Western Cowman

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The Program with a Purpose Continues... EXAR Powerhouse 2077B

Production Sale MARCH 10, 2017

S: Connealy Consensus 7229 MGS: Bon View New Design 1407 CED -4 BW +3.7 WW +65 YW +110 Milk +30 W$ 59.64 B$ 129.44

Double M Sale Facility, Hermiston, OR

S A V Resource 1441

Lunch: 12 pm // Sale: 1 pm // Dinner: March 9th at 6 pm

Baldrige Walyon W34

S: Rito 707 of Ideal 3407 7075 MGS: S A V 8180 Traveler 004 CED -4 BW +3.5 WW +70 YW +132 Milk +25 W$ 65.91 B$ 172.29

A A R Ten X 7008 S A

S: GAR-EGL Protege MGS: Woodhill Foresight CED -4 BW +3.8 WW +70 YW +121 Milk +18 W$ 52.02 B$ 183.95

RR Consensus 1175

S: Mytty In Focus MGS: S A V Adaptor 2213 CED +8 BW +0.2 WW +65 YW +124 Milk +26 W$ 77.77 B$ 173.72

S A V Resource 1441 S: Connealy Consensus 7229 MGS: H A Image Maker 0415 CED +14 BW -2.6 WW +64 YW +112 Milk +29 W$ 77.38 B$ 120.94

2rollinrockangus.com

Selling 220 Yearling & 18-month-old Bulls and 70 Head of Rollin’ Rock Sired Heifers

RYAN & AMY RAYMOND P. 541.457.2366 C. 541.969.9409 ryanrraymond@hotmail.com

WE USE

BILL & JENNIFER DAVIS P. 406.388.8136 C. 406.489.2311 rolnrokdavis@gmail.com

BEAU & KRISTIN BOTTS P. 541.426.4849 C. 541.263.0988 bottsranch@yahoo.com

Genetic Edge Bull Sale Join us at the ranch near Idaho Falls, Idaho Saturday

March 11, 2017 RIVERBEND RAMPAGE C1541

18401542 Birthdate: 7/23/2015

Sire: Quaker Hill Rampage 0A36 Dam: SJH Consensus of 9360 2701 MGS: Connealy Consensus 7229

RIVERBEND TEN X A024

RIVERBEND TRACTION C1005

18349417 Birthdate: 9/6/2015

Sire: AAR Ten X 7008 SA • Dam: Ankony Miss Primrose 2424C MGS: Emulation 31

18235390 Birthdate: 7/15/2015

Sire: JMB Traction 292 • Dam: Riverbend Forever Lady A1036 MGS: EF Complement 8088

RIVERBEND TOP GAME C1244

RIVERBEND PEERLESS C1164

18230064 Birthdate: 7/25/2015

Sire: Riverbend Peerless 0016 • Dam: Riverbend Blackcap T099 MGS: Leachman Right Time

18233533 Birthdate: 7/29/2015

Sire: Sitz Top Game 561X • Dam: Riverbend Elba Y1189 MGS: Connealy Consensus 7229

2880 N 55 W • Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402 • 208-528-6635

SALE MANAGED BY:

Dale Meek, Purebred Operations Manager • 208-681-9840 Chris Howell, Director of Customer Service • 208-681-9821

517-546-6374

www.riverbendranch.us

CALL 208-528-6635 OR E-MAIL BULLS@RIVERBENDRANCH.US TO BE PLACED ON OUR MAILING LIST

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24th Annual Bull Sale Friday, March 3, 2017 80 Angus Bulls Select 2 Year Olds All Bulls Pap, Trich and Fertility Tested

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New Location At The Ranch Gunnison, Utah • 1 PM MST

If you Sell’em by the pound... BullS wIth PayweIght

56th Anniversay Sale • March 9, 2017 - 1 PM At the Okanogan Livestock Market - Okanogan, Washington

The Bull for Tomorrow is here ToDAY! also Featuring

Connealy Arsenal Connealy Comrade Connealy Earnan Connealy Capitalist JMB Traction

SAV Priority Sitz Bull Durham Platemere Weigh Up Musgrave Boulder

Sale Feature

Sired by: Connealy Arsenal Weaned September 20th Weighing 940lbs Born: January 2016

Craig 509-322-2780 • Todd 509-429-2276 • SCoTT 509-429-2176

CrAig, ToDD & SCoTT VEJrASkA Box 3160 • omak, Wa 98841

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F E A T U R E S 24

Service 8 Full A visit to one of the most progressive cattle breeding programs in the U.S located in Idaho Falls. By Heather Smith-Thomas

Counts Program 16 Beef Idaho’s Cattle Industry teaming up to feed the hungry throughout the state. By KayDee Catlin

for Jack 20 Justice We follow up on the story we brought you about the

Jack Yantis murder case last year in the February issue. By Heather Smith-Thomas

the “Idaho Rancher’s Wife” 24 Meet Allison Eliason has a very successful blog page as she reports the ins and outs of what it takes to be a “rancher’s wife”. By Kindra Gordon

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Art of Food 30 The Boise’s Barbacoa Grill provides a delicious Latin-Ameri-

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can inspired dining experience. By Kindra Gordon

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Emmett Valley Ranch 34 Potter’s A father’s decision to build a legacy lead to this amazing ranch. By Tierra Kessler

world According to Hooter McCormick 46 The “Different Stripes” By Wes Ismael

re g u l ars

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7 Trails “Always Adapting”

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Riding the Gap

By Sherry Danekas

“Past Time to Raise the Industry” By Wes Ishmael

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The Bull Board

Ridin’ Drag

“Driving Blind” By Tyrell Marchant

Dishing up some romantic recipes!

40 Index

“Walking the Line” By Allison Eliason “The Idaho Ranchers Wife”

Thank you to all of our Advertisers.

COVER

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BUSINESS&ADVERTISING

Editor

Sherry Danekas sherry@jdaonline.com

Associate Editor

Mercedes Danekas-Lohse mercedes@jdaonline.com

Advertising

Mercedes Danekas-Lohse (916) 837-1432 (916) 849-2725

Circulation

Morgan Fryer morgan@jdaonline.com

Graphic Artist

Israel Robinson israel@jdaonline.com

Mailing Address P.O. Box 8629, Woodland, CA 95776 Office Phone P (530) 668-1224 National Sales Representative. THE POWELL GROUP, INC. 4162-B Carmichael Court Montgomery, AL 36106 (334) 271-6100 Attn: Davy Taff

Website www.westerncowman.com

Western Cowman, is owned and published monthly except May/June and July/ August combined by James Danekas & Associates, Inc., P.O. Box 8629, Woodland, CA 95776. Subscriptions are $20.00 per year. Presort Standard U.S. Postage Paid: Tucson, Arizona. Address corrections requested. contributing writers: Sherry Danekas, Heather Smith-Thomas, Kindra Gordon, Wes Ishmael, Jeri Tulley, Nik Bristow and Tyrell Marchant.

TR AILS

If you always color inside the lines, the picture never changes. ~Rick Sutter~ Adapting! It’s something we all do every day to something or someone, as a species we wouldn’t most likely have survived if we didn’t have some pretty fine skills when it comes to adapting. Although these last couple of years have just about worn out my adapting talents, if they we’re ever that grand to begin with. This morning I was once again adapting; moving to a new town means starting over with everything and lots of every-bodies, the new drycleaners were a snap, great folks – good service, the town has an amazing set of great restaurants, my same old grocery stores, just new locales, but this morning it was a “new” dentist. I don’t really have an aversion to dentists I just wish I could do without them. So since I can’t it was time to meet the new one, keeping in mind my old dentist had known me for close to 15 years, knew about my life, my loathing to having my teeth picked at and even my allergies to latex gloves, this new dentist knew nothing. I was starting over so to speak and every time you do that it’s the same twenty questions again. We worked our way through it and it wasn’t so bad and I might as well get used to it because I still have new doctors, brand inspectors, hay folks, and a host of other new folks to get to know. Speaking about adapting I think that you’re going to find some of the articles in this issue altering. In the article titled “Full Service”, we recap what the Riverbend Ranch bull program consists of and how they’re working to bring the best genetics possible to their customers. It is a great piece and well worth your read. We all know that there are thousands of folks that go hungry across our nation every day, and here is a program in the state of Idaho where the states cattlemen have started a program to care for their communities by providing needed protein for the state’s food banks, it is called “Beef Counts”, don’t miss this article. In last year’s February issue we brought you the article about the tragedy of Jack Yantis, the 62 old rancher who was killed by deputies while trying to euthanize his wounded bull; in the article “Justice for Jack” we are doing a follow-up to last year’s piece and providing ways you can also help. We all know it takes a family and even more to keep the ranch going and in this next article we invite you to meet Allison Eliason who pens the “Idaho Rancher’s Wife” blog that has met with resounding success. We even have used one of her photos on the cover of this month’s issue. I’m sure you’ll enjoy what she has to say. We never travel without trying to find the best restaurants in the state and I can say from personal experience you’ll truly enjoy learning more about Boise’s Barbacoa Grill in the piece “The Art of Food”. We couldn’t leave the state of Idaho without stopping by “Emmett Valley Ranch for a visit with the Potter family where Kevin Potter is continuing the dream his father started, an article that should not be missed. I suggest you settle down in your most comfortable chair and enjoy this issue of great reads. We spend countless hours and tons of phone calls on the trail pulling together what we feel are very good reads and articles that will leave you thinking after setting the magazine down. We leave the market reports and business transactions to the very good set of weekly agriculture newspapers throughout the west, we want to keep our focus on the personalities in our business, the diversity of what we do and give our readers a glimpse of what is happening in the states that surround them. The trail this last month has been cold, snowy, and wet, to our ranchers that endure each day in the elements making sure that their animals are fed and safe, we salute you. Venturing out into a cold, dark morning whether it is mud or ice you’re dealing with, it’s always an adventure and I know from experience if it’s not frozen water tanks, or mud that takes down even the toughest 4 wheel drive vehicles it will always be something. The last few weeks the trail across the west has been a tough one, but I think for all of us who’ve seen the fires in the last three years ravage all of our western states, we can all be grateful for Mother’s Natures gift of moisture. So we carry forth on the trail and look towards March has trees begin to bud and snow eventually starts to thaw and once again we adapt to a new change of seasons…..Happy Trails

