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
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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.
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