WINTER 2021
THE AMERICAN CATTLEWOMAN
What does today’s CattleWoman “look like”? An American National CattleWoman is a strong, enthusiastic woman, willing to stand up for what she believes in. She is equally at home on a ranch, in a meeting, at a social function, or a legislative venue. She is not necessarily a farm or ranch woman, but she is someone who strongly supports the cattle industry and America’s Agricultural heritage through education and promotion. Header Photo Credit: Kasey Wallace, Blue Windmill Photography
THE AMERICAN CATTLEWOMAN Beef On The Table
Evelyn Greene ANCW President Auburn, Alabama
“You know what the secret of life is?... One thing. You stick to that and the rest of it don’t mean squat.” - Curley, City Slickers
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am not sure that we have the secret to life. But as cattlewomen, we have figured out what that “one thing” is for us. It is to promote beef. We do it in a lot of different forums and venues, but we do this “one thing” very well. If you have ever watched the movie City Slickers, you know that it is about a bunch of clueless city slickers going on a cattle drive and learning what it takes to bring in a herd. The “city slickers” are also taught that a relationship exists between the producer and the cattle. They also learn that meat in the grocery store comes from animals; these animals are bred to produce food and the food-producing animals are not an endangered species. Most of us will never host a dude ranch cattle drive, but we can teach those on the “outside” that beef production is not done haphazardly or by those who do not care about their animals. We can also remind them that we are consumers too. We do one thing and we do it well, that is to promote beef. I am very honored to be able to serve the American National CattleWomen for a second year as President. I consider it a blessing every day to able to be part of a
strong women’s organization that supports my passion. During my two years as the American National CattleWomen’s President, Alltech has graciously agreed to be my sponsor for the delivery of our message. Alltech is headquartered in Kentucky and focuses on improving the health and performance of people, animals and plants through nutrition and scientific innovation world-wide. Their vision is firmly planted in agriculture and they recognize agriculture as the greatest potential to shape the future of our planet. Alltech’s theme is ‘Working together for a PLANET OF PLENTY’. This theme focuses around producing enough safe, nutritious food for all, while caring for our animals, and sustaining our land, air, and water for future generations. Alltech’s theme of a Planet of Plenty fits ‘hand-in-glove’ with the theme I have chosen for my 2020 and 2021 presidential years with the American National Cattlewomen. My theme is #Beef4Generations. Beef has been on the dinner table throughout our history in modern society. When humankind transitioned from being hunters and gathers to farmers and ranchers, efficiency of our food supply chain increased. As farming and ranching developed, beef became a staple on the plate. We must step forward and stand tall to fight the fight as beef continues to be a foundation protein for generations to come. We have a lot to do as an association and industry now and in the years to come to provide #beef4generations. This is a great industry, and we have a great story to tell about what we are doing and why we are doing it. If we do not take our message to the consuming public, someone else will.
Header Photo Credit: Kasey Wallace, Blue Windmill Photography
THE AMERICAN CATTLEWOMAN THE AMERICAN NATIONAL CATTLEWOMEN, INC. IS THE VOICE FOR WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES BEEF CATTLE INDUSTRY.
The American CattleWoman is published quarterly - Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. The American CattleWoman is designed to promote and develop ANCW programs and membership. It is a newsletter published to inform and serve the membership and to interest individuals in the American National CattleWomen, Inc. association.
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B e e f O n T h e T a b l e ( c o n t .) If we are to have #Beef4Generations, it will take all of us – individuals and organizations – to continue putting beef on the table. Think about this motto in life, “if it is meant to be, it is up to me”. Mark your calendars and get your guitars ready to “Tune in to Tennessee” for the cattle industry summer business meetings, annual convention and NCBA trade show 2021 in Nashville, TN at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. The ANCW meetings are scheduled for August 8-10th and NCBA meetings are scheduled for August 10-12th. There will be something for everyone at #CattleCon21. See you down the trail and remember #beef4generations. - Evelyn Greene, ANCW President
H e r e W e G o , C att l e W o m e n !
