Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/396475
Whileattendingthe National Beef Ambassa- dor Competition in Den- ver, Colo. there was lead- ership training for the youth,which I sat in on. We need to remind con- sumers that 97% of United States farms and ranches are family owned, and we may be large farms or ranches but we are not factory farms. Consumers fear what they don't know, and 42% are concerned the way their food is grown. They used to be able to visit the grandparents who were still on the farm. Milk the cow, feed the pigs, gather the eggs from the chick- ens, and pull a carrot in the vegetable garden. Now most people are three gen- erations removed from the farm and think their food comes from the grocery store. They don't realize a farmer or rancher spent his life producing safe, healthy food for them. "People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." We care about our ani- mals, the environment and we hear their concerns. We feed our families the pro- duce, crops and animals we raise, so we want it to be safe too. We have standards for animal care and provide training for everyone who handles cattle to ensure proper treatment. For beef cattle it is Beef Quality As- surance, and the dairy in- dustry has Dairy Quality Assurance. "We care; it is an obliga- tion, not an option." A very interesting din- ner speaker was Paul Clay- ton, USMEF who spoke di- rectly to the Beef Ambas- sadors in the front tables. They were told, "You are representing the beef in- dustry at the highest level. You have the ability to talk to the consumers, abil- ity to drive your focus, the passion to manage the is- sues and not drive the is- sues." Be loyal to your brand. There are five chal- lenges for the beef indus- try in the next 20 years. To feed the world with the in- creased population; tech- nology acceptance in food production; consumer sat- isfaction; the challenge to teach the millennials how to cook beef; and coun- tries moving from cereal diets to protein diets. Fashionshowand luncheon Years ago when the Red Bluff Elks Lodge was on the corner of Main and Pine streets the Tehama County CowBelles decided to have a luncheon and fashion show to help en- tertain the visiting wives of the cattlemen who came to Red Bluff for the bull sale. Over the years the women became buyers of the bulls, horses and dogs instead of spending an af- ternoon watching a fash- ion show. Someone needs to go through the old CowBelle- CattleWomen scrapbooks to know exactly how many years the tradition of lun- cheon and fashion show has continued. This year the Roarin' '20s is theme, Rolling Hills Casino is the location and the date will be Nov. 8, with a boutique starting at 10 a.m. and petite steak luncheon followed by a fashion show with mas- ter of ceremonies retired Judge Richard Schueler. Guests are invited to come dressed in that era. Jeannie Garton is gen- eral chairwoman of the event, with Laurel Walker in charge of the boutique vendors. If interested in being a model, contact Jeannie Garton at info@ americanembroiderymart. com or 527-8129. Ticket sales are handled by Shelley Macdonald, rsjwmac@sbcglobal.net or 529-9679. Tickets are $28 and reservations close Oct. 31. Renee Ewing will be assisting at the door. The CattleWomen will again have a Cowboy Pan- try where homemade des- serts, candy, locally grown nuts and fall fruit will be for sale. Pem Lester is in charge assisted by Mi- chelle Blunkall and Kelly Mouton. Linda Walker and Anne Read will handle the pub- licity. Jeanne Smith will handle the stage decora- tions. TCCW president is Danielle (Zane) Deniz. The 2014 CowBelle of the Year will be an- nounced during the lun- cheon. This woman is rec- ognized for her contribu- tions to the organization. In 2013 two women were honored for their passion for the beef industry, Betty Peek and Jeanne Smith. Past recipients over the years : 2012, Cathy Tobin, 2011 Ruth Flory, 2010 Una Jordan, other 2000 hon- orees were Linda Walker, Shirley Davis, Pem Lester, Jere Lee Hale, Renee Ew- ing, Joyce Bundy, Shelley Macdonald, Jackie Baker, Barbara Frost- Kloose and Sue Knox. The 1990s recognized Jean Barton, Gusti Ker- stiens, Fay Andreini, Judy Chamberlain, Vicki Hen- derson, Thelma Owens, Joan Hemsted, Flora Turri, Carol Mieske and Patty Kelly. The 1980s recognized Anne Read, Mary Turri, Waynette deBraga, Con- stance Crowder, Barbara Keeler, Lois Cook, Jan- ice Knight, Beth Chaney, Rosemary Jackson, and Maxine Davies. The 1970s recognized Mary Miller, Betty Al- ford, Mabel Luther, Bertha O'Brien, Romayne Brown, Ruth Murchison, Cathe- rine Richardson, Linda Jenkins, Jeanne Burch- Hubbard, Sharen McKen- zie. The