Greetings Cowbelles. 

Spring is here and with it the New Mexico winds. It will continue until it ends and trying to guess when that will be is really only relying on hope. I hope it’s soon! The temperatures have warmed, the calves are growing and it’s time to get out and enjoy.

Spring brings branding, vaccinating, fence mending, water line repairs and more, but the days with strong winds make it miserable to be out doing what needs to be done.

With the end of the wind comes the heat and worries about fire danger, keeping up with water for livestock and wildlife, and the list goes on.What I’m trying to say is we can always find something to complain about. Let’s spend this year being thankful for what we have and where we live. We can all enjoy the beautiful sunsets, mountains, variety of things to do, our families and loved ones.

As we focus on the positives rather than the negatives in our lives we’ll find that those around us are much more receptive to our message. We need to be sure that we keep our message positive when we promote our beef story. Promote the positives of our way of life. Let others know that in addition to the delicious and nutritious benefits of eating beef, cattle make other wonderful contributions to the world we live in. Grazing helps control wildfire by reducing the amount of material that can fuel these fires. Cattle provide fertilizer and their hoof action aerates the ground to allow the moisture in, helping natural grasses grow. When cattle move from pasture to pasture while grazing they act like the mower for your lawn, making the grass grow back faster and the root system stronger. These roots hold the soil in place when the heavy rains come.

Remind those you talk to about the benefits that come from cattle by-products. Things like crayons, glue, soaps, asphalt, tires, boots, gloves and sports equipment. All these and more use cattle fats, proteins, and hide. If we keep enforcing the positives of beef, soon we will be on the offense rather than the defense.

Positive people are more likely to garner the support of others. If we all work to see the big picture our critics will come out on the losing end of any argument about grazing and beef because there will be nothing to argue about. We have the facts on our side. Let’s get that support by being part of the solution, not part of the problem.

If, like me, you are old enough to remember the lyrics: “You’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, and don’t mess with Mister in-between.” I hope you will all join me in accentuating the positives of cattle grazing and beef.

Most of all remember: “The Best Stewards of the land are Farmers And Ranchers!”

                          – Beverly Butler, NMCB President



DATES TO REMEMBER

• May 21-23 – ANCW Region V & VI in Hawaii
• June – Beef Promotion Month Beef for Father’s Day
• June 24-26 – NMCB Mid-Year & Board Meeting & Beef Ambassador Contest, in Ruidoso at Inn of the Mountain Gods
• July 25-28 – Cattle Industry Summer Convention & ANCW Meeting in Denver, Colorado.
• August – State Fair Manpower $ and Insurance due to State Treasurer

The Jan. 21, 2012 meeting of the Berrendo CowBelles was held at the Little Valley Bar and Grill, in Dexter. The President Genora Canon called the meeting to order at 12:00 noon. There were six members present. The minutes of the December meeting were read and approved as read. Correspondence: A Thank You note was read for our “Add-ons” at our County Fair. Treasurer’s Report: Carmen Barbe’s report was read, approved and will be filed. Unfinished Business: Genora Canon opened the discussion on the NMCB Workshop we will be hosting March 19. It was decided to hold the Workshop at the Little Valley Bar and Grill in Dexter. The registration fee will be $20 due by March 12, 2012. Genora had samples of decorations that her daughter Jessie and granddaughter in-law Shelby Moore are working on and everyone liked them. It was decided to have Genora Canon look into motel prices for rooms for the State Officers and make the reservations. New Business: Lillian Graham presented Past President Betty Solt and Georgia Perry with Berrendo CowBelles of the Year plagues. Meeting adjourned 12:35 p.m. Submitted by Genora Moore

The March 1st meeting of the Otero CowBelles was at the Sunset Run Restaurant. The membership to date is now 54 members counting one new member who joined during the meeting, Cathe Prather. Mary Sanchez, who is a voting member of Mesilla Valley, paid dues to our local. On the agenda was an in depth discussion about our fund raiser for this year and about something to hand out at different events that will show our logo and information about what we do as CowBelles. One suggestion was to hold a cooking class for the many people that would like-to learn how to cook a beef brisket. We were honored to have Denise Guerra come to give us an update in voting procedures in our area. Denise is chief deputy in the County Clerk’s office and she gave us a list of all of the voting places and of the up-coming elections that will concern us. Roma Duncan is collecting items to send to the troops, she said that they especially would like to have talcum powder, beef jerky, teas, cocoa mix, pouches of tuna, dried fruit, nuts hard candy and gum. The female soldiers requested nail polish and other girly items. Roma is doing a super job of this and has heard from several of the GIs expressing their appreciation for her efforts. The All American Beef Battalion will see some of our members on the serving line. We are looking forward to the informative district workshops and seeing old friends and meeting new ones. The treasurer was directed to give President Rupe a gift certificate to Staples as gift for serving Otero CowBelles as president in 2011. Submitted by: Barbara Wagner, secretary

The March meeting of Chamiza CowBelles was called to order by President Gloria Petersen who also led the Pledge of Allegiance. Treasurer’s report and minutes of the previous meeting were approved as presented with one correction: The Pat Nowlin scholarship is open to not only the child of a CowBelle, but also to any paid member of CowBelles. Gloria reported the license plates had arrived. Discussion was held regarding attending one of several district meetings. More people seemed inclined to attend the Silver City meeting. Information of this meeting was passed out to those interested in attending. Tommie had several newspaper clippings for the scrapbook which were given to Jane. Gloria announced several community forum meetings were to be held regarding the new hospital. Ag Day has been scheduled for April 20. The school children will be served the same meal as last year. More details will be forthcoming. The beef council sent Gloria a box of new posters, some of which are already laminated. The group appreciates having new information for the fair booth. Sioux expressed an interest in maybe forming a “spur” group of CowBelles from just the Winston area, stating that some women from remote ranches in the area may attend if meetings were closer to them. However, many of them were invited to attend this meeting and none of them came. Gloria decided to table the discussion for the time being. Meeting adjourned at 11:55 followed by a delicious lunch.

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