https://convention.ncba.org/general-information Please Join us in Tennessee for our 2021 American National CattleWomen Annual Meetings. We so excited to see you ladies there! - Your 2021 ANCW Executive Team
NCBA L i v e C att l e M a r k e t i n g C o m m i tt e e February 3, 2021 - Virtual Zoom meeting s the chairman, Jim Fryer called the meeting to order and the usual business was approved we moved right into a House Agriculture update. Parrish Braden, Republican Staff Director of the House Committee on Agriculture, said there obviously is a change in the tide. As many committees and appointments are still vacant, we can plan to see much talk about broadband for Rural America, Climate Change and the Farm Bill. He spoke again of the importance of grassroots associations and to be involved in them. Expect overreach in our industry and be ready to act when called upon. Dan Close and Steve Nicholson, both of Rabo AgriFinance, spoke to the volatile global friction that is happening here on U.S. Soil. Land will be very valuable to grow crops that are the most desirable and in high demand. Don spoke about knowing our value to other countries, as well as their value to us. We need to be on terms of trade, in all aspects of agriculture. There are trade barriers that will be hard to over come, especially with the new administration. We must keep in mind we don’t have to like someone to trade with them. Jerry Bohn, NCBA President and chairman of the working group/sub group, spoke about new slaughter facilities in the west being built and expedited to give relief to ranchers. The committee has come up with a 75 plan. It is a reporting system from the packing plants, as well as cattle trading. This is a starting point to collect data so the rancher can be represented. This is a working group and they are moving froward with the reporting system they have implemented. It had only been in place four weeks at the time of the meeting. Tanner Beymer, NCBA Staff Liaison, gave an update on the uncertainty of the administration. As we still have many influential elected officials in office, we, as an industry will be under attack from many angles. Many details of committee bills that we need to be aware of were addressed as well. CFAP and CFAP2 happened with the help and leadership of the NCBA looking for relief for the American agriculture family. Much of the success and the ability to be heard on Capitol Hill is because of the power of our PAC. Tanner spoke of the importance of this and also stated that 95% of the donations made went to people that were successful in there campaign. This is a very intense committee with so much detail to specific issues. If this interests you, I encourage you to look on the NCBA website for more details on these issues and to take heed to the alerts that come from our legislative chairmen.
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- Reba Mazak ANCW President-Elect Florida
PC: Rockin’ EM Photography
ANCW S p o n so r s h i p S p ot l i g h t
U p c o m i n g WIRED E v e n t D at e s Look for a WIRED Event near you! ~ June 10 - South Dakota July 16-18 - Elko, Nevada July 24 - Minnesota
ANCW WIRED U p dat e
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merican National CattleWomen will be partnering with three host states in 2021 to present a WIRED (Women In Ranching Education and Development) event. The goal of WIRED is to provide educational workshops and symposia that allow women to stay informed about new issues in the beef industry, improve confidence in themselves, and gain the tools and information needed to make management decisions while networking with their friends, neighbors, and new acquaintances. Each event is tailored by the host state to meet the needs of CattleWomen in their region. SOUTH DAKOTA: The South Dakota WIRED event will be held on June 10th, 2021 near Sioux Falls, SD. The day will begin with breakfast and flow into break-out sessions. Hands-on demonstrations will include cattle handling, chute-side processing and manners, along with vaccine handling and assessments. Additional breakout sessions including basic nutrition, resource management, and marketing will also be available.
July 24, 2021
The day will conclude with a meal and more fellowship. More information will be coming soon and we hope that you can join us in June. MINNESOTA: The Minnesota WIRED event will be hosted by the Mouser Hereford farm on July 24, 2021 in Tenstrike, MN. The day will begin with a hearty breakfast and quickly move groups through hands-on workshops. Workshops include: working with cattle, pen design options, calf processing, chute side manners - vaccine handling, doctoring, and branding. We will have breakout sessions on pasture management, marketing, and custom beef sales as well. Each attendee will leave this event BQA certified. The day will end with a relaxing dinner and plenty of time to share ideas and visit. Please visit mncattlewomen. org for more information and registration. We look forward to seeing you all in July!
WOMEN IN RANCHING Education and Development
Mouser Hereford's Tenstrike, MN
Cattle Handling > Pen Design > Chute Side Manners > Calf Processing > Forage Management > Record Keeping > Marketing Options > DNA Testing > Leadership and Advocacy
For more information: mncattlewomen.org Photo by Joe Ahlquist
ANCW F ou n dat i o n U p dat e
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he American National CattleWomen Foundation hosted their winter meeting via conference call on February 2, 2021. The trustees want to again thank everyone for their generous donations - they allow the support of several wonderful projects and programs. We are sponsoring the Emerging Leaders Workshop and Luncheon, planned for Nashville, Tennessee. We are waiting to announce the recipient of the Collegiate CattleWomen Scholarship to attend the Cattle Industry Convention as an intern, until closer to the new meeting dates in August. We received three outstanding applications. The Foundation created a new scholarship for State Beef Ambassadors. The application deadline was December 1st, however no applications were submitted. We want to remind all the state presidents, that still host a contest, to share the scholarship information with their state beef ambassador committee. We once again will be offering the Legacy Scholarship for students pursuing an agricultural degree. The deadline to apply is May 1st. Applications will be available on the website. The beautiful cattle note cards we printed are selling well. If you need any, send an email to ancwfoundation@gmail.com. The cost is $15, plus shipping. They were recently used in Nevada as thank-you replies for the 4-H livestock buyers. This was a great idea for the use of the cards. We would like to remind everyone to select the Foundation as your choice for Amazon Smile - more information is available on the website. This past year, the funds we received back from Amazon increased substantially. Everyone must be shopping online more! We also met our goal of $500 for the network of Giving Tuesday and received notification from Facebook that our donations have been matched. Once again we thank everyone who supports the foundation with their memorials and donation. Please consider including the foundation in your estate planning. - Kristy L. Lage, Nebraska President | ANCW Foundation P.O. Box 5 | Arthur, NE 69121 #308-764-2372 | cell #9946
H i l l C ou n t ry R a n c h W o m a n C r e at e s a T e x a s L e g ac y o f S u p p o rt a n d E du c at i o n : T h e B i rt h o f t h e W o m e n ’ s R a n c h S e m i na r
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indsay Alexander, a young ranch woman from the small town of Cherokee in the Hill Country of Texas had an idea - to have a Women’s Ranch Seminar. The first of its kind in the state and a way to support women in a field that traditionally is seen as a man’s occupation. Lindsay is an active member of the Hill Country CattleWomen and is always looking for ways to further support the beef industry, the community and women as they take on new challenges.