first honoree's were known as CowBelle Moms, and in 1963 Josephine Ow- ens, 1964 Bernice Alford, 1965 was Loretta Flournoy and none named in 1966. The first Tehama County CowBelle of the Year was 1967 Anne Wil- lard, 1968 Freda Owens, and 1969 Virginia Mar- tin and Jonnie Lancaster shared the title. Our 2014 honoree will be recognized at the Cali- fornia CattleWomen Cow- Belle of the Year luncheon on Nov. 21 at the Poolside Terrace , 5th floor of JA Nugget in Sparks, Nev. Better late than never In the Oct. 8 mail, our Aug. 29 issue of ProRo- deo Sports News arrived in my mailbox. No won- der everyone relies upon their smart phone or com- puter when it took more than five weeks to come from Colorado Springs, Colo. The note on the ad- dress label read: Postmas- ter: Please deliver on or by Sept. 1. JEANBARTON Youth learn leadership in the ag industry COURTESYPHOTO The 30Beef Ambassadors from across the nation at the National Beef Ambassador Competition in Denver. By David Mercer AssociatedPress MORTON, ILL. Every year between August and early November, Steve Beuttel eats a lot of pumpkin pie. "I try to make it every day, and I'm usually pretty good at it" — it being what he calls quality control. Beuttel is the operations manager for the Libby's pumpkin cannery that's at the epicenter of the canned-pumpkin world: the small central Illinois town of Morton. For 13 or so weeks, a seemingly endless line of big rigs delivers pump- kins — millions of them — that'll become count- less pies and loaves of sweet, fresh-baked pump- kin bread. Somewhere between 80 and 85 percent of all the canned pumpkin con- sumed in the United States comes from this cannery, owned by parent company Nestle USA. That gives Morton a pretty good claim to the ti- tle it embraces, Pumpkin Capital of the World. And in a good year with a cool Midwestern summer like this one, Libby's has the cannery running day and night. No place else grows the pumpkins the cannery needs, so a bad year in Morton's pumpkin fields can mean pumpkin panic. That happened in 2009, when wet weather meant a small crop as many pump- kins were left to rot in deep, muddy fields. "About 10 days before Thanksgiving that year, we put out an alert," Nes- tle spokeswoman Roz O'Hearn said. "'You better buy it when you see it because we've had to suspend the har- vest.' ... We had reports that people were going into their local supermarkets and, where they would see it, people would like sweep the shelf (of cans)." Pumpkins aren't quite everything in Morton, but they mean a lot to the for- mer farming town — pro- viding an annual festival, about 150 seasonal cannery jobs and another 50 or so year-round in this town of 16,000. Pumpkins give Morton an identity beyond being a bedroom commu- nity for nearby Peoria, said John Ackerman. He grows 30 acres of pumpkins for Nestle and another 30 to sell from his farm. "We're the people that have pumpkin pancakes at our Pumpkin Festival," he said. "It's fun. We under- stand just how much Mid- west Americana that is. We enjoy it." Other than the arrival of Interstate 74 in the 1960s, no other event quite de- fines Morton as much as the beginning of pumpkin canning in the 1950s, ac- cording to Mary Lynn, cu- rator of the history room at the Morton Public Li- brary. The freeway connected Morton to Peoria, where many residents now work. And the cannery, formerly used for a range of canned vegetables, helped claim the pumpkin-capital title, something that had been pinned on another small town about 16 miles away, Eureka. Several thousand acres around Morton are now planted every year with pumpkin seed provided by Nestle. The company checks the land of contract farmers — more than 200 in some years — for production po- tential. Beuttell won't say exactly what the company looks for, but in general, "Good pumpkin soil drains well, has a good nitrogen content, (and) has a little bit of sand in it, actually." The company has high standards, Ackerman said. "They have to test their soils to a high degree," the farmer said, adding that his squashes are regularly tasted. USING THEIR GOURDS One town has its hand in 1000s of pumpkin pies ASSOCIATED PRESS In this Sept. 30photo, pumpkins are harvested for the Libby's pumpkin cannery, which makes more than 80percent of all canned pumpkin eaten in the United States, in Morton, Ill. 100JacksonStreet, Red Bluff (530) 529-1220 NEW Membership Specials CallorComeIn for details RUNNINGS ROOFING SheetMetalRoofing ResidentialCommercial • Composition • Shingle • Single Ply Membrane Ownerisonsiteoneveryjob ServingTehamaCounty 530-527-5789 530-209-5367 NoMoney Down! 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