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FULL SERVICE

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We believe in partnering wtih our customers and helping each other. W

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Riverbend Ranch Bull Program

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ne of the most progressive cattle breeding programs in the U.S. is headquartered near Idaho Falls, Idaho. Riverbend Ranch runs 1,400 registered Angus and embryo recipient cows to produce bulls to sell, and replacement heifers for their registered herd. The ranch also runs 3500 to 4000 commercial cows, and feeds out about 6000 head each year. The cows are run on 8 ranches in 4 different states— Idaho, Utah, Texas and Montana. In addition, the operation runs a 4000head grow yard in Dillon, Montana. 8

Riverbend also has a Quarter Horse breeding program on the Fort Ranch in northern Utah. Frank VanderSloot and his wife, Belinda, began putting Riverbend together in 1992, visiting Angus herds across the nation to find and identify the best cows in the breed. Their Angus program has expanded exponentially since then. “We started out at the commercial end, and soon realized there was a gap that needed to be filled,” says Frank. “There weren’t any major suppliers of bulls in this area, at least not the kind of

By Heather Smith Thomas

bulls we felt were needed. We decided to see if we could fill that niche, and it has been a long process. We started by going to various purebred herds and seeking what we felt were the best individual cows in the country,” he explains. “We certainly didn’t get all of them because most of those were not for sale. So we had to choose carefully, and were able to get some of them—sometimes through dispersals and sometimes through just the goodness and generosity of breeders who were willing to share their best genetics with us. We

Some of the best cow power in the country

paid a lot of money for those cows— often tens of thousands for certain individuals— but wanted to get ahead of the curve in developing our herd. Anyone can order semen from the best bulls in the world, but you still have to address the other half of the equation. Without a great cow you are only halfway there. There are a lot of good cows in the country, but only a small handful of great cows. It takes great cows to make great bulls.” “We wanted to improve that other half, and thought we could be way ahead if we had both sides of the equation. It took us 10 years, search-

ing for the best females in the country, before we felt that we had what we wanted. This gave us a good start and our program has continued to develop, over the years. We paid a small fortune for some of those cows, but it has really paid off for us,” says VanderSloot. Now this herd is recognized as one of the best in the nation for producing great bulls that are superior phenotype as well as stacked superior EPDs. “Everything is moving so rapidly in this industry. Feedlots have learned how to use EPDs and they have discovered Riverbend genetics. They have learned that they can make a lot more money with the right kind of genetics and they are willing to pay a premium for these kind of cattle. This is a real asset to our customers who buy our bulls,” he says. Riverbend customers know they can raise a product that will be in demand. “This doesn’t happen by chance. If we have a customer who is using primarily Riverbend genetics, we make sure those cattle bring what they are worth. If one of our customers is selling calves, we bid on them. If those calves are selling through Superior auction, they bring a premium every time. We purchase between 6000 and 8000 calves every year from our own customers and put them in various feedlots or into our own feedlot. If we don’t get them bought, we are usually the contending bidder. Our customers

can be sure there will be a market for their calves,” VanderSloot explains. “We believe in partnering with our customers and helping each other. We also know we are not the only place to buy good bulls. There are many great breeding operations that have been doing a good job for several generations. We respect those people a lot, but we also believe we have an advantage in that we started out with what we believe are some of the nation’s very best cows. Our entire herd is from those cows. We also cull heavily and only keep the great ones,” says VanderSloot. Dale Meek, manager of the purebred operation, says the main focus of Riverbend’s breeding program is raising bulls for the commercial cattleman. To qualify to make the sale catalog, a bull must be the complete package. “Our focus is not only on carcass merit and performance, our bulls must also excel in maternal traits so commercial cowmen can improve their herds by keeping their daughters.” “We are producing bulls that will work for this environment in the Intermountain West. The majority bulls | Continued on page 10

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Continued from page 9 |

that service our own commercial herd are Riverbend bred. This gives us a large sampling of offspring to look at, and a good idea what the offspring can do. With hundreds of offspring, we can readily see what’s working and what’s not working,” Meek says. Riverbend Ranch utilizes AI as well as an extensive embryo transfer program. The bull calves are on a high roughage ration after weaning, shooting for an average daily gain of 3 pounds. Carcass and performance data is gleaned from all steer mates that go through the feedlot. VanderSloot says that by utilizing their own genetics in the commercial herd, they get to see, firsthand, which bulls 10

are doing what—in large numbers. “We are not operating on theory; we are operating on experience. We bring several pieces into the marketplace that make a huge difference to our customers. Bulls are our business; that is what we do. We feel it is our job to produce the best bulls so that our customers can thrive and profit,” he says. “It’s a race. Genetics are changing so rapidly that the commercial cattleman who doesn’t keep up with it ends up getting behind. If he can’t produce something that the feedlot can make money with, his cattle don’t warrant a premium and he’s out a lot of dollars. There is a huge difference in feeder calves, in terms of growth, feed

efficiency, carcass traits, how that carcass will grade on the rail, etc. All of those are things that our cattle excel in,” says VanderSloot Riverbend realizes that one size doesn’t fit all. There is no one type of animal that will fit every operation. Thus there are different lines within the registered herd. Some are bred to be problem solvers. “The goal is to create lines that produce cattle with balanced traits while excelling in areas where a customer wants to focus.” Riverbend Ranch is also breeding for cattle that are moderate in both mature size and milk production and do very well in a harsh environment. These cows consistently bring home good calves, and have a higher pregnancy rate. “By communicating with bull customers on a regular basis, Riverbend managers over the years have discovered that their customers want cattle that are nearly maintenancefree, with ease of management (and excelling in traits that are economically important) for the rancher,” says Meek. Riverbend managers over the years have discovered this need by listening to what bull customers were saying and observing what works within their own commercial herd. There is a need for a maternally oriented type of bull, and also for a terminally oriented type. The breeding program tries to fill customers’ needs with trait-specific lines so they can maximize their profits and minimize their inputs. One of the greatest attributes of this country has been the ability to produce low-cost food. Riverbend mangers feel that the beef industry must try to keep cattle producers in business, and having efficient profitable cattle can be one aid to help them stay in business. As Riverbend Ranch has expanded, they have become one of the largest producers of high-quality bulls in the country; at the same time a major goal was to not adversely impact the smaller family breeders in this region or put them out of business. | Continued on page 12

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Continued from page 10 |

A few years ago Riverbend started working with selected local smaller purebred breeders, developing and marketing their bulls for them. This has proven to be a beneficial arrangement. These cooperative breeders save on development costs and their bulls are put in front of a much larger audience of buyers. Riverbend also works hard at customer satisfaction. “We feel we have the best guarantee in the business right now. We guarantee 100% satisfaction on any animal we sell (cow or bull), no questions asked. But more than that, we totally insure the health of the bull for the first breeding season If a customer calls us up and says a bull has been injured, we will either replace the bull or give a credit toward another bull. We know of no other operation that offers that,” says VanderSloot. About 450 bulls are sold in an annual sale in the spring, with an additional 75 to 100 bulls sold later by private treaty. The goal is to support commercial producers and provide good genetics that are affordable, that will do a good job in all kinds of conditions. Some of these ranchers run cattle in harsh environments. “We used to run cattle on pivot-irrigated pastures here near Idaho Falls. But most of our registered cows are now on mountain meadows and in the mountains; they run right next to our commercial cows. If they don’t bring home a calf or don’t produce a calf, they are culled,” Meek says. “These cattle are produced in a real-life situation,” says VanderSloot.

“Our cows have to make it in the real world. This includes our purebred cattle as well as our commercial cattle.” “Frank, the owner, loves agriculture and is always investing in agriculture and the people around here. If you buy a bull from us we do our best to help you succeed. We have a customer service director on staff now, Chris Howell, and he is willing to do anything to help our customers. He’ll help you sell your calves, help you market them, etc., and all you have to do is call and ask.” This is like a free consulting service. “We are willing to help in any way, by looking at the kind of cattle a person has, and what might work best to help improve or keep improving that herd,” says Meek. Meek has been with Riverbend Ranch for 4 years as manager of the purebred division. He grew up on a commercial cow/calf/grain and hay farm near Preston, Idaho. “I got a Master’s Degree in Animal Science at Utah State University with an emphasis on ruminant nutrition. Then I went to Florida and worked for Deseret Ranch—the largest cow-calf producer in the U.S.—and ran their seedstock unit. I have always been interested in registered cattle, so Riverbend has been a great opportunity,” he says. Riverbend has a great team. “That’s what it takes—a good team effort. We have good managers and a great team of cowboys; everyone wants to see it succeed so they take great pride in their work. We have excellent communication. If the cowboys with the commercial herd see something they don’t like, they have no problem calling me up and saying, ‘This is an issue with a certain bull’ or whatever, and we work together to improve the Angus Breed,” says Meek.