many women in the industry needed an educational opportunity targeted to practical information and ways to navigate the ranching industry. We did not set out to give everyone all the information, we set out to put them in contact with the people that could teach and educate. Several of the ladies could not afford many of the more expensive educational events put on in our area, so by making our event free we were able to truly serve our community.”
In the spring of 2016, Lindsay had a dear friend, recently widowed, she invited to a Hill Country CattleWomen’s meeting in Mason, TX. During lunch, the friend asked her what resources the CattleWomen had to help her navigate her changing roles from inactive to actively managing their family ranch. Lindsay notes, “Not able to think of any we had, I walked over to our then President, Vicki Miller, and asked her why we didn’t have any resources or materials for educating women on practical aspects of the industry. Being the leader Vicki is, she looked at me and said, ‘Well I don’t know, but we should. Why don’t you put something together and we will do it.’” The HCCW Women’s Ranch Seminar was born.
“One great story came from our second seminar,” Lindsay continued. “Now, this was passed on to me third-hand so I do not want to inaccurately quote the details. So I will make it general. Some sisters that attended our event had a vet that came out to their ranch to help with a downed cow and the vet told them to just let the cow die. Well, these ladies had attended the seminar earlier that year and still had our resource handbook. They called the vet that had been a speaker at the seminar and brought their cow to her. The vet was able to save the cow and calf. What a great story of connections made and opportunities taken.”
Lindsay submitted a detailed proposal to the HCCW Executive Committee in June of that year. Then she formed a committee. The first Women’s Ranch Seminar Committee included Lindsay Alexander, as committee chair, Vicki Miller, then President of the HCCW, Janis Stiefel, Peggy Matli, Mary Krebs, Frederica Foster, Fran Hawkins, Jeanie Ahrens, Dianne Staudt, and Misty Martin - who worked for the Texas Beef Council at the time. Lindsay further explains, “The first seminar was encouraging and eye-opening to realize how
The first seminar in February of 2017 had 200 people RSVP. It was held free of charge and included a beef lunch provided and prepared by the Texas Beef Council. Of the attendees, 95% were women. A resource booklet and goodie bag containing additional information and tools for ranchers were given to each participant. The Hill Country CattleWomen and industry partners donated time and funds to ensure the event would be successful and free to participants. Subsequent events have also included a small trade show with industry partners to enhance the event and aid in offsetting the cost.
H i l l C ou n t ry R a n c h ... ( c o n t .)
NCBA F e d e r a l L a n ds C o m m i tt e e U p dat e
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s you all are aware, the amount of property, public and private, burned in 2020 was a vast amount. It so happened that if you vacated your homestead you would not be able to reenter until the fire was put out. With that acknowledgement, you basically left your animals to fend for themselves. That is why so many ranchers stayed to protect their homesteads and livestock. If you visit with the producers, you will find that a lot of them did not vacate for that very reason. The ask was put forth to the Department of the Interior to help the producer protect and care for their animals during a fire. It will be interesting to see what will come as a result of those talks. The committee would at least appreciate a range specialist being on hand to answer their questions about the fires while burning. Once again, the management of wild horses and burros was discussed again. The only information coming out was that it is very costly to gather the animals. There are four public off-range feedlots, some which are private. 53,000 animals are being fed. It uses 64% of the yearly budget. Long term challenges are fertility control. On the bright side, they did place around 2,400 animals this past year. It will be a wait-and-see with the new administration as to what they put forth in the way of new policies.
- Wanda Pinnow
ANCW Past President Montana
Photo Credit: AFP, Getty Images
K a n s a s S tat e U n i v e r s i t y C o l l e g i at e C att l e W o m e n
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hen thinking of the agricultural industry, many may look at it as a male-dominated industry, which they would be correct. Historically, this industry has been paved through by the men of the world. But, with the growing rise of popularity, the agriculturists are starting to see women joining the always-developing business. That is one of the main purposes of Collegiate Cattlewomen at Kansas State University. Our goal includes the promotion of prosperity and inclusiveness of the agricultural industry. We do so through various events we hold throughout the year. These events include working with the youth at Junior Beef Days and the Kansas Junior Livestock Association show, creating relationships with local farmers and ranchers at various networking events, broadening our knowledge of different farm and ranch operations through Fall and Spring tours, and selling our “EAT BEEF” merchandise at numerous youth stock shows and other events. Our biggest occasion every year would have to be the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Convention, which is what the women of the club are working to attend every year. This event is the best time to develop connections with professionals from all around the country and to learn more about different operations outside of the Midwest.
