what message about agriculture or the beef industry would you share with a large group of people? Animal agriculture is essential to the welfare of America as well as the rest of the world. Not only does animal agriculture provide food for an ever-growing world population, it is a strong component to our economy. Livestock producers also maintain and enhance millions of acres of public lands and supply consumers with necessary and valuable byproducts.

What are you most thankful for? Weekends! And of course, my family!

What is your favorite meal to cook yourself or for others? I enjoy cooking anything that does not require a ton of clean-up afterwards! My favorite would be soup/stews with homemade bread.

What is the first thing you do when you walk into a grocery store? Cringe! I really hate grocery shopping.

What are some of your favorite pastimes and/or hobbies? When I have free time I like to read and garden. And I love watching my boys and nephews play football.

Favorite place to visit? The Oregon coast; it is so peaceful and relaxing.

The recipe I’m sharing today was inspired by my friend, Lisa, who not only teaches full time, but has a busy ag teacher/coach husband, is raising three kids and is in the middle of calving their small herd of cows too. Even though she’s busy, she always has time to make an extra meal for a neighbor or friend in need. She brought this meal to us after our son was born (several years ago), and it was a hit. I didn’t grow up eating meatballs, but this Sweet and Sour Meatball Recipe is definitely one my family enjoys. And as Lisa proved, it’s a great meal to share with others too.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs
2 lbs. lean ground beef
1/2 c. Panko or dry bread crumbs
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. finely diced onion
1/2 c. finely diced green pepper
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
Salt and Pepper

Sauce:
Combine 1/4 c. brown sugar, 1 T. cornstarch, 1 can of tidbit or chunk pineapple, 1/3 c. vinegar and 1 T. soy sauce. Bring to boil, add chopped red or green peppers (optional), then simmer until sauce thickens and veggies get tender. Add in meatballs. Serve with rice.

All meatball ingredients were mixed together then shaped into 1″ balls, then baked in oven for 20-25 or cook in pan. (photo taken midway through baking)

The last time I made them, I adapted her original recipe by making the meatballs ahead of time and putting them in the freezer. I put them in the slow cooker along with the sauce (which I didn’t cook beforehand). These turned out great!

I love being able to make these ahead of time and store them in the freezer for an easy weeknight meal. You can even double or triple the recipe easy enough to feed a crowd. Or share with a friend…

~M

Sweet and Sour Meatballs served over brown rice.

First calf of the season. We’ve had calves born in snow, rain and wind this year, but fortunately the weather has been getting warmer again.

What does calving season have to do with slow cooker meals? Well, seeing as 2 to 3 baby calves are coming each day, having a slow cooker meal ready for dinner makes at least one part of the day a little easier.

Not only is my hubby busy checking for baby calves each day and night, but we’re also still feeding cows as the grass is getting greener, but not yet tall enough to provide all the nutrition the cows need right now. Our bull sale is a little over a month away. Many other ranchers who produce seedstock or purebred cattle, are also prepping for the bull sale season. This is when commercial producers purchase their bulls to use for the next breeding season. We’ve been gathering the pedigree information and taking photos for the catalog, putting together advertising, and going through the checklist of must-dos before sale day.

All the Hamburger (Ground Beef) Stew ingredients combined into my slow cooker.

Ready to eat!

Kids’ activities keep us on the go as we have one playing basketball and one in wrestling right now. Not to mention homework sessions each night. Our busy days and evenings give me reason enough to keep the Crock-Pot® filled. Dinner is much easier when I plan ahead and spend a few minutes prepping in the morning while cleaning up breakfast dishes. I love slow cooker meals because they are little mess and provide a healthy, hearty meal for my family at the end of the day. I guess the only downside for me is smelling the yummy goodness all day long and it makes me hungry, ha!

I tried several new beef recipes during the holidays and this new year, so I’ll be sharing them with you here. This one isn’t a new one, but actually a tried and true recipe from my mom—it always reminds me of home. Not only is it easy to make, but it’s become one of my kids’ favorite meals too. I’ve included some helpful hints as well.

Hamburger Stew

A yummy bowl of Hamburger (Ground beef) Stew. A perfect end to a busy day—easy, hearty and healthy!

1-2 pounds lean ground beef (Brown and cook thoroughly. Drain and rinse with water if necessary to remove extra fat if not using lean ground beef.) *Helpful Hint: Buy ground beef in bulk and brown all at once, divide into 2-4 cup servings, and place in freezer gallon bags. It makes it super easy to prepare a slow cooker meal or a quick dish when some of the prep is already done.

1-2 cans diced or stewed tomatoes (I use one can per pound of beef.)

*Helpful Hint: I fill the empty tomato can with water to add liquid to the stew. You can also use one can of beef or vegetable broth.