Rhett & Dale

Jason - Feedlot Manager

“We’ve been really blessed with good people,” says VanderSloot. “They care about what we are doing and they understand genetics. They are students not only of the cattle themselves, but also the genetics that make these cattle what they are. Our herd managers pay attention to sire groups, etc., and we feel fortunate to have a great team—with Mitch Jacobs, Dale Meek and the other folks who work here with us,” he says. Communication is also important with customers; if people trust and have faith in the program, they come back. “We are selling bulls, but we are also up-front with people and always let them know anything they want to know about the bulls,” says Meek. “If we feel there is an issue with a bull we won’t sell that one. If someone wants a certain bull but a certain trait is a major concern, we let them know that this isn’t the bull for them.” Riverbend tries to match the bulls with the right customers. “The commercial cattlemen are very important for us and we are here to provide a product and a service for them. This is our main goal, to make them successful, because they are what make us successful. If I could get one message across, it’s that we care about the cattle we produce and the service we provide. We are grateful for all the

| Continued on page 15

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Perform looking for the best bulls the west has to offer? No matter your environment, bulls developed at Snyder Livestock will get the job done. Lucy Rechel and her team strive to produce the best bulls the industry has to offer. Trends may come and go, but the bulls that come off test and sell through Snyder's annual sale hold up and perform under diverse conditions and environments, due in part to the complete bull test format. Founded in 1999, the annual bull test draws seedstock producers to the high desert climate of Yerington, Nev., to put their bulls up against the best in the West.

weekend event schedule The best-ever Bull Buyers’ Seminar, starting with a complimentary lunch at 11:30 a.m., will be held Sat., March 11, at Snyder Livestock. The keynote

address, “Advanced Genetic Technologies,” will be presented by genomics expert Alison Van Eenennaam, Ph.D. TAKING THE BULL OUT OF GENETICS • Genetics 101 • Economics of Genetic Selection • Genetics of Disease Resistance

• Feed Efficiency EPDs The Annua l Bull Buyers’ Social will begin at 4:30 p.m., at the Pioneer Crossing Convention Center in Yerington, with the introduction of consignors and award presentations.

Seminar, Social & Sale

march 11a12, 2017 Snyder LiveStock FeedLot yerinGton, nevada

Full event Schedule and Sale book available online: www.slcnv.com

Snyder LiveStock co., inc.

Lucy Rechel/Eddie Snyder • Office 775-463-2677 Lucy’s Cell 775-790-0801 • Website: www.slcnv.com Post Office Box 550 • Yerington, Nevada 89447 Funded in part by GrantS From the city oF yerinGton & Lyon county room tax boardS

THD © 13

Driving Blind “This cow won’t move!” It was a half-statement, halfplea expressed in an exasperated yet determined tone by Krista, the girl of my dreams, whom I had brought home to the ranch for the weekend. The two of us were out helping Grandpa feed and, as they are wont to do, the mama cows had crowded around the old feed truck the second we stopped to cut the twine off the one-ton bale of hay. I had hopped out of the cab, shoved a couple of the old girls out of the way, and climbed up onto the flatbed without a second thought, assuming Krista was following right behind. Krista was and is hardly a prissy city girl. She grew up in a small town and spent her childhood catching frogs, swimming in the lake, and climbing mountains. She even had a little experience with horses and looked pretty awesome in the saddle. But cattle were not yet exactly in her wheelhouse. So there she stood, a beautiful, ponytailed girl in a red Columbia jacket, marooned by the guy who

was supposed to be her knight in shining armor, surrounded by milling 1,200-pound animals she didn’t at all trust, waving her arms in one of their massive, shaggy faces. She was gallantly following the directions her so-called experts had given her for clearing a path, yet this ridiculous beast couldn’t even deign to turn its head. She just kept on snagging mouthfuls of hay and peacefully, insolently chewing. And so, using her very best I’m-beingbrave-even-though-I-really-want-

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to-panic tone, Krista let us know that “This cow won’t move!” My grandfather looked around the corner of a half-step ahead of me, analyzed the situation, and (of all the nerve!) let slip a laugh. It was one of those almost inaudible old man laughs, a soft chuckle paired with a broad smile that let Krista know this was all some big joke, and that Grandpa wanted to let her in on it. “She’s blind,” Grandpa informed Krista (though I’m not sure how much comfort that knowledge provided in the moment). Finally realizing just how much distress my damsel was in, I quickly jumped off the bed of the pickup, grabbed her hand, and gave her a sheepish “I’m sorry” smile. Placing my hand on the old cow’s forehead, I shoved her out of the way for Krista to climb up on the truck. Feeling a proper introduction was in order, I made one. “Krista,

this is Popeye. Popeye, Krista.” Several years earlier, Popeye wasn’t yet Popeye. She was just one of a small bunch of fall calves we had just weaned and were keeping in the corral by the house. About the time we were ready to turn the calves out, this particular heifer contracted a pretty serious case of pinkeye. So she stayed in the corral with the 4-H steers when her sorority sisters left. Hard as we tried, the poor girl’s eyes grew cloudier and cloudier. One eye grew so infected it bulged out of her head like some alien deformity and was eventually lost altogether. The other eye stayed in her head but completely clouded over and never cleared up.

So the little heifer stayed in the corral for months, eating grain and ultimately becoming as tame as any show animal, though a halter never touched her face. She became almost a pet, even after she was turned out with the cow herd. In spite of her handicap, year after year, Popeye came down off the mountain in the fall with one of the fattest, healthiest calves in the whole bunch. Ultimately, there had been nothing for Krista to be worried about. Popeye wasn’t going to hurt her. However, that was no excuse for my abandoning her there to fend for

herself, in a situation she’d never been in. But you know what? She forgave me, and a couple months later we were married. My beautiful wife has had to practice that skill of forgiveness more times than I’m willing to count in the years since her run-in with Popeye. Every relationship— romantic, professional and everything in between—requires quite a bit of that if it’s going to last. Everyone you care about has flaws, and chances are you have even more. But, just as Popeye’s big, solid calves and basset hound demeanor are more important than her lack of eyesight, what people have to give is generally much more than they’ll ever take away. That’s what deserves to be looked at. Who knew there was so much to be learned from an old blind cow? WC

By Tyrell Marchant

Ryan - Purebred Herdsman

Riverbend Crew Branding Continued from page 12 |

ranchers who believe in what we are providing them. We have the best guarantee in the business and we are here to invest in our customers and do what we can to help them be able to take pride in a product that the market wants and what the industry needs,” Meek says.

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HE HORSE OPERATION – Riverbend has a Quarter Horse breeding program at the Fort Ranch near Promontory, Utah. This ranch has had an annual horse sale for more than 25 years. “This has been the fun thing for us,” says VanderSloot. “It’s been very rewarding to be involved in the horse program. We partner with Mitch Jacobs, from Hamer, Idaho. We do something rather unique for this sale. Each June we sell the babies; buyers come look at the babies while they are still on their mothers, and then pick them up in the fall.” The Fort Ranch runs 5 broodmare bands, each containing one stud and more than 20 mares, and they all run out in the mountains. These horses are not pampered. Each young horse that comes off that ranch is in excellent athletic condition and grows up strong and sound. “They’ve had to deal with rocks, sage brush, badger holes and all kinds of terrain. Their feet are hard and strong. They’ve romped and run

and learned how to handle themselves; they didn’t grow up in a little flat, soft pasture with lush grass,” explains VanderSloot. “We feel this is the best way to raise athletes, and we think it gives them an advantage for the rest of their life.”

Tom Dell - Ranch Manager

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BEEF COUNTS PROGRAM

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Feeding Hungry People by KayDee Catlin

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ne of the special elements of living in a rural area is the strong sense of community: neighbors joining together to help neighbors in need. For the Idaho beef community, they’ve taken that feeling of a caring community to a state level through their Beef Counts Program. Established in 2010 in partnership with the Idaho Cattle Association, the Idaho CattleWomen Council, the Idaho Beef Council, and Agri Beef Company, the Beef Counts Program provides nutritious beef to hungry neighbors through their partnership with The Idaho Foodbank and its 200 non-profit partners across the state. “At the 2009 Idaho Cattle Association Convention, the Idaho Foodbank made a presentation about the pressing need for protein within the state’s food bank system and the struggle they had to provide a consistent supply of protein for all of the people they served. Our industry quickly decided to get together and figure out a way to provide beef to our neighbors in need in

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our communities as well as across our state,” explained Idaho Beef Council Executive Director Traci Bracco. The Idaho Foodbank’s Vice President of Development Morgan Wilson said, “Every month over 110,000 children, families and senior citizens are served through The Idaho Foodbank network. One in seven people in Idaho have experienced hunger in the last year. One in five children go hungry. Protein is critical in providing satiety and nutrients to our clients. The Beef Counts Program has really stepped up and helped us to fill that need by providing our clients with lean protein.” Wilson, an Idaho native, returned to the Gem State for her position at the Idaho Foodbank last year. “I’ve been blown away by the amount of protein we have available to our clients and the Beef Counts Program plays a very important part of providing that protein,” she said. Bracco said as beef industry began figuring out what would be needed to create a program, there were many

logistic challenges. Figuring out how to accept donated cattle or cash; how to process the paperwork through the vertical chain of the livestock auction yards, feedlots and processors; and how to provide a consistent supply of beef throughout the year were some of the hurdles that the industry overcame as they created the program. “Agri Beef Company is a very important partner in the process. Having a vertically integrated company, that is involved in the industry from ranch to table, really helped the industry to create Beef Counts and to sustain the program. Without their dedication and commitment to the program, it would have been very difficult to get the program up and running and to maintain it,” Bracco said. In addition to matching 50 cents to each dollar of donations, up to $50,000 yearly to Beef Counts Program, AgriBeef also helps facilitate the cattle donations from ranchers becoming the packages of beef provided to hungry foodbank clients.