With a membership number that has been steadily growing since the creation of the club in 1996, we can see that our promotion has been greatly impacting the women at Kansas State University to want to do the same. We now have a total of 37 members in our club. This may not seem like much, but it allows for us to be a more intimate club while also allowing for the members to get to work our events more - leading to a better chance of making a connection with a professional in the industry. Our membership includes girls from all different types of backgrounds, most of which are continuing their education in the College of Agriculture. This would be the other main goal of Collegiate Cattlewomen: to give our members the tools they need to become successful women in the agricultural community. All in all, Collegiate Cattlewomen at Kansas State University is helping give rise to successful women in the forevergrowing agricultural industry that has been dominated by men for centuries, and memberships all over the country are doing the same. - Ashlyn Stevenson President KSU Collegiate CattleWomen
NCBA I n t e r nat i o na l T r a d e C o m m i tt e e 2021 U p dat e
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CBA’s international Trade Committee meeting was held via a zoom meeting this year due to Covid concerns and restrictions. The important topics to be discussed this year included NCBA trade policy updates, the economic opportunities for the United Kingdom in a Post Brexit Era, and finally, opportunities for US Beef in the UK.
argue that it is necessary that US-negotiated trade agreements are not amended by Congress which could undermine the credibility of US trade negotiators and unravel a final agreement. Currently, the present Congress may seek to influence the size and scope of future trade agreements under TPA, but no other considerations have been made.
A huge bonus for US trade was getting US Beef on a level playing field with Australia and other competitors when it comes to tariffs imposed on US Beef. Another bonus was a China deal that, if implemented would provide US exporters of beef, pork, and poultry, as well as live breeding cattle with expanded access to China’s rapidly growing market. The USMCA was ratified and implemented which helped increase US export dollars. Sales for US Beef through November equaled $6.9 billion, which were down by 7% compared to 2020.
October 2020 was the first time in 24 years that beef produced in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales) was cleared for export and sales in the US. 1996 was the year that BSE (mad cow disease) shut down red meat imports to the US from the EU. The British politicians and food industry leaders have hailed the change as a victory for British agriculture. Issues of concern yet to be remedied are environmental concerns, labor, animal welfare, and AMR (antimicrobial resistance). The UK is looking forward to working with US officials as US beef is introduced back into their food markets.
Last year at the 2020 Conference NCBA members from this committee discussed and voted to approve the transparency of labeling for the marketing of US Beef. A working group consisting of grassroots cattle raisers investigated US Beef product labeling in grocery stores to determine how labels might misinform consumers. Due to the results of this study, NCBA supports the voluntary source of verified origin labeling for all sales outlets. The Trade Promotion Authority(TPA), which gives the President added leverage to negotiate certain international trade agreements by effectively assuring US trade partners that final agreements will be given timely and unamended consideration. The TPA was first enacted in the 113th Congress and has been renewed four times. It was due to run out on June 30, 2020. Supporters of TPA
When working with the EU, US beef exporters are looking to harness the benefits of science-based trade and welfare practices of US livestock production. The EU however, embraces a philosophy called the “Precautionary Principles.” These Precautionary Principles consider science as a secondary factor in determining their rapid response to address any possible danger to human, animal, plant health, or to protect the environment. These ‘better safe than sorry” principles can be used to “stop distribution or order withdrawal from the market of products considered to be likely hazardous. Staying ahead of the EU’s ever changing Precautionary Principles will certainly become a challenge to future US Beef exports. The WTO (World Trade Organization) is looking to reform and implement changes
NCBA I n t e r nat i o na l T r a d e C o m m i tt e e 2021 U p dat e that will urge its members to begin serious efforts for improvement. There are presently 164 member nations that compose the WTO, the four largest trade partners being the EU, US, China, and Japan. Mainly the WTO wishes to represent its members’ collaborative efforts working to spur trade and curb trade restrictions for import and export goods. So far, the response from member nations has been weak or nonresponsive. Economic opportunities are what we like to see in US Beef trade! The American Beef Industry is enjoying a revised duty-free quota for US beef in Europe. The agreement reached between US and EU trade officials is that the US’ quota for trade would start at 18,500mt in 2020 and increase annually until reaching 35,000mt in year seven. The USMEF is encouraged by the progress that has been made thus far. - Ruth Coffey Director, Region IV Oklahoma Photo Credit: Southeast AgNET
MONTANA CATTLEWOMEN OFFICER CONTACT UPDATE ~ President: Sarah Swenson | as_Swenson@msn.com 750 W G Rd, Huntley, MT 59037 ~ Pres-Elect: Jill Herold | jillanal1980@gmail.com 7100 Eagle Bend Blvd, Shepherd, MT 59079
Women In Leadership D e v e lo p m e n t (WILD) U p dat e he WILD Committee hopes that many of you will take part in the region T meetings. President-Elect Reba Mazak will be giving a presentation on WILD. We had six ANCW members come together to create an educational PowerPoint. We hope that after the state presidents attend their region meetings, they will be able to take the presented information back to their states for dispersal.
