Humble Lessons Learned~PNW Young Cattlemen's Conference

Pacific Northwest Young Cattlemen’s Conference

Humble Lessons Learned

A few days ago I found myself once again sitting on what has now become a staple ride in my life, the ever infamous tour bus. As I was traveling the countryside along I-84 just south of the Washington border I realized the cattle industry has in fact brought a constant to my life. In the past three years if there is one thing I can count on it would be that a ride in a tour bus through barren countryside will most definitely find its way on my yearly agenda! It seems any shenanigans I am involved with can be traced back to those inconspicuous tours with ‘Cattlemen’s Conference’ in the title. This most recent ride through the western countryside was no exception, as it was in honor of the 2nd Annual Pacific Northwest Young Cattlemen’s Conference.

I cannot begin to tell you about this year’s PNW YCC tour without reminding my fellow WCA members of the tour and my humble if not naïve beginnings. If I think back to January of 2009, I was just a few months into volunteer writing for the WA Cattlemen’s Association. At that time I did not even know what a ‘Cattlemen’s Conference’ was, let alone did the Pacific Northwest Cattlemen’s Conference yet exist. I did not even learn of NCBA’s Cattlemen’s Conference until late February of 2009. All I had to hear was a trip that ended in Washington DC and I was determined to get myself there. Two months later I had found myself a spot on that big ol’ tour bus and was in for much more than a tour of the nation’s capital. Since then there has been no hint of ‘woah’ in the WCA or my vocabulary, thus the cattle shenanigans began!

Jump forward to January, 2010 and the first ever regional Young Cattlemen’s Conference was held right here in the little ol’ Pacific Northwest. The previous summer I received a call from Julie Laird, director of Oregon Cattlemen’s young member Association. Julie and Ron Rowan of Beef NW Feedlot had come up with an idea to bring the same caliber of tour as the national YCC here to the Northwest. I immediately took them up on their offer to be part of this opportunity and the planning began. With a dose of hope and positive thoughts, our goal was to have 25-40 folks attend, however, our positive thinking brought in 125 registrants to this inaugural PNW YCC tour.

January, 2011 ushered in the second annual PNW YCC tour and with it came 150 registrants. If my WSU math skills serve me well, then the proof is in the numbers that the inaugural tour was far more than beginner’s luck. A master philosopher once said, “If you build it, they will come”. We built this year’s tour around the Columbia River and all that the abundance it provides for WA, OR, and ID. We met in Pendleton, OR and quickly loaded the buses for our first stop at Beef Northwest's Boardman, OR feedlot. Pete Szasz led the tour around the feedlot and also gave us an in-depth outline of each department that makes a feedlot go 'round. From learning where the feed originates from, animal health, feedlot records/accounting, & traceability of finished product not a detail of the cattle feeding industry was left out. We learned about both conventional cattle feeding as well as an overview of natural and other niche feeding programs. From there we toured Columbia River Dairy, a 24,000 dairy that milks 70% Jersey cows. This dairy is part of RDO Farms and therefore most of the cattle feed is supplied by the farming operation or other locally produced commodities. In all the hype of the green movement, is there anything more green than using commodities from your own back yard? After the dairy we jumped over to lunch at the Port of Morrow which was one of the highlights of my day seeing as I work in the agricultural export industry. A tour of Pacific Ethanol followed and the buses split off to tour MacKenzie Ranch or LGW Ranch. I had the pleasure of visiting LGW Ranch, owned and operated by the Wadekamper family. Evach individual on our bus was both humbled and inspired by this amazing family. Our cup of inspiration and motivation runneth over at this stop. From there we traveled on to Baker City for dinner and a round of speakers at the Thomas Angus Ranch. We received top treatment with a steak dinner served in their beautiful barn and a chance to hear from speakers that had been flown in from around the country. Saturday found us ushered back on the buses for the trip to La Grande, OR for a day at Beef NW's 7th annual Cattlemen's Workshop. We heard from industry brains from as far as the University of Kentucky, Texas A & M, and every place in between. In less than 24 hours, 150 folks traveled over 320 miles, toured every aspect of the cattle industry and received an education that many college degrees will never supply. The most humbling part? Every inch of this opportunity was free thanks to generous donations by the three PNW Cattlemen Associations, our allied industries, as well as the individual time, money, and hospitality generously given by each facility and speaker. There is nothing of monetary value gained from those involved in such generous opportunities as this tour. Would you believe that? What is gained can never be counted in silver or gold. These folks share their own good fortune, the lessons they have learned and the knowledge they possess so that those coming up in the ranks will have a fighting chance at making it in this world.

Before and after that infamous ten day trip across the US back in 2009 as part of the NCBA Young Cattlemen’s Conference I earnestly pursued starting something in the WCA for members to be involved in that were…well... younger than our grandparents. Once my YCC trip was over and I landed back in WA I was even more convicted of offering some fresh involvement for the generations of "X, Y, Z". In just a few short years I continue to be amazed at all the opportunity awaiting us in this world, especially in the cattle industry. Each of us have faced a severe recession, uncertain political climate in our country and world, and numerous personal losses. However, opportunity IS patiently waiting to be found under every rock, hard place, and even under every cow’s tail. I have found that opportunities are as readily available as Costco samples on a Saturday and my desire has been tha folks from my neck of the woods will have knowledge of these opportunities. From my experience, it is so easy to be involved in the cattle industry on any level of involvement one desires. The key word being, involved.

What are we taught from a young age? Well, we are taught a dirty word or a sassy tone mean lunch tastes more like a bar of soap than a bologna sandwich. We are taught not to do drugs or alcohol (thank you DARE), and we are taught to be nice to other people. The most important lesson we are ALL taught as soon as we can walk on our own is in order to function in life, in order to survive, we must evoke effort. Resourcefulness, being involved, putting forth effort, just being present in life, does not come easy to some. Those that did not know how to start a washing machine until college or later, YES I am referring to you. Eventually though the bars of soap get put away, the playground teachers are no longer around to preach about sticks & stones, and we all have to do our own laundry. It is time to get take initiative and clean up some parts of our lives because folks are waiting on you. Look around and you will see how much you are needed by your neighbors, your community, and your industry. You would have never learned how to start that washer, change that irrigation pipe, or doctor that heifer if someone did not send a dose of their own initiative your way. It’s time to share your good fortune and life lessons before your time runs out.

~For more information please visit the Young WA Cattlemen website~

Previously published January, 2011 in'The Ketch Pen', a WA Cattlemen's Association periodical.