Each animal or the cash-equivalent of an animal provides approximately 1,600 servings of high-quality protein to those in need, thanks to Agri Beef’s matching contribution.. “Agri Beef has been and will continue to be a committed partner in this amazing program that assist our neighbors in need. We have helped to provide the millionth 3 oz serving of beef — which happened last fall a mobile food distribution — as well as countless volunteer hours as our employees help in distributing beef to food bank clients”, said Agri Beef’s Marketing Specialist Alethea Prewett.

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Connecting with Those in Need

The Idaho Foodbank operates monthly Mobile Pantry distributions to rural areas throughout Idaho. It is through these events that the protein provided by the Beef Counts Program is given to those in need. In addition to providing the protein at these events, ranchers and other members of the beef community, volunteer in handing out the food. Ground beef chubs are one of the ways to make the donated money stretch even further. Though during the holidays, roasts are distributed to provide the protein for a special meal.

Making an Impact on Beef Volunteers

“Beef Counts is a program very near and dear to my heart. I don’t believe there is another beef industry program that gives back to the local communities quite like Beef Counts,” said rancher and immediate past president of the Idaho Cattle Association Laurie Lickley. She shared that right before Christmas a Owyhee County rancher dropped a large check for Beef Counts to the Idaho Foodbank. She said, “He believes in this program because all of it goes into helping hungry Idahoans enjoy beef,

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something his family has been doing for over 100 years.” She continues, “Another rancher in Jerome dropped a cull cow by a local sale yard for donation, too, recognizing how blessed his family is and he told me that it was important to him to share with others.” Lickley shares a personal story of through her own volunteering in the program has personally experienced the sincere appreciation of the foodbank clients. “I think the most valuable experience for me, and one that touches my heart strings is a distribution I did in Salmon, where two of the guests were friends of my family, who had been struggling after an injury and ultimate job loss; I had no idea. The

tears flowed as I humbly placed a beef roast into their box and they tried hard to hide their pride ; they thanked us and commented that getting this roast meant more to them than anything. Stories like these is why I donate both my time and resources to this program. I’ve seen firsthand the appreciation of those much less fortunate than us.”

Promoting Beef Counts With Consumers

One event that provides awareness of this program to the public is the annual Beef Night on Ice with the Idaho Steelhead Hockey team. “On February 11th, $1 of every ticket sold goes towards the Beef Counts Program. This event not only helps raise money towards the program, but gives consumers an easy and fun way to donate to this worthy cause,” Bracco said. “We are starting to see traction in the consumer population — which I feel is very exciting. It has been an industry-driven effort. Only 4 percent of the donations to food banks is high | Continued on page 36

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The Jack Yantis Tragedy - Still Waiting For Justice

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By Heather Smith Thomas

It’s been well over a year since 62-yearold Idaho rancher Jack Yantis was shot by two Adams County deputies on a dark highway near Council, Idaho—after one of Yantis’ black Gelbvieh bulls was injured by a car. Yantis had been called to the scene to euthanize his bull, since the deputies had not been able to kill the wounded animal; the bull suffered a broken leg when hit by the car, and also had several bullets in the neck and chest from the deputies’ guns. As Yantis prepared to shoot the bull himself, the deputies fired at Yantis. Altogether, more than 20 shots were fired by the two deputies. Now, after more than a year of police investigation, we still don’t know why the deputies shot him, and we may never know. Perhaps this tragedy was a combination of miscommunication, adrenaline and inexperienced deputies who didn’t know how to euthanize the bull or deal with a rancher who might have been upset at their ineptness that was prolonging the animal’s suffer20

ing. According to one news report, the deputies did plenty of shooting, even while waiting for Yantis and his skid loader to arrive, but didn’t know how to kill a bull; their shots merely made the injured animal more aggressive. Friends and family have stated that Jack was a typical rancher who cared about his animals. A couple weeks after Jack’s death, his nephew’s wife, Beth Paradis, stated that it was hard to believe that Jack was gone, and that her family would no longer see his smile and hear his infectious laughter. “We’ve had to sit and wonder why this happened. Even if we could turn back time, nothing would change because as soon as he found out that his animal was hurt, he would have done the same as he did that night—go down to the driveway to put Keiford out of his misery. This man was a hero to his grand nephews and a great friend to pretty much everyone who met him. The world has lost an amazing man but heaven has gained one hell of an angel. I only hope that we on earth get the justice and answers that are so much needed and deserved.” Justice, however, has been slow in coming, and results of the lengthy police investigation were not very satisfying. Family and friends felt that the two deputies acted irresponsibly and should have been criminally charged in the death of Jack Yantis. For several weeks following the

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shooting, Adams County Sheriff Ryan Zollman refused to name the deputies who shot him, but many people knew who they were, as is generally the case in a small community. By December 15, 2015, Sheriff Zollman went public with the names of Cody Roland and Brian Wood. He said both men were on paid administrative leave. Both deputies had several questionable episodes in their previous employments in law enforcement in other communities. After Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced on July 29, 2016, that he would not be pressing charges against the deputies, Sheriff Zollman admitted that Roland had resigned shortly after the incident. The attorney representing the Adams County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement saying that Deputy Wood remained on the Adams County payroll on paid administrative leave. Wood’s salary was being paid by an Adams County insurer, but the insurance company had put Adams County on notice that officials needed to make a decision very soon about Wood’s employment status. In January 2016, a co-worker of Roland and Wood at the Adams County Sheriff’s Department, Lieutenant Steve Phillips, told ISP investigators that he believed Deputy Brian Wood’s behavior and mental state after the shooting, combined with Wood’s expert marksmanship and firearms training, were a danger to other law enforcement officers’ safety. Phillips was interviewed by two Idaho State Police officers regarding the actions of Wood, who had an intense

interest in guns and owned state-of-the art sniper equipment. Phillips said that at first he felt Wood was mentally unstable but later thought that Wood fit the profile of a sociopath. Wood responded to this statement by threatening to sue Phillips for slander. On July 29, 2016, nearly 9 months after the shooting, Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden released his findings in the case, stating that no criminal charges would be filed against the deputies. He claimed there was insufficient evidence to support a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt, and he considered the case closed. It isn’t over, however, in the minds of the Yantis family and friends. There was a lot of investigative evidence that many people feel should have been presented to a grand jury. Investigation of the shooting was conducted by the Idaho State Police, resulting in more than 5,300 pages of documents, nearly 600 photos and 30 hours of audio and video recordings, which were all handed over to the Attorney General’s office in March. The Attorney General’s decision in July left many people frustrated in their hopes for justice. Some were also disappointed in the Adams County Sheriff, Ryan Zollman, who had not been forthright with the public regarding this case. He had been elected in 2012 and was up for re-election in 2016. Part of the campaign against his re-election focused on what some people considered his mishandling of the Yantis shooting. Zollman was challenged in the November election by a retired Nevada deputy, but won a second term in an almost two-to-one vote. FACEBOOK POSTINGS A “Justice for Jack” (JFJ) Facebook page was established shortly after the November 1, 2015 incident. By August 2016, more than 700 people had friended the page, and supporters continue to grow in number--posting information and news stories about the shooting and to voice their personal opinions about the shooting and the latest developments. There are now more than 100 pages of comments/postings on the JFJ site with some pages sport-

ing more than 4000 “likes”. Here are some recent posts from the Facebook Page “Justice for Jack”: This one was posted with two photos of a Christmas sign in Jack’s memory, and states, “JUST THINKING BACK 1 YEAR AGO OR SO..... Thanks to all who gave Time and Energy and LOVE to make the Yantis Ranch CHRISTMAS....Seems like an Eternity but has only been 13 Months plus a few days since WE LOST AN INNOCENT RANCHER. Thanks to

ALL who have Remained Strong and Willing to Find TRUTH & JUSTICE for the Yantis Family and Friends and for NEVER GIVING UP in our Support of Donna Yantis and her Family, Support of Rowdy Lee Paradis and his family, Support of the Extended Yantis & Paradis Family Members, and For All who Remember a Great Cowboy.... JACK YANTIS !!!” Another post tells about the Jack Yantis Memorial Scholarship that has been created: “Deadline: 02/24/2018. Available to: Adams County High School Seniors Award Amount: $1,000. The Jack Yantis Memorial Scholarship is open to high school seniors entering college classes in Criminal Laws. You must submit an essay of between 1,000 and 2,000 words on why Criminal Law is the field of study you’ve chosen and your goals after receiving your education in order to be considered for this award. Some things we would like you to address in your essay • What life experiences have shaped who you are today. • Explain why you need financial assistance. • Describe your academic and career

goals and your plans to achieve them and discuss any of your extracurricular/volunteer activities that you have performed. • Describe an event in which you took a leadership role and what you learned about yourself.” A posting that reflects on past tragedy: “As the New Year rolls in, we reflect upon the past year. Our ups and downs, our families and friends, our future and our past. This last year was a turmoil to say the least. So much has happened, good and bad. Some things remained the same. One major issue never changed. Justice for Jack. Though many things that happened that dreadful night, November 1, 2015 slowly revealed itself, piece by piece, nothing about the consequences has changed. Jack still has no justice. We became a political page for every wrongful death by the hands of law enforcement. Jack is the reason we started this page. Jack still has no justice. So my wish for 2017 is we stay focused, we tell his story to all, we meet and we accomplish this one of many goals. Maybe, just maybe, we can help others by changing the circumstances of their wrongs through the righting of this one. Speak loud, speak truth, speak facts, and above all.... speak for JACK. God bless you all....” [posted by Diane Coon] EFFECTS ON THE COMMUNITY In describing how this tragedy has affected the local community, Leesa Zalesky stated in her article series “The Killing of Jack Yantis” (published in weekly installments in the Western Ag Reporter in August and September 2016): “Council is a quiet little town of about 900 people in west-central Idaho. A sign at the edge of town welcomes visitors with the message | Continued on page 22 ‘Council, the 21