I want to thank the ladies for their contributions to make WILD possible. Shirley Thompson, South Dakota, Social Media; Nikki Weston, Utah, Empowerment; Sheila Bowen, California, Giving a Confident Presentation; Leslee Lorenz, Colorado, Meeting and Parliamentar y Procedure; Staci Emm, Nevada, Conflict Management; and Wanda Pinnow, Montana, Talking to Your Legislators. As you can see this presentation will cover many informative topics. Please make plans to attend your region meetings. - Wanda Pinnow
ANCW Past President Montana
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NCBA A g & F ood P o l i c y U p dat e - Call to Order; Approval of Agenda; Approval of 2020 NCBA Summer Business Meeting Minutes Federal Inspection, State Inspection and Options for Interstate Commerce Robert Bane Federal Inspection: In-plant inspection personnel must inspect and pass every meat carcass intended for commerce and verify compliance with regulatory requirements related to sanitation and establishment food safety systems - Went over how to apply for federal grant of inspection - Process for obtaining grant of inspection: - Two written food safety plans: - SSOPs and HACCP - On-site review of the establishment and documents - Support links for small businesses - 27 states that currently have MPI (meat & poultry inspection) programs that are at least equal to FSIS inspection laws - There are seven states that are in a CIS program, which is where they can sell across state lines. (has to be an MPI state first) - Have to have less than 25 employees - There is financial assistance via grants and loans available through USDA Rural Development and the CARES Act funding Securing the Future of the Beef Industry: Protecting Against Activist Threats Hannah Thompson-Weeman - Mission: bridging the communication gap between farm & fork - Difference between animal rights and animal welfare - policy makers/legislatures/restaurants/media are being targeted by animal rights activism, a $550 million industry - activist groups are targeting employees and targeting transportation, doing whatever means necessary to free animals/stop production/etc. They are applying for jobs, befriending employees, going to the homes of producers, and starting to get really aggressive, such as using Project Counterglow, which uses Google Maps to find publicly available information (addresses/phone numbers/aerial views of property) and encouraging people to trespass - What you can do: - Make farm a harm target: locks, cameras, ‘no trespassing’ signs, etc. - Let people know and report when suspicious activity occurs Consideration of New Policy- none Consideration of New Business - none - Jess Trask Nevada
P ro p e rt y R i g h ts a n d E n v i ro n m e n ta l M a nag e m e n t (PREM) U p dat e
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he Property Rights and Environmental Management policy committee meeting was held virtually on February 2, 2020. The first speaker was Dr. Jason Sawyer, an Associate Professor and Research Scientist for the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management. He focused on beef cattle and their role in the carbon cycle, focusing particularly on moving beef towards being perceived as climate positive. Dr. Sawyer shared his thoughts on the terminology that is often used to discuss sustainability and emissions. Methane emissions are energy being lost during production and by reducing emissions we can reduce beef ’s environmental footprint while potentially increasing production efficiency for producers. Beef cattle cannot be eliminated without forsaking the critical capacity to upcycle inedible feedstuffs. A major method to increasing beef cattle production focuses on improving grazing lands. Carbon dioxide is the most influential gas to any grazing lands and by increasing their productivity this would potentially increase carbon sequestration, increase the longevity of stands and soil loss, and better manage carbon emissions and grasslands. This potential for improving grasslands would be a benefit to production and improve the perception of beef production as climate positive. As a beef community, we must help to clarify the role that methane truly plays in global warming and work to reduce beef cattle emissions of methane. The second focus should be assessing carbon storage in our grasslands. This would include measuring how much removal of carbon is required in addition to assessing the current carbon storage in our present systems. According to Dr. Sawyer, the beef community’s contribution to atmospheric methane is very small and gross emissions are misleading due to the current way that the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of gases are measured.
