Happy Thanksgiving to You and Your Families. 

Last month many of our members went to the Five States Round-Up in Clayton, New Mexico. This was hosted by the Lariat CowBelles for the 37th year. This is quite an accomplishment for any group and we salute you ladies! They always put on a very nice event with agricultural information, a good beef luncheon and a nice style show.

Their sponsors in the area show much support and many of us bought items from them, as well purchasing our in house products to support New Mexico CowBelles. Our new T-Shirt was available for purchase, but the new bumper stickers weren’t available yet. These new bumper stickers will be brought to our meeting in December for purchase. While supporting the New Mexico CowBelles also remember to support the New Mexico Cattle Growers Silent Action.

We are all getting ready for the New Mexico CowBelles 2011 Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, the first week of December. This is in conjunction with the Joint Stockman’s Convention, which includes New Mexico Cattle Growers and New Mexico Wool Growers, Dairy Producers of New Mexico, and the New Mexico Federal Lands Council. Reservations are available for this Joint Stockmen’s Convention by calling the Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid North at 800-262-2043. The deadline is Nov. 15 .

We will be having a NMCB Board of Directors meeting on Friday, December 2 starting at 1:45 p.m. This is for the state officers, district representatives, local presidents, committee chairs, but is open to our members as well. Our NMCB Annual Membership meeting will be held the next day, December 3, starting at 7 a.m. We will be having a breakfast meeting which isn’t included in the Joint Stockman’s registration, so please mail your $25 to Lyn Greene. This breakfast registration deadline is November 20. We don’t have registration at the door, because the hotel needs a count beforehand, so please get your money in to reserve your place. This is a really good time to reconnect with your friends around the state and a great way to meet new members. During our meeting on Saturday, we will have Jill Ginn, American National CattleWomen President as our guest speaker, the elections of New Mexico CowBelle officers, the 2011 Beef Ambassador Winners for Junior & Senior division will present a program, as well as the installation of our new 2012 NMCB officers. It will be a full meeting and hopefully much enjoyment for those who come. Just a reminder that this is the time to pickup your 2011 packets on Saturday and update your Red Book when you get back home.

I would like to thank Lynn Sewert for asking me to be an officer in New Mexico CowBelles several years ago. A real learning experience has taken place since then, but I am grateful for this opportunity. I have had many people give me support and advice to whom I say thank you. I couldn’t do this without your help and this includes my family.

This is the time of year that many people are thinking of the changing seasons and all that entails in their daily lives. We know that this seasonal change is a signal that the weather is cooling off and hoping that the end of the year will be good to our businesses.

With all the different entities trying to tell those in agriculture how to do their job and putting more rules and regulations in place to hinder business, each day is a new challenge. I hope that your determination carries with it hope and faith into the next year, and since we are lucky enough to be connected to the land in a special way, we are all blessed. Those “do-gooders” who may hear the call of Nature, don’t realize that we who make our living from the land are doing the best possible job to care for the land and feed the world. This is not just a job to us, it is our way of Life.

Thank you for all you do each and everyday!

– Linda Lee,
New Mexico CowBelles President 2011

Powderhorn CowBelles met on October 11, 2011 with 15 members present and Vice President Nancy Schade presiding. A letter regarding the NM Department of Transportation’s meeting in Fort Sumner on November 16 and 17, 2011 was read. The DeBaca County Commission asked if CowBelles would provide a meal for 40 people attending this conference. Membership voted to provide a “beef” meal. Members volunteering to help President McKenna plan and serve this meal will be Dorie Tucker, Karen Cortese, Ellen Vaughan, Beverly Ann Overton and Fances Fikany. After the meeting, Karen Cortese gave an interesting program about her January, 2011 trip to Israel. She told the group that the climate in Israel is very similar to that in DeBaca and Guadalupe Counties. The Israeli Government owns all the farmland in their country and gives farmers a 49-year lease. Farmers grow flowers and vegetables for export. They also grow bananas. Plants are watered with a drip system. At this time they have a salt cedar eradication program because cedars were introduced to the area several years ago to eliminate erosion; very similar situation to that in New Mexico. Karen reported that salsa, roasted peppers and chili were frequently on the Israeli menus however they had a slightly different taste than what is served in New Mexico. Carolyn Bedford, Secretary

With 10 members present, Lariat CowBelles met on October 12, 2011, at the Rabbit Ears Café. The new location of the State Fair Beef booth: in a quieter place; people were looking for recipes and information, and overall sales were down this year was discussed. Time sheets are due. The 5 States Round Up was discussed. 187 invitations were mailed out, 75 people paid, and 72 people attended. The decorations were made up of organza, wine glasses, vases with flowers, and candy. The silent auction had 26 items up for bid. The brisket dinner by Ben Creighton was excellent and the buffet worked much faster than a sit-down meal. There were very nice gifts for each attendee from Farmers and Stockmans Bank and First National Bank of New Mexico. The November meeting will be a membership meeting. Any women interested in joining Lariat CowBelles are invited to come to that meeting which will be held Nov. 9, at the Rabbit Ears Café. The election of new officers for 2012 was held. President: Owaissa Heimann; Secretary: Shea Arnett; and Reporter/Historian: Marianne Rose. The Hertzstein Museum is no longer retaining the Lariat CowBelles’ scrapbooks. The scrapbooks are being stored by the Lariat President for now. Sharon King is running for President Elect of New Mexico CowBelles. Marianne Rose was voted as Lariat CowBelle of the Year. Respectfully submitted by, Marianne Rose Reporter, Lariat CowBelles

