On April 15, 2024, the Arizona State Cowbelles (ASC) hosted their second Gate to Plate-style ranch tour in Green Valley at the Santa Rita Ranch. The entrance welcomes visitors with their name proudly displayed and the motto of “Faith – Family – Agriculture,” setting the perfect tone for the rest of the day. 

This tour for “influencers” connects attendees with cattlewomen from around the state, facilitating networking and sharing about all things beef. ASC President Trina Sue Riggs of Willcox, Arizona shared, “The goal is to talk to the people that talk to people. The more people that we can teach, the further our message can go.” 

This year’s 10 guests included chefs from the Flagstaff area, social media content creators, local educators, and a cooperative extension agent. It was an eclectic group that made for fun conversations. 

It was weaning time on the ranch and all the beautiful Red Angus calves were on their “best” (or normal) behavior, making a great background to the tour. The guests got to see the curious and sometimes opportunistic side of the calves by picking up feed from the feed bunks for the calves to come check out. The calves curiously obliged. 

The guests got to be in the pens with the cattle and toured the barn and working facilities. At each part of the tour, the discussions varied but everything centered around ranching and the beef industry. 

Right before lunch, everyone gathered around a map of the ranch. Micaela McGibbon, cattlewomen host and ASC vice president, described the pasture system and water supplies the ranch maintains for their cattle year-round that also supports the wildlife in the area. With dozens of drinkers “not in use for cattle today” because of rotational grazing but still providing water, the wildlife would not survive if the water was unavailable. Rotational grazing is a term that may be very common in the ranching industry today but not everyone understands it like a rancher may. It was explained how the land and the cattle can all benefit from this managed grazing technique, and, in many cases, how it can improve an ranching operation. 

Another of a rancher’s biggest challenges is when they are ranching on public-access land, which is a component of a large majority of ranches in western states. The amount of litter and disregard some of the public show to ranch land is stressful, expensive and can be dangerous to livestock. Cattle are prone to munch on anything and everything and things like mylar balloons or plastic bags can be fatal if ingested. 

Lunch was a cowboy-style delight of steak, potatoes and beans with lots of sides. A Cowbelle sat at each table during lunch to share anymore insight they could with the guests.  

7 Cowbelles participated, including a cattle veterinarian,  and were thankful for the opportunity to share about their ranching heritage and work to raise beef. This outcome of networking in a beautiful setting while sharing a love for food and the land, had the potential to reach the combined 233,588 social media followers of the influencers in attendance. 

This program is made possible by a longstanding partnership between the Arizona State Cowbelles and the Arizona Beef Council. 

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About the Arizona Beef Council         

The Arizona Beef Council is a non-profit organization served by a nine-member board of directors representing cattle growers, cattle feeders, and dairy farmers, and are appointed by the Governor of Arizona. These volunteers oversee the Beef Checkoff and Checkoff-funded programs. 

About the Beef Checkoff Program          

The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States may retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA Approval. For more information, visit BeefBoard.org.           

About the Arizona State Cowbelles 

The Arizona State Cowbelles (ASC) work to contribute to the success of the beef cattle community by engaging in activities designed to promote the consumption of beef by engaging the public about its benefits, advocate statewide and nationally for the interests of the beef community, promote the heritage of ranching and support youth interested in agriculture, share the contributions of the rancher in stewardship of the land and protecting the environment, and participate in and contribute to the American National CattleWomen, Inc. To learn more about ASC, visit here.