In summary, climate positive beef systems are feasible. The current systems may be climate neutral to positive in aggregate, depending on the systme boundaries.The use of GWP (Global Warming Potential) warming equivalence for methane reduces stated emissions intensity of beef by 50% immediately. It is possible to be climate positive in 30 years. In addition, current grassland carbon uptake within the system boundary would conclude that beef has been climate postive since 1986. There is a report coming out in 2022 GWP* for short lived climate pollutants. The scientific community is ahead of the general population in acceptance (GWP Star vs GWP 100) The current GWP 100 allows the public to focus on gross emissions, however this does not take into consideration the shorter lived gases like Methane. It would be an expectation that there has not been a lot validation or rigorous review of the older data that is being used to make climate change recommendations. Many industries would benefit from a more in depth and accurate review of the methane/carbon measurements including the Beef industry. The remainder of our committee time was focused on feedback from Scott Yager, the NCBA Chief Environmental Counsel and Mary-Thomas Hart, another member of the NCBA Environmental Counsel. Discussion focused primarily on the potential players that would be most likely filling positions in the new Biden administration. The new administration is expected to focus heavily on the environment. There will be continued focus on the progression of litigation including WOTUS/NWPR, NEPA, ESA, and ERCRA. The spotlight will more than likely turn towards agency rule making for this administration. - Shirley Thompson Director, Region VII South Dakota
R e g i o n II
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s our 2020 calendar year came to an end, we can truly say it will be a year to remember in our lifetime and our grandchildren’s. As I talked with each Region II State President about how their state CattleWomen’s Association had been doing through these very difficult times, it was evident that each state had its own challenges with cancellations and postponements of events. I believe as CattleWomen we have such a passion and desire to make sure that, even in a pandemic, consumers continue to hear our story about our families’ lives and the importance of the beef we produce. Each state was a little different in the capacity they were able to promote and educate with their limited travel and gathering restrictions. I am so proud to say that every Region II State CattleWomen’s Association was able to find their own unique niche-way to be creative and adapt to continue to get the beef message out. We are definitely a resilient and determined group of ladies! ANCW Region II has a lot to be proud of in their accomplishments in this most challenging past year. With the Alabama CattleWomen’s reins currently held by President Bea Jai Merriman, they were able to continue to raise money for their scholarship funds and to post information about beef on social media. ACWA was recently able to have a wonderful face-to-face meeting with their ladies. These ladies felt very blessed to be able to be in each other’s presence, especially after the difficulties of gathering in this past year. The Florida CattleWomen were able to continue several of their traditions with their annual clay shoot fundraiser for scholarships being a big success. FCW’s Beef for the Holidays Christmas giftgiving to the Hope Children’s home was a little different this year. However, through generosity, they were still able to raise over $5,000 for Beef Certificates for the children’s home. They have been able to hold a number of activities as FCW President Casie Holloway has included a series of ranch tours. They participated in Wreaths Across America and were able to hold their annual beef short course under the direction of President-Elect Michele Curts. The short course had a wonderful turnout and was a great success! The Georgia CattleWomen took this time to create an amazing new website to help promote their organization in a fresh new light. It has been a pleasure over the past few years to work with the past GCWA President, Theresa Molle, and look forward to working with their incoming president, Terri Parker. GCWA has also been able to continue their Cattle Drive for Hunger program. In this, they have been able to make presentations to various soup kitchens and organizations. Unfortunately due to the COVID situation, all the plans that we had worked on with Ms. Hailey Robinson for the 2020 Region II meeting that was to be held at the University of Georgia had to be postponed to 2021.
R e g i o n II In speaking with Louisiana CattleWomen’s Mrs. Sylvia Trahan, she expressed how they had not been able to do much either. The state of Louisiana was still in a standstill. With the challenges of schools being closed for promotion and education, they were at least able to have field days virtually. Mrs. Sylvia expressed that their state convention had been canceled, as many others’ had, and that it had just been a hard year for Louisiana. The Tennessee CattleWomen President Madison Martin is very proud as they have created a new logo to showcase their association, they were able to work on their membership during these times and expressed they were looking for new ways to give their members something they can get behind and look forward to doing! They were able to grow their level of sponsorship for their youth programs. They were also able to hold a free online cooking event (Galentines) with the Tennessee Beef Industry Council and had a great reception to this event! ANCW Region II had a wonderful Region II meeting that was set up to be held in the spring of 2020 in the great state of Georgia but unfortunately it had to also be postponed due to the restrictions of the pandemic situation. The Georgia CattleWomen are currently working on a possible virtual Region II meeting to be held spring of 2021. (TBD) The Georgia CattleWomen are also looking at possibly hosting a WIRED event in the Fall of 2021 and will keep you posted on updates. Philippians 4:13 - “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” - Debbie Gill Director, Region II Florida
Region V