Continued from page 21 |

town that cares.’ It is the county seat for Adams County… “At a popular cafe, locals gather for coffee and to talk, but when a stranger walks in, the loud chatter dies down, and there’s a steady trickle of people to the cash register to quietly pay their bill and leave. No one is willing to talk about the killing of Jack Yantis. It’s not that they don’t WANT to; it’s because they ARE AFRAID TO. That fear is palpable, even over a phone line. And who can blame them? Since the night of November 1, 2015, press reporters from across the country--the Miami Herald, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the LA Times-have been in their faces trying to get ‘the story’. There are lawsuits or potential lawsuits everywhere you look, and they fear being sucked into one of those. And there’s another insidious fear, and sadly, in most cases, of law enforcement. This fear is captured in a social media post: ‘Citizens have reason to fear for their lives and welfare in Adams County... please be careful. If stopped for any reason, have a recording device active to verify actions and verbiage by the law enforcement officer so that you cannot be accused of something unjustly.’ “For the people of Council and for those up and down the valley, it will be a generation before the pain, fear, and bitterness recede. Jack Yantis was a popular man in the valley. His family and friends are still grieving, and they’re waiting for the justice they believe Jack deserves,” wrote Zalesky. To get that justice, his family has turned to the civil courts. 22

complex. There are differing accounts among the four witnesses (Jack’s wife Donna and his nephew Rowdy Paradis and the two deputies), it was dark, the officers did not handle the situation in a professional manner, and Jack had been drinking (he’d had a few beers that Sunday evening at home with his family and a friend—before being called to the scene of the accident to remove his injured bull from the highway). In the ensuing chaos immediately after the shooting, none of the family was allowed to try to help Jack, and the decision was made to leave him be after one lone EMT determined that assistance was hopeless. He was left to die on the highway while law enforcement officials handcuffed and detained Jack’s wife, nephew and the family friend— a local veterinarian—who had been eating dinner with the family when the phone call came to tell them about the highway accident and the urgent need to euthanize the bull. It was a bad situation gone worse and we don’t know how it will be resolved. Leesa Zalesky summed it up in her final statement in the article series she wrote last summer:

LAWSUIT AGAINST THE COUNTY The Yantis family filed a $500,000 wrongful death tort claim against Adams County. This is the maximum amount allowable under Idaho law. The Idaho Counties Risk Management Program (ICRMP) is handling the claim for the parties being sued (Adams County, Sheriff Zollman and the two deputies who did the shooting--who are no longer in the county’s employ). “That just means the state’s insurer is managing the defense,” stated Zalesky. “The ICRMP (a member-owned and government property and casualty insurance program for Idaho local governments) says it won’t comment on pending litigation. I seriously doubt the case will see the inside of a courtroom given the $500,000 cap on tort claims in Idaho, which is chump change given what they could have been sued for elsewhere, and the insurance program’s probable high level of desire to get out of this mess. But that’s just my opinion,” Zalesky wrote. The Yantis family is represented “The overall evidence showed by legal firms in Boise (because they me that the entire incident was a needed an Idaho firm to handle all the footwork and court filings) and lethal combination of bad judgby the Spence Law Firm in Jackson, ment, bad decision-making and WY. The suit isn’t about money, however; it’s about justice. In the bad policy. When they all coleyes of most people, Jack Yantis did lided that night, a good man died, nothing wrong; he was simply trying and that’s a damned shame.” to do as he was asked to do by the law enforcement officers--euthanize his bull to end its suffering--and was At the end of 2017, a portion of shot down by those officers. At this the Rancher Lives Matter t-shirt point we don’t know how this case will and bumber sticker proceeds end or whether the lawyers will settle it will go to the Jack Yantis out of court. scholarship fund. The case is convoluted and

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Meet “the by Kindra Gordon

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Idaho Rancher’s Wife” A

llison Eliason is a busy ranch wife, mom of three – ages 6, 4 and 9 months, and community leader involved in church, fair board, Farm Bureau and trained as an EMT. In addition to all of that, she has added “blogger” to her list of roles. Raised on a ranch in Montana, Eliason says she has always loved the ranching lifestyle. She notes, “I took every opportunity to go out and work with my dad. He used to call me schizophrenic because one minute I would be out sunbathing in my swim suit and then as soon as he called, I would be out on the horse working cows and getting dirty. But I’m that type of girl who wants to do it all! And why not?” Eliason always dreamed of marrying a cowboy someday, and when that dream came true, she made Holbrook, Idaho her home on her husband’s family ranch. So, why a blog, when her ranch, family and community duties keep her on the go? Here, Eliason shares a little about her passion for sharing her ranch life with others.

Q

: When and why did you start blogging?

A

: My first blog post was in the spring of 2013. I had just bought a new camera in hopes that having nicer camera would inspire me to take more pictures of my kids because up to that point I wasn’t the best mom-ographer. I decided to take it out with me as I went out with my husband for work. Having two young kids meant that I couldn’t really help him like I wanted, so it was my way of doing something on the sidelines and feeling included. After having so many pictures and funny stories of being a rancher’s wife, I joked with a friend that I needed to start a blog about the life and it just sort of happened after that. My blogging was initially a place to put my pictures and as a hobby or outlet for me – but it has become so much more.

Q: Why did this project become

important to you and what do you hope to accomplish through your blog?

A

: I’m really honored that someone wants to know more about my story, and I love to take every opportunity to share it. There are a lot of people out there trying to spread the word about the good of agriculture. Some of them try to educate about the different processes of ag, some try to dispel the myths that are associated with the industry and some on the edge of innovation in the ag world. For me, I just want people to see what life is like on an ordinary cattle ranch. I want people to have a connection to a real family, a real mom trying to raise her family while her husband makes an honest living. People want to know more about where their food is coming from and my blog is where they can see it firsthand. She continues, “Our world has become disconnected to the sources that keep us alive and running. I know that not everyone can live in the country or even physically go there, but I can take them there virtually. And if that helps one person or one family have a better understanding, then I’ve done my job. Being transparent is really important to me. There are things that are considered controversial and hiding those hard things makes us looks like they are bad or we are doing something wrong. I might not blog every day or about the super ordinary stuff. But I do want to show the good side and the bad side. Our life isn’t perfect and I don’t pretend for it to be.”

Q

: What’s been the most rewarding from this effort?

and connections that I get to make with people in and outside of the industry. You never know who you might meet! And I really love, and am so grateful for, the growth that I have had personally. My passion for telling our story has intensified, my commitment to this lifestyle has solidified, and my skills in writing and photography have really sharpened. And I love that I can say that I am trying to do something to support our industry. If I can’t be outside getting the work done, maybe I can be inside getting some done.

Q

: What has been the most challenging?

A

: You might think that the discouraging thing about this is when people are not accepting of our lifestyle, but that doesn’t bother me. If they are still criticizing after reading my work, that’s their choice. I still count it as a win for me because they came to my site and took time to read what I have to say. What is hard for me is finding the time to balance it all. I’m a busy mom of three; I keep the house running, serve in the community, and try to help on the ranch. There are so many good places that I can spend my time that sometimes my blog gets a little neglected. If only the house would stay clean and the laundry would do itself. She also notes, “Trying to find my niche, my voice, and what works for me has been a challenge, but I really feel like I am coming into that. For a while I kept trying to include everything [in my blog] or tried to be the voice of the current ag issues. But that wasn’t me. Now that I am developing a solid base, I think I can really take it where I want it to be.”

A

: I love it when I am able to reach people and change their perspective of ranching, especially about some of the harder issues we face. I love the friends

| Continued on page 26

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shares that she hosts a few Amazon ads, but she adds, “They haven’t really done anything for me. I don’t currently earn any income from my blog, but that is the hope someday. It’s just figuring out how. I don’t want to fill up my site with ads that nobody is really interested in, so unless the ads were directly related to my content, I’d like to find another means of earning via my blog. I would love to try doing reviews or affiliate links.” But before she explores those avenues, she says she is focused on ensuring she has a consistent audience.

Q

: What advice do you have for others thinking about blogging?

A

Continued from page 25 |

Q

: What training have you had for blogging and what techie details can you share?