1 small can tomato sauce (I use no salt added as I like to be in charge of my seasonings.)

Vegetables (This is where you can get creative and use what you have on hand.)
-Cubed potatoes (You can peel or leave peel on, whichever your family prefers.)
-Diced carrots, celery, bell peppers, onions (I cut up in 1 inch pieces.)
-Frozen, fresh or canned corn and green beans (I use frozen as that’s what I keep on hand. They are just as nutritious as fresh, and great during cold months when fresh aren’t in season. I usually put them in during the last 30 minutes to hour of cooking.)

-Salt and pepper to season (I used fresh ground pepper and Lawry’s Garlic Salt as my go-to seasonings of choice. Mrs. Dash is also a great choice of seasoning if you want a salt-free spice blend. I usually season at the beginning of cooking, then taste before serving and add a little more if needed.)

Put all the ingredients in slow cooker and cook on high 4-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours. I love to serve with Beer Bread or crusty rolls to sop up some of the broth, but truly it’s excellent all by itself.

*Helpful Hint: This recipe is easily doubled or tripled, depending on how many you need to feed. It also freezes well, and makes a great meal to take to neighbors or friends.

For all those busy nights when you don’t want to worry about dinner, I hope you consider this easy, hearty and healthy hamburger, ground beef stew!

~ M

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored by Crock-Pot®, Lawry’s or Mrs. Dash, but we wanted to give credit to these brands as they were mentioned in the post.

My first set of towels….that is suppose to be a lady bronc rider.

The darned dollie quilt!

Second set for Mesa’s sitter. They raise Herefords.

I had hand stitched a few things in my youth, but that needle pounding up and down at lightning speed is a whole different basket of fruit! I am starting out super simple and as I continue to keep my fingers, I plan to advance.

My grandma gave me a really nice sewing machine so I had her show me a little about how it worked. From then on I have been blazing my own sewing trail. I started with some rice heated pads, then I sewed some shapes onto towels. I am rating these as the most fun so far. The latest project that caused me the greatest amount of grief was a small blanket/quilt for my daughter Mesa’s dollies—although I think she has claimed it for herself.

Sewing was all fun and games until the quilt! I picked out the cutest, softest plaid flannel for the back…..big mistake. It squandered around and bunched up so bad while feeding through the machine that it had me in a fluster. Based off the words I was muttering and the flying fabric, the ordeal probably wasn’t a PG experience. I learned I need a whole lot more practice at cutting, measuring, choosing fabric, sewing…..well about everything. For now, I am doing what any prideful person would do and blame it on the material.

Have you tried to learn anything new lately? How did it go?

~ Diana

Diana and her husband grew up farming and ranching. Now they own a crop and rangeland spraying business, and their own herd of cattle. Diana is a busy ranch wife and mom to a two-year-old little girl. When not helping with their spraying or cattle, she travels throughout north Idaho discussing feed programs with ranchers as a full-time feed consultant.

Just a baby helping the babies. In true Jessie form, I probably asked if they could sleep in bed with me.

I think it’s safe to say that I’ve been helping with calving season for a while now. The picture above is circa 1992, during a cold winter’s night when our only option to keep these babies alive was to bring them in the house and dry them off with a blow dryer. Twenty three years later, not a whole lot has changed. I’m still not allowed to throw a working blow dryer away, although now we have a special heated room in our barn where we can house babies overnight when needed.

I don’t care if it’s black, red, or pink with purple stripes; there is absolutely nothing cuter than the first calf of the season. I’ve been not-so-patiently waiting for a 2015 calf to arrive, and FINALLY, my wish was granted.

Franklin’s first steps were a bit wobbly, to say the least. But he got the hang of things pretty quickly.

While we were feeding on Saturday, my husband noticed that one of his heifers was off in the trees by herself. He walked over to check on her, and new immediately that something wasn’t right. During birth, a calf’s front feet are supposed to come first; therefore, the bottoms of the feet point down. This bottoms of this baby’s feet were pointing up, so we knew he was coming backwards. Just like in humans, babies who try to come out breech need a little extra help.

Knowing we didn’t have a ton of time to spare, we hurried back to the house. Justin jumped on the 4-wheeler, while I stayed back and got all of the gates ready so she could sail right into our calving pen. Most of the time it’s a bit of a struggle to get a calving bovine headed in the direction you want them (which is understandable…she’s in the midst of having a baby!), but this heifer couldn’t have done better. Once we got her in the pen and got all of our birthing tools ready, we started the “pulling” process. Cattle do have C-sections, but in this specific case that wasn’t the best option. Instead, we helped the Mom give birth by gently pulling her calf out. The process usually goes very quickly, is least invasive, and leaves a Mom with very little, if any, downtime afterwards.