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OIN US – Region V will be meeting April 29 – May 1 in Pendleton, OR, hosted by OR and WA CattleWomen. We will be meeting in conjunction with the Cattle Baron’s Weekend. The weekend will kick off with a Walla Walla wine and ranch tour on Thursday (additional cost) and a Welcome Reception that evening. We will hear ANCW updates from President-Elect Reba Mazak, have guest speakers Marji Alaniz, Farm Her- RFDTV, and Tammy Denny, OR Cattlemen’s Executive Director. Reba will also present ANCW’s new program WILD, Women in Leadership Development. Also, our region business meeting with election of representatives to committees and a new Region Director – all to assume positions in 2022, and some ‘surprises’! Our activities will conclude after lunch Saturday. The barbecue dinner and lunch at the Beef Cook-Off is funded by the Beef CheckOff program and the Oregon Beef Council. Spend the Saturday afternoon on your own or with some friends shopping and/or exploring the Pendleton area. Or catch one of the ranch rodeos, stock dog trials or the large vendor trade show – all included in your registration! Local points of interest include Pendleton Center for the Arts and Crows Shadow Institute of the Arts. Pendleton Underground Tours feature the history of Pendleton and a tour through the tunnels and the brothels. (Wikipedia: Pendleton, OR) Pendleton Cattle Baron’s Weekend was created in honor of the region’s cattlemen and ranchers and their legacy. It’s an annual celebration of the region’s ranching roots. One hundred percent of the proceeds of the weekend create scholarships for regional students attending college and majoring in agriculture. (cattlebarons.net) So plan on joining us and making a mini-vacation at the same time. For registration and hotel information, go to orcattlewomen.org. - Angela Whitlock Director, Region V Wyoming
ANCW 2021 N o m i nat i n g C o m m i tt e e
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he Nominating committee inter viewed the candidates by Zoom m e e t i n g s . We h a d f o u r m e m b e r s i n t e r v i e w f o r t h e t w o o p e n p o s i t i o n s o f t h e M e m b e r A t - L a r g e f o r t h e B o a r d o f D i re c t o r s . Yo u r M e m b e r s A t L a r g e a r e : C h a i r - S h e i l a B o w e n , C a l i f o r n i a ; V i c e - C h a i r - K a s e y Wa l l a c e , I o w a ; S u e M o s s e r, N o r t h D a ko t a ; a n d K a h l a M i l l s , Wyo m i n g . We h a d o n l y o n e m e m b e r i n t e r v i e w f o r t h e C o l l e g i a t e M e m b e r A t - L a r g e : G i n a Tr a n , U n i ve r s i t y o f F l o r i d a . I t w a s v o t e d o n f o r t h e t w o M e m b e r s A t - L a r g e o f t h e N o m i n a t i n g C o m m i t t e e t o b e : J oy K i n s e y, N o r t h D a ko t a , a n d E d e n M i l l e r, F l o r i d a . The Nominating committee did not conduct inter views for the ANCW O f f i c e r s . A m o t i o n w a s p u t f o r t h f ro m t h e N o m i n a t i n g C o m m i t t e e , d u r i n g s u m m e r c o n f e re n c e 2 0 2 0 , t o a l l o w t h e c u r r e n t P r e s i d e n t E v e l y n G re e n e , c u r r e n t P re s i d e n t - E l e c t R e b a M a z a k , a n d c u r r e n t V i c e P r e s i d e n t P a m G r i f f i n t o re m a i n i n o f f i c e f o r o n e m o r e y e a r. T h e r e a s o n f o r t h i s i s d u e t o C OV I D d e r a i l i n g t h e p l a n s f o r A N C W E xe c u t i v e o u t r e a c h l a s t y e a r. Our officer team did not get the opportunity to meet the members at the state or region meetings. - Wanda Pinnow ANCW Past President Montana
K-12 E du c at i o n U p dat e
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ongratulations to Rebecca, Sheridan and Rianna Chaney on the success of their Book #9 in the Chaney Twins’ series being named the 2021 “Ag Book of the Year” by the Wyoming Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers. “Better Together… Digging It” will be the final book in their series. The Chaney Twins’ books have won multiple awards for ag literacy in the several years. Working through Covid has required us to be resourceful. The challenge of virtual learning has been difficult for teachers, students, parents and cattlewomen. But, as cattlewomen, we rise up to any situation and make things happen. With our schools closed to in-person learning across the country, we have come up with programs which require thinking outside of the standard classroom lessons. We have the ability to hold outside school at the best schools I can think of - our own farms and ranches. Some have done virtual lessons taking students around the ranches sharing our cattle, showing off our latest calves, tables full of by-products, beef cuts charts, and reading books (more on the book reading later). The Montana BEEF Council has even been doing TV spots called “Cowboy in the Kitchen”. Now is the time to connect with your local favorite teacher. Offer her a learning tour “Beef is Best”.
A unit in California set up a preschool with “Country Round Up Days”. A twoday event, where the unit set up outside stations with hands-on equipment and lesson plans. The branding station had pipe cleaners, stick horses and roping dummies. Before the event, a meeting was held with the teacher explaining each station, along with an instruction sheet on how the station worked. The unit set up the stations with no student contact on the outdoor playground. The teacher then guided the students to each station. BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS Chaney Twins book series Order the new award-winning book, or complete 9-book bundle by visiting: www.rebeccalongchaney.com. California Ranch Raised Kids - As They See Themselves Seth Joel & Charlie Holland Beautiful Photography. Can order by visiting: www.cattlewomen.org. The Soil Quilt Amanda Radke This is Amanda’s newest book. Fun story about learning about the soil in our farmland pastures. Beautifully illustrated. Can order by visiting: amanda.radke@live.com - Debbie Torres Chair K-12 Education Committee California
B e e f R e c i p e S p ot l i g h t M omma ’ s S low C ooker P ot R oast E den M iller
I ngredients : - 1 well - marbled chuck roast (3-5 lbs ) - seasoning of choice for beef - 1 small bag of baby carrots - 1 - 2 bunches of D andy celery ( sliced 1/4 inch ) - 5-8 small red potatoes ( or less if larger red potatoes ) ( sliced into 2- inch chunks ) - 1 sweet onion ( sliced ) - 2 drizzles of olive oil ( about 2 tablespoons - 1/4 cup W orcestershire sauce
each )
1. Turn the slow cooker on low heat (6+ hours ) or high heat (4+ hours ). O ptional !! — You can sear the roast to brown either side - Momma sometimes does, but I never do . 2. D rizzle olive oil on either side of the roast and rub into coat thoroughly , even on sides . 3. S eason the roast with your favorite beef seasoning (E verglades , J ane ’ s C razy M ixed -U p S alt , T ony C hachere ’ s C reole S easoning , or G arlic S alt , etc .) 4. I like to place the roast at the bottom and put all the vegetables on top - you can do the opposite if you ’ d like ! 5. P our W orcestershire sauce over all ingredients in the slow cooker . 6. S prinkle some more seasoning over vegetables and everything in the slow cooker and shut the lid ! 7. D epending on what heat seating ( low / high ) you put it on , you ’ ll know when it ’ s done by the smell ... or at least I like to do so just as my great grandmother A nna D uda did ! (A lso , the carrots won ’ t be hard anymore and roast will have a rich pink color on the inside - not too done !) 8. S erve over rice , egg noodles , or plain ! B eef speaks for itself – it ’ s great without any base ! 9. E njoy hot with some fresh cornbread or biscuits !
