DAIRY GIRL GOES ROGUE CCA WELCOMES NEW STAFF MEMBER

by CCA Membership and Events Coordinator Gracie Machado

During my adolescent years, our entire lives were dedicated to our 300 dairy cows. This meant as a baby it was my duty to sit in the stroller and entertain myself while my mom tended to our dairy’s calves. This also meant that as I grew older I could play in the hay barns, sneak barn kittens into the house, name my favorite cows and put my handprints into any new concrete that was poured. The dairy industry provided me with a rich childhood where I learned what compassion, love for your work and selflessness service meant. I also learned how unforgiving the dairy industry is, and as hard as it was, selling our cows turned out to be the best move for our family in 2011.

The haybarn I once played in was now empty, and my handprints in the concrete were filled in with dirt, but I still had the opportunity to be involved in 4-H and FFA where I took on many different leadership roles and showed a variety of animals throughout the years including hogs, dairy heifers and beef cattle at the local county fair. My dairy roots held strong as I served as the District 4 Dairy Princess for California Milk Advisory Board during my senior year of high school. With that title came the job of traveling across the state of California advocating for the California dairy industry. At age 16, I bought my first beef cow/calf pair at the auction yard. They were an ugly little pair but cheap enough for 16-year-old Gracie’s pocketbook so I took them home and threw them on my parent’s pasture with their herd of beef cattle.

High school came and went and as I aged into adulthood, college was the first thing on my mind. I ultimately decided to attend the University of California Davis (UC Davis), where I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems with an emphasis in food and society in March 2023. College came with its own challenges, but I found my people while working in the campus’s meat lab and as a resident at the beef barn and feedlot. During the years I spent at Davis, I learned even more about the beef industry from start to slaughter and grew to be a passionate advocate.

After college, I went to work at my family’s USDA and state-inspected slaughterhouse located in Orland. One of my jobs was to spend my Thursdays down at Orland Livestock Commission Yard buying cattle for the business. On these days, I had the privilege of building relationships and learning from cattlemen that are idols to me.

That ratty old beef cow I bought at 16 years old provided me with so much, and I was able to pick up a few more cows and have my own little herd waiting for me back home after graduation. While I always swore off cowboys, I am blessed to be making plans to marry one in December of this year. Together, we are beyond excited to dive deeper into the industry, strengthen our knowledge, and grow our herd.

The passion and gratitude I have for all cattle is undeniable. Although I may be straying from my dairy roots, I am thrilled start my career at the California Cattlemen’s Association as your new membership and events coordinator. I look forward to meeting all our members and continuing to fight for the California cattle industry that has shaped me into who I am today.

As we are now in the full throngs of the fall season, I hope you will join me at the CCA & CCW Convention the first week of December. You can find our more about the schedule for this year's event on page 36.

Jake Parnell ......................... 916-662-1298

George Gookin 209-482-1648

Rex Whittle......................... 209-996-6994

Mark Fischer ....................... 209-768-6522

Kris Gudel 916-208-7258

Steve Bianchi .................... 707-484-3903

Jason Dailey ....................... 916-439-7761

Brett Friend .......................... 510-685-4870

Tod Radelfinger 775-901-3332

Bowdy Griffen ................... 530-906-5713 WEDNESDAY

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER 8 • NOVEMBER 15

Fax 209-745-1582