MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Past, present and future, the Idaho Cattle Association — and change — are constants
BY JAY SMITH ICA President
The ICA helps preserve and promote this great industry and its legacy
M
y great-grandfather had a homestead ranch in Southeast Idaho, near the small town of Poplar. In the fall of 1924, he took a trip up to Lemhi County to visit a cousin and do some hunting. I’m not sure of the planned duration of this journey, but it ended up being a one-way trip. He found a beautiful ranch at the head of the Carmen Creek Valley that was listed for sale, purchased it and did not personally return to his former home. Instead, he sent a messenger to let his wife and children know that they needed to pack up and head north. His wife and the younger children made the trip, part of the way by train and the remainder by car. The oldest two boys (just teenagers) were instructed to round up the stock and drive them to the new ranch, which they had never seen, some 200 miles away. My great-uncle Archie was one of the two boys, and he spent his 16th birthday on Gilmore Summit in subzero temperatures. The livestock transportation mission was completed just two days before Christmas. The livestock business has always been tough and full of challenges, and I have always said that the only constant in life is change. A lot has changed since 1924 — a whole lot — but we are still here raising children and cows on the land we love. As we rapidly approach 100 years in our “new” home of Carmen, I can’t help but reflect on the challenges overcome and sacrifices made by past generations to create the success we enjoy today.
4 LINE RIDER OCTOBER 2021
PHOTO PROVIDED BY JAY SMITH
Every fall we pick the bull calves we want to keep and cut the rest. My crew, friends and neighbors come help. It’s always a fun way to get a big job done. With that said, I believe it is the duty of each and every one of us to preserve the legacy of the generations that came before us and create opportunity for the generations that will follow us. There are many ways to go about this, but for me and my family, the Idaho Cattle Association has been a great tool to preserve the legacy, promote the industry and protect the viability of Idaho’s cattle industry. And we hope that this will continue well into the future.
www.idahocattle.org