S tay i n g C o n n e c t e d
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his month marks one full year since the world stood still and what a year it has been. Every single one of us has been faced with unforeseen challenges in our homes, careers, and ranches like never before. As CattleWomen we are inherently resilient and we know that even in a pandemic, the work is never done. So how do we continue our efforts as local, state and national CattleWomen? How do we stay connected and push on in a world that is socially distanced? We forge new paths. ANCW is at an advantage as we are a national organization with members from the bottom of Florida to the top of Oregon. We know how to bridge that distance with phone calls and technology better than most because of our experience over the years. It’s time to apply that technology to our neighbors. Our ANCW leaders have excelled at hosting meetings via services such as Zoom to keep our membership connected and our goals on track. We can learn from their success and apply this to our local and state chapters. Zoom meetings allow for leadership to run the meeting as usual while still sharing documents, seeing their members via video and discussing their organizations status in real time. It is best to have a specific person running the technology side of the meeting (monitoring the waiting room, chat section, and attendees) so that the president or other leadership can effectively run the meeting.
One way to make your leadership easily accessible to attendees is by using virtual backgrounds.These should be uniform with your organizations logo/brand and include the name and title of the individual so they are easily seen and can be addressed as if they were sitting at the front of the room. Keep in mind there are some areas that are able to gather in person and those that aren’t. The Oklahoma CattleWomen have implemented a combination meeting with both in-person and virtual attendance. This allows those that can travel and those that cannot to both be in attendance. One thing we have learned is that it is best to have a large screen or projector in place fo the in-person meeting so each attendee can see the screen equally. Another tip is to send all of your documentation via email prior to the meeting even if you will show it on your screen during the Zoom. This gives those that are attending virtually the chance to have the documents in front of them at home if they prefer. Gathering together with your fellow ranchers is one of the greatest joys of being a CattleWoman. I personally cannot wait until that day comes when we can all see each other in-person again. Until then, we will forge a new path. We will achieve our goals. And we will do what CattleWomen do best: persevere. - Cheyenne Sparks President-Elect, Oklahoma CattleWomen Oklahoma
S tay i n g C o n n e c t e d
M i n n e sota C att l e W o m e n H ost A Raffle
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he Minnesota Beef Ambassador program continues to thrive. On November 14, the new 2020-21 four-member team was decided. Each member of the team receives a monetar y scholarship at the end of their year of ser vice . The Minnesota CattleWomen hosted a raffle where all proceeds go directly to the Beef Ambassador Scholarship fund. We desired a product that our patrons would not only use , but would promote our value of the beef industr y and our nation. It was our great pleasure and honor to suppor t the American-made wood pellet grill company, Smokin Brothers, from our ANCW Region III state of Missouri. The raffle item was a 24” Premier PLUS wood pellet grill. Smokin Brothers graciously added in a variety of wood pellets, spices and sauces to get the lucky winner off to a good start. The drawing took place on December 4, 2020 during the virtual Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Convention. We were thrilled to announce and contact the winner, Jeanne Ennen, from Donnelly, MN, with the great news. Jeanne shared that due to the snow her new grill is safely tucked away till the warmer weather arrives. However, she and her family are anxious to begin using their new grill. On behalf of the MN CattleWomen and the MN State Beef Ambassadors, THANK YOU. Thank you for supporting and contributing to the success of the MN Beef Ambassador Program. Be sure to follow the team on Facebook and Instagram @mnbeefambassadors. - Michelle Mouser Minnesota
M i n n e sota C att l e W o m e n H ost A Raffle
ANCW R a n c h P h oto R e q u e st
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want to highlight farms and ranches , families and cow
crews , cattle herds and ranch horses , and much more in newsletter .
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H elp us shed light on the beauty that our industry holds in its ranchlands - S hare your ranch photos with us to place in one of our next editions of T he A merican C attlewoman . - Your ANCW Newsletter Committee -
T hank each and every one of you for your continued support of and dedication to A merican N ational C attle W omen . Y ou are the backbone of this industry . T he future is very bright with cattlewomen leading the herd . - The 2021 ANCW Executive Team -
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