A

: I haven’t received any training other than the English writing classes I had at college. The only photography training was the teensy bit I had when I was a kid in 4-H. So to try and actually know what I’m doing, I figured I had better teach myself. I would say pretty much everything I know now I learned from reading or watching online. And I guess I’m the nerd that reads and rereads the owner’s manual. Regarding the technical aspect of blogging, Eliason shares that she posts through Blogger and hosts her blog through GoDaddy. She uses a NIKON D3200 camera and edits on PSE 13. She notes, “I don’t understand it all – not being a super tech savvy person myself – but I’ve looked up enough how-to’s that I’ve kept it from crashing so far.” Regarding ads on her blog, Eliason 26

: DO IT! I have no regrets in starting my blog. And even though I can’t give it all the time I want, I give it what I can. And that’s ok. For a long time I would compare myself to other blogs out there and have some guilt that mine wasn’t like theirs. But I had to realize and accept that it wasn’t a DIY blog, or a cooking blog, or a mom blog, or what-not. So if you want to start a blog, jump in and do it and don’t wait to look like anyone else’s. Everyone has to start somewhere and it’s likely that the first stuff you put up won’t be your best. There are some really simple ways that you can get started, and once you get going, you will figure out what you need to learn and you will just take off from there!

Q

: What are your future goals with your blog – i.e. the five year plan?

A

: There are so many things I would like to do with my blog! I think someday I would love to write a book – something along the lines of the adventures of being married to a rancher. There are so many stories of ranch

living that HAVE to be told. I would also like to see my photography take off. I currently sell calendars featuring my photography, but would like to sell more photos of ranch scenes. Eliason adds that taking photos and telling stories featuring other ranch operations also interests her. “There is so much diversity out there,” she notes. Public speaking in connection with her blogging also piques her interest – be it in an informational setting where she advocates and teaches about ranching and agriculture or more of an entertainment setting where she gets to share the crazy stories of ranch life. ‘ She notes that earning some income from her blog is also a goal. She explains, “In some ways, it can be hard for me to justify spending so much time on it and away from my family if it doesn’t benefit them as well. For now, I am going to keep plugging away at just trying to get stuff up there to share.” All told, Eliason notes that she is passionate about life, and says, “I like to go hard and fast in whatever direction I’m going, which lately has been a lot. I’m really learning what is a priority for me and what isn’t. God, my family, and our lifestyle will always be at the top of my list – and part of my lifestyle is my blog. It is a priority, even though some days it might not feel like it. I guess that is why I keep doing it and will keep going. My mom once told me that we can’t quit just because something gets hard. It’s usually the hard things that are important and deserve our time and effort.”

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The

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Boise’s Barbacoa Grill provides a delicious Latin-American inspired dining experience.

“A

trendy steakhouse with a Spanish twist”

– that’s how Barbacoa’s is aptly described, from its eclectic menu to art deco décor, this is no ordinary restaurant. Barbacoa’s open-fire grilling process and culinary delights are a tribute to the ranchers and cowboys of the Pacific Northwest. Located in Parkcenter Park in Boise and overlooking a small pond, patrons have helped Barbacoa’s earn an assortment of accolades dating back to 2011 – which is when the restaurant opened. “Best of Boise” and “Best of the Treasure Valley” for happy hour, cocktails, fine dining, and desserts are among the honors. The creative restaurant space combines museum and art gallery into the dining experience. The unique concept was designed by Robert and Martine Castoro in conjunction with Thompson Interiors – Martine is an accomplished fine artist; Robert formerly operated Ti Amo Ristorante, which was one of the top restaurants in Orange County California and a favorite among Hollywood stars. A focus of the restaurant is on engaging the five senses of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. As you arrive, the smells from the open-fire kitchen begin to tempt the taste buds. The sights are entertained

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with images of art and antiquities. The handcrafted “Iced Antlers” chandelier composed of more than 3,000 handblown glass antlers is a stately centerpiece. Colorful paintings and artwork, as well as a wine tunnel and floating fireplace add to the upscale ambience. A roof-top bar and patio seating with a park view are also popular. In the bar area, European lounge music sets a unique mood. Flavors and dishes for Barbacoa have been designed and inspired by Chef Enrique Martinez, who has been with the Castoro’s as executive chef since shortly after TiAmo was opened in 1994. For patrons, as you are seated, the show begins. A server trolleys up to your table with a cart of fresh avocados and tins filled with chopped tomato, red onion,

cilantro and lime, offering to prepare fresh guacamole with tortilla chips tableside. A second course of sweet corn bisque is poured from a copper steamer over a jalapeno pancake and fresh crab. An alternative second course is the Caesar salad served with polenta croutons. For dinner, fabulous locally produced Certified Angus Beef- dry aged for 31 days- is presented on Argentinian ironwood platters decorated with horseshoes. Four-cheese and Serrano Ham macaroni & cheese is served on the side in a mini cast iron kettle, or maybe you decided on the seven-herb wood grilled corn-on-the-cob that is presented vertically on your plate. Other entrees that are raved about include the Hot Rock Filet served with cognac sauce, the paella which includes

braised seafood, chorizo, chicken and tomatoes with saffron rice, pan seared scallops with crispy pancetta, sundried fig and apricot compote or the swordfish pibil served Yucatan style baked in achiote, banana leaves and citrus fruits with coconut rice. Dessert temptations include passion fruit crème brulee, bananas foster and campfire smores – with candied bacon and house made marshmallows, to name a few. Patrons agree: Barbacoa can’t be praised enough for its unique atmosphere and creative cuisine. The restaurant has 4.6 stars on TripAdvisor and received rave reviews for the service, the food and the atmosphere. The restaurant is only open for dinner from 4 to 10 p.m. For more information visit: http://barbacoa-boise.com. 31

2017

PHOTO CONTEST ENTRY DEADLINE: September 6th, 2017 SPECIAL CATEGORY: “Ranch Roads” Photo By: Allison Eliason

CONTEST RULES

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1. Contestants must be from the following states: California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado. Contestants must be paid subscribers to the Western Cowman magazine. 2. Photos are to be 8 x 10-inch color or black and white prints, mounted on 11 x 14- inch black poster board. Photos not securely mounted will be disqualified. Make certain your name., address, and phone numbers are attached to the back. 3. Photo must depict our western ranching lifestyle. Photos can’t be altered or image- enhanced in any way. 4. Categories will be divided up after all of the entries have been received. 5. Junior category is for shutterbugs 15 years of age and younger. 6. A maximum of 25 photos per contestant can be entered. Entries cannot have appeared in any other contest. 7. Photos become the property of the Western Cowman for use in the publications and promotions. 8. Winning entries will be published in the November 2017 issue of the Western Cowman magazine. 9. Cash awards will be given to first place winners. Photo chosen as the “Editor’s Choice” will appear on the November 2017 Western Cowman cover.

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“

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We believe in a keen eye and a sharp knife!”

A

father’s decision to build a legacy for his family lead to the foundation of Potter’s Emmett Valley Ranch in 1989. Maynard and Rebecca Potter both grew up on ranches and were active in agriculture. Maynard was a third generation sheep rancher who went on to manage the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles. While Rebecca was a fourth generation cattle rancher whose career was managing the radiology department at Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton, California. As a family, the Potters raised registered Suffolk sheep. They showed breeding stock nationally and sold range rams to commercial sheep operations in Central California. Upon retirement, Maynard was contemplating his next move. While visiting with his longtime friend, Alex Madonna, he was told ‘if he had worked as hard for himself, as he had for the fair for 28 years, that he would have been a millionaire.’ “Maynard was a builder of dreams,” his son, Kevin Potter, said. “He had built the fair in Paso Robles to be considered by many as one of the best fairs in the country.”

Moving to Idaho

34

The Potters looked into ranches in Northern California and Western Oregon before they came upon Southwestern Idaho. They purchased the original ranch in Emmett, Idaho in 1989, going on to add a second neighboring ranch in the following years. The Treasure Valley provided them plentiful water and relatively mild winters, being an ideal location to continue their sheep operation and build the foundation of a cowherd. Today, Kevin lives on the ranch with his wife, Michelle, and their four children – Tyler (11), Rachael (7), Kyle (5), and Garrett (3). They run 150 Angus and 30 Gelbvieh cows along with 85 club lamb ewes. Michelle and the kids help with ranch work, and each child has their own daily chores. They enjoy ranch life as a family. Tyler and Rachael are involved in the working parts of the ranch and are active 4-H members. Currently, they show lambs but have expressed interest in showing steers and heifers now that they are older.

Foundation Cows

When the cowherd was started, the Potters were a satellite producer for

Lettunich and Sons. They worked and raised cattle on their own ranch and then marketed the bulls through Lettunich’s bull sale. After a few years, the decision was made to end that arrangement and build their own herd. While in college, Kevin was a member of the Colorado State University livestock judging team and took a year-long internship with ABS. Upon his graduation in 1999, he moved home to work with his parents on the ranch. “Looking back, the ABS job was a great experience,” Kevin said. “I traveled across the country evaluating cattle and collecting GTS (Genetic Trait Summary) information. I scored over ten thousand cattle and met a lot of good cattle ranchers.” Kevin’s travels with ABS helped him know exactly where to find the performance based foundation cows he needed to build the herd on. He selected Angus females from Gardiner Angus in Kansas and Sitz Angus in Montana. The Gelbvieh foundation began with an elite group of cows from Lettunich and Sons in Idaho. Selections from these herds were sorted for optimum trait cattle that would

work in the environment of the Potters Emmett Valley Ranch. To do well in the drier climates of the west, they wanted cows to be sound structured, moderate framed, and easy fleshing with moderate milking ability. Angus and Gelbvieh were the breeds of choice because both breeds excel in economically important traits. “The Angus and Gelbvieh breeds of cattle are noted for their strong maternal traits,” Kevin said. “I like cows that do all the work. They should be low maintenance, raise a big calf and rebreed with minimal input. It makes my life easier.” The Angus breed is considered to be the backbone of the cattle business, with cows that work in many environments while their calves have always been in strong demand for their carcass premiums. The Gelbvieh breed offers additional growth and muscle while being highly fertile and moderate in size. Choosing these breeds was made easier by the fact that their respective Associations are progressive in research and marketing. The Angus and Gelbvieh Associations have given cattlemen the tools to breed better cattle through their promotion of the breed and added value

in their product.

