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CattleWomen’s Corner
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We will prevail by helping those in need and each other!
By Oregon CattleWomen’s President Jenny Coelho
OCW News
As you all know the spring events for the Oregon CattleWomen and all our county affiliates have been cancelled or postponed to a later date and some until next year. I just found out that the OCA/OCW Mid-Year meeting that was scheduled in July has been cancelled and that it will be held virtually instead. The Oregon Ag Fest and the ANCW Region V meeting have been rescheduled for next year 2021. I hope that by the time this article reaches your mailbox that there will have been changes made, people are healthy and if you have been economically affected, I hope you can hang in there until our economy starts moving again.
We are facing some unprecedented times within our lifetime and we are especially grateful to those who are working very hard to help others in healthcare and all of the other essential workforce that are working longer hours to help take care of those in need right now. Agriculture is more important than ever as we strive to produce the necessary food and products to feed America. Some of you have seen some shortages of certain products in our grocery stores and we got a glimpse of what items are very important to our consumers. Our youngest daughter, who lives on an Air Force Base, went to a local grocery store to buy meat for dinner. When she got to the meat department everything was sold out, except the fish, so our grandchildren had fish for dinner that evening! Our other grandkids at their ranch needed a little entertainment. With all the toilet paper missing in every store, here is a picture that we just love. A little humor goes a long way in these times of uncertainty!
With all the virtual learning at home, I want to share with our OCW Members and our County Affiliates the OCW webpage about “Beef Education” at https://www.orcattlewomen.org/beef-education/. You can find puzzles, fun arts and crafts, as well as education flyers about beef production, and beef by-products for our youth. One lesson about beef by-products is “There is a Cow in my Marshmallow” that the kids really enjoy! There is also educational lessons for the adults such as the Masters of Beef Advocacy Class that has five self-guided lessons that address environmental sustainability, beef nutrition, animal welfare and beef safety, the beef lifecycle and how we get our product from pasture to plate. The course also offers historical context on the evolution of the U.S. beef industry from the time the first cattle were brought to North America to today. Please feel free to share this information with other parents and
teachers who might be looking for something different and new to keep the kids interested in learning!
Need a break with the kids from all the studying at home? Then check out the great ideas on the Oregon Beef Council website at https://www.orbeef.org for cool beef recipes and learning about the latest cuts of meat and how to prepare them. The Oregon Beef Council has a link to the “Beef It’s What for Dinner” website, https://www. beefitswhatsfordinner.com, that is a wealth of information from chef quality cooking lessons to delicious mouth-watering meals.
OCW Scholarship applications have been received and the Scholarship Committee will review the applications during the month of May virtually. We will be excited to announce the OCW scholarship recipients this summer. If any of our OCW members would like to serve on the Scholarship Committee, please let Melissa Ladner know. We appreciate all the applicants that took the time to complete the application and submit the required supporting documents. Thank you to all our donors who have supported this program and to Melissa Ladner, our Scholarship Committee chair!
On the Horizon
Oregon CattleWomen Mid-Year Summer Business Meeting will most likely be a virtual meeting and the OCW Executive Committee will discuss what we can do to accommodate our general membership with keeping you in the know of what our organization is doing during this phase of social distancing. Look for more information next month on the Oregon CattleWomen website or the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association app.
ANCW Mid-Year Business Meeting will be held at the Gaylord of the Rockies in Aurora, Colorado on July 28-29, 2020. An ANCW Leadership class will be held at this meeting and if you will be attending the meeting, I encourage you to attend this class. So far this event has not been cancelled, but if so, we will notify you by email and in the June article.
April Showers Bring May Flowers!
This is the time when we are beginning to do some spring brandings and getting ready for turning out the cows and calves or yearlings on summer pastures and rangeland. Just remember to close the gates to the front yard or the cows just might be munching on your tulips! •
