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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 2020)
Wednesday, November 25, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Soaring... PHOTO BY JODI SCHNEIDER HolyCow Sisters has a mission to “Eat Clean. Be Connected. Do Good.” PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK HOLYCOW: Sisters- based charity has international reach Continued from page 3 and the proceeds go to good causes.= The Vogt9s first cause is donating all the proceeds to an orphanage in Southern India. HolyCow beef is donated locally to Wellhouse Market, a food bank through Wellhouse Church in Sisters. <A couple of years ago, after we began our hobby farm, Jared went on a trip to India with our church to do mission work and made a connection to a pastor from Good Samaritan ministries,= Crystal explained. <There was an orphanage and Jared fell in love with the kids and the people. The orphanage had to be torn down because of a windstorm and the 67 children were scattered about living wherever they could.= Jared wanted to raise money to build a new orphan- age. Even though building an orphanage in India is less expensive than it would be here in the United States, he realized it would take too long to raise the money just by asking for donations. Crystal added, <He fig- ured the best way to raise money was for us to become a nonprofit, buy more cows, hoping more people will want to experience a connec- tion to their food and give the proceeds to the cause.= Now, dozens of cows graze in a pasture east of Sisters. <We get the cows in the spring and raise them on the best grass all summer,= she said. <We also began rotating them to different pastures, since we now implement regenerative agriculture.= Regenerative agriculture is a farming and grazing practice that rebuilds soil organic matter and restores degraded soil biodiversity 4 resulting in both carbon and drawdown and improving the water cycle. <Instead of cattle ravag- ing the land and ruining it, A bald eagle commands the skies over Cloverdale. we are intentionally moving them every day or two to new pastures, so the cow gets new growth, and it improves the soil they just left,= Crystal said. Beginning this last sum- mer, the Vogts, along with volunteers, have been poly- cropping over 30 acres at the ranch. Poly cropping can be described as multiple species planted together to comple- ment each other and benefit the soil. Crystal told The Nugget, <We went in and planted all different layers to help the land. We planted turnips that go down into the soil and help loosen it up, and then peas, oats, rye and clover. We put together a wheel line and move it twice a day to water the crops. Then we harvested the oat grass and bundled that up for the cattle for this winter.= The Vogts didn9t stop there. <We invited volunteers to help,= she said, <We want a chance for young people to come on out and be able to see how there9s value in working with your hands, to accomplish something as great as raising cows.= The cattle on the ranch are beef cows, from Angus and Red Angus to Shorthorn and more. Crystal added, <This was a great opportunity to work together with people for a good cause and I think this was healthy for everyone.= <It9s been really amaz- ing to see the progress of the orphanage they are building in India. It9s already been one-third funded, they9ve broke ground, and built the downstairs.= Last year, Pastor Prakash, who runs the Christian orphanage in India, visited Central Oregon with his fam- ily. They were able to see the ranch and meet the cows that will be providing their orphans a new home. Portraits OF SISTERS Sisters Dental WE ARE HERE FOR YOU! Trevor Frideres, D . M . D . Greg Everson, D . M . D . 541-549-2011 491 E. Main Ave. • Sisters www.sistersdental.com Hours: Mon., 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tues.-Thurs., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fri., 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Bring in this coupon for $2 OFF $1 OFF or any 16-20 lb. bag of Cat Food any 30-35-40 lb. bag of Dog Food 102 E. Main Ave. 541-549-4151 Offer good through 12-31-20. Coupon not valid with any other promotion. Limit one coupon per customer per month. PHOTO AND STORY BY Cody Rheault A talented storyteller and filmmaker in his own right, Sam Pyke has made a life out of revealing the world through his lens. The youngest of four boys, he’s a Sisters native. After graduating Sisters High School and Oregon State University, he found his passion behind the cam- era over a decade ago when he started filming hunting shows. He’s currently the Director of Photography for the Len Babb Movie Project (visit lenbabbmovieproject. com for more information), and when he’s not filming cattle drives from horseback he has his eye fixed on the horizon for the next great story to tell. 21