Developing the Herd

Throughout the years, the program has been developed by keeping daughters of the strongest cow families and utilizing AI to breed them to the best sires available. The herd is now closed, with no outside females being added in over 10 years. This allows the development of replacement heifers out of cows that have proven their worth on the ranch. All replacement heifers are AI sired and selected for both phenotype and individual performance. Using proven AI sires gives Kevin the opportunity to know what a bull’s progeny are like before he sees any heavy use in the Potter’s breeding program. However, Kevin says that with the recent advances in genomics, he’s starting to trust using a few younger sires. The combination of a sire’s pedigree, phenotype and EPDs are always evaluated and considered before he will see use in the program.

Bull Sales

Each year 75 bulls are sold to a primarily commercial customer base. A majority of those customers are in the intermountain west but bulls have sold

from California to Texas. Every fall, about 25 bulls are consigned to sales in Visalia and Galt, California. The Potters treat their buyers like friends and truly care about their success. Rather than taking a salesman approach to selling bulls, Kevin thinks of the process as helping his friends breed better cattle. As a result of these relationships, a majority of their business is done with repeat customers. “We offer good bulls at a fair price,” Kevin said. “Sometimes, I help plan out a mating scheme utilizing both Angus and Gelbvieh. Other times, I can help them find a buyer for their calves. It really depends on the customer. Each, have their individual needs.” This special approach to customer service is rewarding and “worth it” when a phone call comes in reporting high conception rates or calves that top the market.

Bull Development

“We believe in a keen eye and a sharp knife!” The best of the bull calf crop is chosen and then developed slowly on a | Continued on page 36

35

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Continued from page 35 |

roughage-based diet. This ensures the bulls are fit and ready to work – making them more durable with a higher libido. With calves born in both the Spring and Fall, 18-month-old bulls are available for sale twice a year. There is major emphasis placed on the genetics offered in Potter’s sale bulls. The bulls will be fertile with correct conformation, which directly affects longevity, calving ease, foraging ability, carcass merit and many other economically important traits. Moderate birth weights ensure live calves while calm dispositions help make them easier to handle and better performing. Developing an effective cross breeding program utilizing Angus and Gelbvieh bulls to meet the goals of your operation is something the Potters are willing to help with. They know that heterosis is too powerful to ignore.

The Sheep

A small farm flock of 85 Suffolk and Hampshire club lamb ewes reside at the ranch. The current flock was started in 1996 while Kevin was a student at Clarendon College in Texas. He enjoyed the challenge of raising show lambs and competing with other breeders. However, the focus now includes helping kids. “Kids get so much good out of raising and showing animals,” Kevin said. “From doing chores, to taking re36

sponsibility, to gearing up for competition they get a hands on education. The experience is so important for young people.” Each spring a trailer load of project lambs are taken to California and delivered to various FFA programs throughout the state. In addition, a lamb selection day is held on the ranch on the last Saturday in April. Local youth come out to the ranch and choose their project lambs for the year.

Family Values and Beliefs

As a family owned operation, Potters Emmett Valley Ranch exists with the mission to produce and market quality cattle and sheep that meet their customers’ needs while being stewards to the land and enjoying the family benefits of the rural lifestyle. “Our hope is that our children will carry on the legacy started by my father,” Kevin said. “We believe in the importance of family farms and the future of agriculture.” The Potters work hard daily as a family to keep a quality herd of cattle that will be able to help their customers find the same success they have. Kevin and Michelle live their passion producing quality registered cattle and competitive show lambs.

quality protein. So now it is not just producers and the ag industry trying to raise money and get beef to the food bank — consumers and customers of our products are becoming actively involved as well,” Prewett said. This program is also running — thanks in large part to Agri Beef’s commitment — in Washington as well. Bracco said that throughout the country there are several different aspects of the program such as donation of animals or funds to buy beef are being used. However, Idaho and Washington are the only two states she is aware of that take the protein from the ranch to those hungry neighbors in need through the Beef Counts program. The Idaho Foodbank Board Chair is Northwest Farm Credit Service’s Idaho President Blair Wilson. He said, “This amazing collaboration of incredible organizes are all working to help improve the lives of Idaho’s food-insecure population. Volunteers from the beef community donate time, energy and most importantly significant amounts of nutritious beef to Idahoans who otherwise would not have access to this high-protein — and really delicious — food. The Idaho Foodbank is tremendously grateful for the ongoing support and donations form Idaho’s beef industry.” Even with the beef community’s great efforts, the need is still large. If you are interested in donating to the Beef Counts Program and learning more, please visit www.beefcounts.org.

Trent Stewart

809 N. Main • Colfax, WA 99111 (509) 397-4434 Cell: (509) 989-2855 Email: cartha@colfax.com

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5J Angus.......................................................37 American Hereford Assoc............................37 American Livestock Mortality Insurance....48 Angus The Business Breed.........................18 Bar CK Cattle Co.........................................39 Blue Collar Bull Sale...................................15 Bovine Elite, LLC........................................40 Broken Arrow Angus Ranch.......................37 Buchanan Angus..........................................37 Calif Angus Breeders Sale...........................48 Cattlemen’s Livestock Market.....................39 Cattle Visions...............................................43 C.D. Butch Booker......................................37

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Past Time for a Unified Industr y Voice Ignoring extremist animal rights groups in the hopes of dousing the flames of controversy might have seemed logical in the beginning. Limping along without having to commit more scarce resources to the fight might have seemed necessary. Now, these notions seem less quaint than downright destructive. Consider Feld Entertainment, Inc.’s recent decision to shutter the iconic Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus (RBBB) after 146 years. Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment, Inc. (FEI), the producer of RBBB, made the announcement Jan. 14: “After much evaluation and deliberation, my family and I have made the difficult business decision that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® will hold its final performances in May of this year,” Feld explained “Ringling Bros. ticket sales have been declining, but following the transition of the elephants off the road, we saw an even more dramatic drop. This, coupled with high operating costs, made the circus an unsustainable business for the company.” The transition of the elephants off the road surely had something to do with a 14-year saga of lies and skullduggery carried out by the Humane Society of the United States and other organizations of that ilk. Even though, FEI ultimately prevailed in the courts. Never Mind the Facts You might recall that (RBBB) retired its elephants from service last May. It was the last chapter of 42

bitter irony that began in 2000 with fraudulent accusations leveled against FEI by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), the Fund for Animals, the Animal Welfare Institute and others, alleging violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Short story, the original complaint alleged that RBBB violated the ESA by harming the elephants through the use of guides and tethers. The animal groups claimed this was an illegal “taking” of the elephants under the law. Another of the plaintiffs suing was Tom Rider, a former FEI employee who worked in the elephant barn. Ultimately, FEI filed a federal lawsuit against ASPCA, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and other animal rights activists and their lawyers for racketeering violations, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, and the Virginia Conspiracy Act. Along the way, the court discovered that plaintiff organizations, their lawyers and an entity controlled by those lawyers— Wildlife Advocacy Project—paid Rider at least $190,000 over the course of eight years—his sole source of income. The court also found “…that ensuring Mr. Rider’s continued participation as a plaintiff was a motivating factor behind the payments to him, and that these payments were a motivating factor for his continued involvement in the case.”

By Wes Ishmael

In December 2012, the ASPCA settled its share of the lawsuits by paying Feld Entertainment $9.3 million. In May of 2014, HSUS, along with their co-defendants, paid Feld Entertainment $15.75 million to settle the case. The co-defendants included: the animal rights groups the Fund for Animals, Animal Welfare Institute, Born Free USA (formerly the Animal Protection Institute), the Wildlife Advocacy Project, as well as the law firm of Meyer, Glitzenstein & Crystal, and several current and former attorneys of that firm. At the time, FEI legal counsel in the matter, John Simpson, a partner with Norton Rose Fulbright’s Washington, D.C., office said, “After winning 14 years of litigation, Feld Entertainment has been vindicated. This case was a colossal abuse of the justice system in which the animal rights groups and their lawyers apparently believed the ends justified the means. It also marks the first time in U.S. history where a defendant in an Endangered Species Act case was found entitled to recover attorneys’ fees against the plaintiffs due to the Court’s finding of frivolous, vexatious and unreasonable litigation.” Along with discovering the animal rights groups and their lawyers paid the aforementioned Tom Rider to be a paid plaintiff, the Court also found that the animal rights groups and their attorneys, “sought to conceal the nature, extent and purpose of the payments” during the litigation Their abuse of the judicial

system included the issuance of a false statement under oath by Rider, assisted by his counsel, who the Court found was “the same attorney who was paying him” to participate in the litigation. The Court found in addition to Rider being a “paid plaintiff,” that the lawsuit was “frivolous and vexatious.” So, less than three years after winning the court battle, RBBB is packing up its circus tents, an American institution felled in part by lies, law breaking and everything else justice is supposed to guard against. Mind the Social License It’s not like the livestock industry has done nothing, of course. Various organizations, both alone and in concert with one another, continue to fight against extremist fiction, trying to present facts rather than rhetoric to the public. Moreover, livestock organizations are stretched thin in the resources department—too many fires to fight with too little fuel for the fire. Extremist camps, on the other hand, continue to attract millions of dollars of donations each year, even though they’ve been tried and convicted of organized crime. All of that is to say that such issues have more to do with emotion than concrete fact in the public eye. Capture the public’s emotion, even through lies, and they’ll join in the effort, in the name of protecting animals. So, their desire may be noble, while the organizations they support to do their bidding may be more crooked than a snake wrapped around a truck axel. Putting the hobbles on a different pony, social license is real; ultimately the public decides what businesses are acceptable. As evidenced by the example here, businesses ability to maintain their social license doesn’t seem to rely on facts, necessarily, but on who most wants their social license maintained or revoked. Every frivolous court case, undercover story and state ballot proposition that individuals and organizations in the livestock industry are forced to defend, chips away at social license, win or lose. It’s time to end the livestock industry’s piecemeal approach to battling the extremist knot-heads. It’s past time for a single, unified industry voice to combine resources and take specific, relentless aim at extremist suppositions. No more circus elephants? No more Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Baily Circus? It’s almost as unthinkable as, no more cattle business?