When it was all said and done, this little bull calf was born about 5 whole minutes after we started. We usually give Mom and Baby about 30 minutes to themselves before going back to check on them; that way they have ample time to bond and the cow can really dry him off without being disrupted.

While were we sneakily waiting for our baby to try to stand, Justin jokingly said, “Welp, it looks like Little Franklin is down again.” I’m not overly sure how he came up with Franklin, but it stuck.

Since Saturday, Franklin and his Mom have been staying in the “maternity ward,” basking in fresh straw, and soaking up all of the available sunshine. Today, they’ll get moved out to the “calf pasture” and will shortly be joined by other cow-calf pairs once others start calving.

Franklin and his Mom have been loving all the extra attention they’ve been getting in the maternity ward.

We’re excited to have Calving Season 2015 is off to a great start!

– J

Jessie has returned to her roots on her family’s commercial cattle ranch in southern Idaho after time away at college and working on behalf of the state’s cattle producers. She’s passionate about agriculture and the western way of life. When she isn’t doing ranch work or writing, Jessie enjoys baking, golfing and drinking coffee. As a newlywed, she’s also turning a little cabin on the ranch into a home.

Puppies  Our middle daughter had been asking for a puppy for about a year.  She had her heart set on an Australian Shepherd, which in ranch country infiltrated by Border Collies, was not ordinary. Her Dad kept reminding her, “Not until one of the old dogs goes to Dog Heaven.” Not to be deterred, she posted Shepherd pictures on Pinterest, contacted breeders in Texas, and shared “puppy posts” with us at supper.

Then the Davis’ family, our neighbors up the creek, came to Dana’s aid. Like most rural families, our lives intertwine with 4-H, girl’s basketball and cattle. At a 4-H Leaders’ Meeting, Mrs. Davis confided that their Australian Shepherd female was “expecting” and the puppies might be ready by Christmas. Was Dana still looking for a Shepherd puppy? The Davis’ went to work to make this surprise happen.

The Davis’ girls and Dana play varsity basketball together. Dana kept asking the girls if they were going to have puppies anytime. The Davis’ girls kept replying, “I don’t know.” Secrets are pretty hard to keep around this neighborhood, but somehow the Davis’ girls pulled it off. Mrs. Davis called the day before Christmas with a plan. She said the puppies were ready to be weaned on Christmas. She and the girls would wash the puppies and bring them down, telling Dana “Santa delivered these to the wrong address.” Dana could choose from four Blue Merl females! It worked like a charm!

Even the old dogs have accepted the “new” kid. We’ve had fun with Pistol, except for the few “accidents” in my utility room!

Gators  After a month of blessed moisture, we were all getting a bit tired of the mud.   When it snowed last week, we were all glad to see something white and clean. After chores, the kids couldn’t wait to tie on to the Gator for a little snow time. I’m not sure who had more fun, the driver, the sledders or the Cow Audience!

Year End  Like most ranch wives, our job descriptions change daily depending on the priorities and agenda. Simply put, many of us fall between two categories this time of year: “a Mom who does the books” or “the Chief Financial Officer of a diversified livestock operation.” As I looked at my desk and the year-end financials, I realized this CFO was also managing laundry, cooking a crew meal and relaying information between my husband and accountant! That is the joy of being a ranch wife. . .you never have to find something to do!

We are thankful for our blessings of the past year and look forward with hope. Welcome 2015!

~ Julie

This really is a mess of books, but I choose to affectionately call it our special bedtime story spot.

One of the most special things I cherish with my 2 1/2 year old daughter is reading bedtime stories. I often think she will grow tired of it and refuse, but each night she has a lighted expression when I ask if she is ready to read books. Heck, if I can get away with it I may read her bed time stories until she graduates! We all know that is just a mom dreaming, but I will drag this shenanigan out as long as she will allow it. Our routine goes as follows: we march into her room, kick the cat out of the chair, she picks two or six books from an overflowing pile, then she chooses the order in which we read them. About a month ago she let ME pick out books, which of course are either approved or thrown out anyway, but I sure felt special! Finally, with Mesa on my lap, we fill the next 15-20 minutes with lovely stories. We have many favorite books but I have grouped a few that I am sure have passed the million times read milestone.

The neat thing about books is they all have a story besides the one that is written on their pages. Second hand books are especially my favorite. Many of Mesa’s have inscriptions on the inside cover that are addressed to friends or family, hand-me-downs from generations. There are even a few that have scribbles from when I was her age. One of her favorites (which I may have influenced) that is not pictured is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Who doesn’t love that book?!

These are just two that Santa will bring this year. I might have went a little crazy with ordering Mesa new books this Christmas. Eeeek! Its just so much fun!