The 37th Annual 5 State CowBelle Round Up, “Understanding Consumer Trends in Beef Demand”, was held October 5, 2011, at the air park in Clayton, NM. There were 72 guests attending from Colorado, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Updates were given, such as the Food Pyramid has been replaced by the My Plate to make it easier for the consumer to understand. There were handouts available on different topics on beef, such as recipes, posters with the new cuts of beef, and information from the Beef Council. The first program was a telephone webinar “Consumer Shifts in Thinking and Behavior – Impact on Beef Demand”, presented by John Lundeen, PhD, Executive Director of Marketing for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association from Denver, Colorado. He discussed the beef industry’s long range plan strategies to improve domestic consumer preference for beef; improve the image of beef; lobbying in Washington, DC; the world export of beef, and to insure an adequate supply of beef. The consumer preference for beef planning initiative is to make sure the beef that hits the plate is quality, is economic, and healthy. Some methods are to integrate beef into different ethnic foods and explain the cuts of beef and how to turn them into a great meal. Beef demand is being impacted by price, nutrition, convenience and safety. Beef can be promoted by passing recipes on Facebook and posting cooking demonstration videos using beef on YouTube. The American Heart Association now recognizes three cuts of beef as being heart healthy. Nutrition teams will be focusing for the next twelve months on promoting the BOLD diet which alters the DASH diet by including cuts of beef with no adverse effect on the healthy nutritional outcome. The second program was “Feeding to Please the Consumer” by Mike Hubbert, PhD, Superintendent, Clayton Livestock Research. He discussed what happens to cattle in the feedlots. The feedlot customer is the packing plant. Corporate feeders are able to do a better job because they can afford more experts in nutrition and management and better qualified workers. One of the research projects involves studying the effectiveness of vaccines on cattle who receive them upon arrival to the feedlot. The consumer needs to be aware the FDA requires ‘no residue of antibiotic’ in meat. Some packers tag packaged meat “guaranteed to have no residue of antibiotic” and charge higher prices for the product that is no different from any other packaged meat. Most of the research is being done by private research companies and their marketing department decides what information to disseminate to the public and how. Financial support needs to be given to university research stations that do disseminate their findings to the consumer. A style show of the new fall fashions was presented by Espy’s/Three West, Wanda Bradley, Coordinator and Candra Acuna narrator. The third program was “Food Safety & Security in a Global Market” by Owida Franz, Union County Extension, 4-H, and Home Economist Agent. She discussed safety issues at food processing plants, agri-terrorism, how diseases and poisons can be brought to the United States and spread and their effect on the food industry and the consumer. It was a great day of education, socializing and networking with others in the beef industry. Respectfully submitted by, Marianne Rose Reporter, Lariat CowBelles

Grant County Copper CowBelles met September 13, 2011 with President Pat Hunt presiding. Scholarship Committee will meet Sept.19. Denim and Pearls is October 15. Discussion of items needed, ticket distribution, desserts, and decorations pursued. County Fair: The Copper Cowbelles booth will be set up and open to fair goers Sept. 29- Sat., Oct. 1. Discussion of setup, signup, children activities and prizes occurred. Fort Bayard Days: Pat Hunt will have a table at Fort Bayard Days Sept. 16. at 9:00am. Arley Howard volunteered to join her. Group also reminded of “Catch the Kid” festivities downtown on Sept.16. Kim Clark and Georgia Bearup will have a booth set up in the lobby of the Silco theatre. Past President’s Luncheon: The date has been set for Nov. 5. Thank you to Joan Woodward and Bobbie Neal-Little who have been busy planning the details. They will be sending invitations to past presidents, for whom the Copper Cowbelles will be picking up the tab for lunch. Pat Hunt has agreed to give a brief speech welcoming the past presidents. Gale Moore has volunteered to take photos to document this special gathering. Wanda MacInnis, Arley Howard, and Gale Moore will be available to pick up and drive the ladies who may need transportation. New Business: Storage room key – The Farm Bureau (closed from 12:00-1:00 pm), Pat Hunt and Western Bank will all have a key. Names were drawn for the door prizes. Submitted by: Wanda MacInnis, Secretary

New Mexico CowBelles: Thank you to all who have submitted their news to “Jingle Jangle.” Please send minutes and/or newsletters to:
Jingle Jangle, Janet Witte, 1860 Foxboro Ct., Las Cruces, NM  88007 or email: janetwitte@msn.com