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Guy Colyer - U.S. Livestock Industry Leader of the Year On January 13th, 2017 during the National Western Rodeo Guy Colyer of Colyer Herefords Bruneau, Idaho was presented the 2017 United States Livestock Industry Leader of the Year Award. This award has been presented annually since 1946 to many prominent industry leaders. Guy Colyer has had a progressive role in Western ranching and the purebred cattle industry.

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By Wes Ishmael

Different Stripes H

ooter was feeling lucky. He bought the set of calves because they were cheap enough, and he had some wheat pasture for them. But being able to sell them into an up market with solid gain as the grazing ran thin was more chance than plan. He knew that, but he also couldn’t help feeling just a tiny bit proud. “Should’ve kept them longer,” Peetie told him when he sold them. “Even if you had to stick them in pens, there was trade left in ‘em.” Hooter knew that, but he saw more net opportunity for turning them now and replacing them. Hooter knew that Peetie would have kept them and bought another set, but Hooter wasn’t at a point in his business life to take on as much risk. It wasn’t that Hooter was less willing to gamble, but he needed to play at lower stakes tables. “The hardest part about trading cattle isn’t knowing what they’re worth, it’s knowing what they cost,” chimed in Harold McGiven, a friend of Peetie’s, whom Hooter had heard about but never met before. “Huh?” “It’s all about opportunity. For the same amount of money and risk, was the opportunity cost more or less than an alternative? And I’m not talking about trade-offs,” Harold said. He studied Hooter’s expression through eyeglasses with lenses about two-Coke bottles-thick. “For example, you could have put the same money you spent for that load of stockers into some weigh-cows, developed replacements, bought some pairs. All of those are trade-offs in my books.” “Well, at least I get to play another

46

round,” Hooter said, still not understanding what Peetie’s friend was driving toward. “Indeed, but for how long?”

Trust Your Gut

Though Peetie seemed to respect him and did deals with him, Harold already had a couple of ankle-busting strikes against him as far as Hooter was concerned. First, Harold was from a few states north, meaning he likely had plenty of Yankee tendencies. Besides, from what Hooter understood, Harold came into the cattle business as a byproduct to his crop holdings, which were in turn the byproduct of money made in other businesses. Worse, Peetie once mentioned that in his younger days, Harold was a basketball referee for high school games. Hooter had a long history of disliking most of the striped-shirt set that he encountered. Hooter didn’t expect referees of the game he loved to be perfect; everyone makes mistakes. He did expect them to be consistent, and most of all, he expected them to respect the game, at least act like they cared about it as much the paycheck. This constant friction between Hooter’s idealism and referee reality meant that he had been tossed from more than one game, not as a player, but as a coach of grade school kids and as an unrepentant spectator. There was a Sunday-School league game the folks around Apache Flats still talked about. These were kids aged 9 to 11. Coaches were assigned teams; at least that was the company line. The notion was to teach the fundamentals

$ of the game, while also sharing Bible verses and Gospel teaching along the way. There were unique league rules, too, such as no double-teaming or screening allowed. At least that’s what the rule book said. By the time Hooter’s team—St. Paul’s Flying Tigers—was in a close, late-season contest with the Pharaohs, he and his team understood that the rules were often ignored and selectively applied depending on the team. Every week, Hooter argued with the refs to follow the rules. The Pharaohs were hand-picked, stacked with size and as much experience as kids that age could be expected to possess. Their record was spotless; winning margins canyonwide. This was a tight contest, though, only because the Flying Tigers had hearts bigger than the decrepit gym they played in, and the sheer aggression that Hooter coveted. Hooter drew his first technical foul in the first five minutes of that game, arguing against the doubleteaming and screening that wasn’t supposed to be allowed. He held his tongue for most of the second half.

TRUCK SCALES • LIVESTOCK SCALES • WAREHOUSE SCALES His face was turning an odd shade between purple and red as he tried to stifle a primal scream. One of the refs came over, stuck his chin out and dared him: “Yes?” Borrowing from an old NBA coach, Hooter said as calmly as he could muster, “You can’t give me a technical for what I think, can you?” “Of course not.” “Well, then, I think you’re the sorriest excuse for a referee I’ve ever seen in my life. Your idiot calls are tearing down everything we’ve been trying to teach for a season, and…” Somewhere in the middle of that soliloquy, amid the referee’s shrill and unending whistle, mixed in with the cheers of the Flying Tigers and their parents, Hooter was ushered to the door. Even Aunt Pinky got tossed from that one. The plaque awarded to him by that team was one of many that hung on his wall.

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“What I’m saying is that different enterprises require different levels of equity risk,” Harold was explaining, apparently expecting Hooter to be listening. “Even though you get to play another round, as you say, has your equity position improved? If not, you’re taking a step down each time you win.” Peetie could tell that Hooter was less than enamored with the advice. For that matter, Peetie was starting to bristle at his business associate offering such copious amounts, unbidden and to someone he didn’t know. “All due respect, Harold, Hooter here may not swing for the fences, but his average speaks for itself.” “But, who wants to be average?” Harold asked to no one in particular. “By the time I retire, in exactly 13 months and 12 days, my portfolio will

SCALE SERVICE • SYSTEMS • PARTS • SALES & CONSTRUCTION be robust enough to…” “Retire?” Peetie and Hooter said in unison. “Of course. Isn’t that the point?” Harold didn’t even try to hide his puzzlement. “I thought the point was to live and do what you can to help your fellowman along the way until it’s time to go home,” Hooter said. He set his jaw and fished out his can of Copenhagen. “Certainly, you want to do what you can,” Harold said with less confidence. “But, at what cost? Surely it’s not a sin to take a few years toward the ends of one’s life to enjoy the spoils of hard work.” Peetie, who had been staring off into the distance, turned to face Harold. “We’re talking two different languages here.” Hooter nodded. “What ever do you mean? Business is business.”

“No, Harold, every business is different, based on the resources and goals of the one conducting that business.” “But…” “You plan to retire, that’s fine. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that means you’re ready and willing to liquidate parts of your portfolio to pay for your retirement.” “Of course, but…” “So, your goal has been to amass equity until you need it?” “I suppose.” “Hooter and I are trying to build equity for the next generation or the one after that. Different language,” Peetie said. Harold drummed his fingers on a fence post. “Well, I think that I see that I don’t see.” He turned to Hooter. “So, what do you think young man?” “And you can’t toss me out for what I’m thinking…” $ 47

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The Perfect Romantic Dinner It may be your looking for something special to serve on February 14th or just a memorable dinner the family will appreciate... here it is!

Prep 25 m

Cook 40 m

Ready In 1h5m

Ingredients Topping: 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 cup chopped pecans Cake: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking pwowder 1 teaspoon baking soda

Jingle Jangle Apple Butter Spice Cake

1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1 cup white sugar 3/4 cup apple butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup whole bran cereal or wheat germ 1 cup sour cream 2 eggs, room temperature

Directions 1 2 3 4

5 6

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch pan. Prepare the topping by mixing together the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chopped pecans. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy; add eggs one at a time, thoroughly beating each egg into the butter mixture before adding the next. Add apple butter, vanilla, and wheat germ or bran cereal. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with sour cream; mix well after each addition. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan; sprinkle with half of the topping. Pour remaining batter into pan and top with the rest of the topping. Bake in the preheated oven until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

Prep 10 m

Cook 1 h 20 m

Ingredients

Bull Sale Day Burgundy Beef and Pasta

1/2 pound beef top sirloin steak, cut into 1/4-inch strips 2 tablespoons diced onion 2 teaspoons butter 1-1/2 cups quartered fresh mushrooms 3/4 cup dry red wine or beef broth 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water, divided 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, divided

1 bay leaf 1 whole clove 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon browning sauce, optional 1-1/2 cups hot cooked egg noodles

Directions

50

1. In a Dutch oven or nonstick skillet, brown beef and onion in butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, wine or broth, 1/4 cup water, 2 tablespoons parsley, bay leaf, clove, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour or until beef is tender. 2. Combine flour and remaining water until smooth; stir into beef mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Discard bay leaf and clove. Stir in browning sauce if desired. Serve over noodles. Sprinkle with remaining parsley. Yield: 2 servings.

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