“Once there was a tree…… And she loved little boy. And every day the boy would come
And he would gather her leaves And make them into crowns and play king of the forest.
He would climb up her trunk And swing from her branches And when he was tired, he
would sleep in her shade. And the boy loved the tree…..Very much,
And the tree was happy.”

She is “reading” Clifford the Big Red Dog, to herself. Anything to delay bedtime!

Now, sometimes there are circumstances that force a book to be removed from the pile of options. My own mother warned me about this, when she told me she almost had to hide One fish, Two fish, Red fish Blue fish from me as a child. That darn Fox in Sox book may just get the boot.

“Clocks on fox tick.
Clocks on Knox tock.
Six sick bricks tick.
Six sick chicks tock.”

Thankfully Mesa doesn’t choose it very often, but I will tell you it’s a tough read! It’s a thoroughly mental taxation that comes at the end of the day, no less. Sometimes I am tempted to get it for a baby shower gift just to spread the joy.

Although I was never the kid who read our high school geometry book front to back, I do believe there is some magic within these pages. The way a hard bound creaks as it’s opened, the musty smell of the pages, maybe some food droppings or a page corner folded, it is all irreplaceable. The probability of Mesa reading mostly online or from an electronic device as she grows up is very high, however I hope she will appreciate sitting down with ol’ Mom and reading from the tattered pages of a book.

Do you have a favorite book to read to your children? Or maybe a favorite book from your childhood? Please share!

Some of our current favorites. The bottom left book entitled Wombat, was a present to Mesa from our friends in Australia. Do you recognize any of these?

As for me, if I have any extra minutes before bed, I have been reading on this book. I found it at my local grocery store of all places. Very Interesting read.

~ Diana

Diana and her husband grew up farming and ranching. Now they own a crop and rangeland spraying business, and their own herd of cattle. Diana is a busy ranch wife and mom to a two-year-old little girl. When not helping with their spraying or cattle, she travels throughout north Idaho discussing feed programs with ranchers as a full-time feed consultant.

My sister-in-law made this neat little banner for our Thanksgiving meal.

Wow, it’s hard to believe it’s Dec. 2, but there really is no denying the calendar. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebrating with family and friends. I always enjoy this season. The sights, smells and sounds of the holidays bring a smile to my face. And while I offer thanks and praises every day; it’s still nice to have a day completely dedicated to showing gratitude for our many blessings.

I am thankful for a strong family. Not only did I grow up with a large, supportive family, but I gained many wonderful people into my life when I married. Through good times and bad, we are in it together and committed to making it all work. It’s like that with so many of Idaho’s ranching families. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and visiting with them over a cup a coffee. They love the land, their animals and their families. And whatever life throws at them, they just get back up and keep fighting for what they believe in.

Our little guy checking out the cows.

I am thankful for my husband and children. You never know how much you can love your spouse until you get all bundled up and go out to check heat on the cows in the middle of the night or help fix a fence in a blizzard because the cows got out (that was really early in our marriage). Our children provide us with moments of joy and laughter daily (and some times minutes of head shaking too). Truly though, I am thankful I get to be their mom because they continually inspire me to be better tomorrow than I am today. They are our future, our legacy.

I am thankful for my health. I know friends and family who are struggling now with various health setbacks, and I do not take for granted being physically fit and healthy. And beef is definitely part of my healthy lifestyle.

I am thankful to be part of a strong agriculture community. Being part of the food and fiber industry is not easy as so much is dependent on factors completely out of our control—like weather, markets and consumer demand. But I can’t think of an industry more noble or rewarding.

Hoping for lots of baby calves to hit the ground next year.

Speaking of what’s unpredictable. It snowed again here. Last week was quite mild, then boom, it’s winter again. Of all the weeks this month this was not the one my husband wanted snow. He’s been planning his schedule for breeding cows and this is the big week. He has done all the prep work, given the shots, synchronized them so they would come into heat at the same time, researched all the pedigrees, calculated the EPDs, purchased the bull semen, and spent many hours studying and planning. The weather is not on our side right now as it can affect the conception rate in cows. I’m hoping all his hard work will still pay off though. There is nothing so rewarding as seeing the new baby calves hit the ground (which will happen 9 months from now if all goes as planned).

But that is one thing with cattlemen and women. Even though the weather is not going as planned, we will still be thankful for the moisture. We will be thankful in all things—both big and small.

~ Maggie

Maggie and her husband raise their four children and registered cattle on his family’s southwest Idaho ranch. As a family, they enjoy sports, showing cattle, 4-H, church and other activities when not working on the ranch. She likes to experiment with recipes in the kitchen, shares her love of sweets through baking with her children, and has been known to start a DIY project every now and then. Sometimes she actually finishes one.