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CapitalPress.com
March 25, 2016
People & Places
Rancher-vet passes on knowledge
Jill Swannack
mentors others,
leads statewide
organization
Western
Innovator
Capital Press
LAMONT, Wash. — Jill
Swannack knew she wanted
to be a veterinarian when she
was 7 years old.
“Somebody said to me,
‘You can be anything you
want to be,’ and I looked at
them and said, ‘I’ll be a vet-
erinarian,’” she said. “And
that was it.”
Swannack received her
State University in 1991 and
has been practicing in the
Sprague-Lamont area since
1992. She treats large and
small animals.
Swannack and her hus-
band, Art, raise 900 sheep on
their ranch. She was elected
president of the Washington
State Sheep Producers in Oc-
tober 2014 and is the irst fe-
male leader of the organiza-
tion that she is aware of.
Swannack said she would
like to include more small-
er and non-traditional sheep
producers in the organiza-
tion.
“As an industry we rep-
resent the large producers
well,” she said. “(Smaller
producers are) where the in-
dustry is really growing.”
The organization offers
Jill Swannack
Age: 50
Title: President, Washington
State Sheep Producers;
veterinarian
Hometown: Monroe, Wash.
Current location: Lamont,
Wash.
Education: Doctor of
veterinary medicine degree,
Washington State University
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
Lamont, Wash., veterinarian Jill Swannack, president of the Washington State Sheep Producers, man-
ages a lamb as she looks to Washington State University veterinary students during a lambing school
on her ranch March 12.
schools on lambing, held on
Swannack’s ranch, and on
health screening and shear-
ing, as part of an emphasis
on education, mentoring and
community involvement.
“It’s passing on skills,”
Swannack said. “You can
watch a video and you can
read about it, but until you
get your hands on it and do it,
it’s just not the same thing.”
Are there many female
large-animal vets?
“There aren’t many large
animal vets,” she said with a
laugh. Swannack grew up on
a Monroe, Wash., dairy farm,
and was surrounded by a va-
riety of animals. Swannack
blames the low vet numbers
on a lack of knowledge, since
few people are born in rural
environments today and grow
up around livestock.
“They’re willing to work
rurally, but they don’t want
to do cattle,” she said. “I tell
(students), ‘You can’t work
rurally and not do cattle. Most
people have been around cats
and dogs, the kids that love
horses, they bond with that
animal. With cattle, you’ve al-
most got to come from where
it was part of your livelihood
to have true experiences with
them.”
She expects the number of
large-animal vets to remain
low.
But there is hope for the
future: Her daughter, a high
school senior, recently decid-
ed she also wants to be a vet-
erinarian.
“More than anything, I
want my children to do what
interests them,” Swannack
said. “I counsel all my kids
that because we are a farm
family, we are a minority, and
that is a huge strength in the
job market.”
Lamont area resident Har-
ry Harder said Swannack has
helped mentor him as he start-
ed a sheep lock over the last
two years.
“You can ask her anything
you want and she will answer
to the best of her ability,” he
said. “Working with her is like
Family: Husband, Art, is a
rancher and Whitman Coun-
ty commissioner; children
Carmen, 19; Leah, 17; and
Owen, 14
Website: https://www.
facebook.com/Washing-
ton-State-Sheep-Produc-
ers-207117485979912/
working with a close friend or
family, even.”
Louise Belsby ranches
south of Cheney. Swannack is
her veterinarian.
“I have rolled in the mud
with Jill pulling a calf — I
have never seen anybody
work so hard to keep a calf
alive, going through a tough
birth,” Belsby said. “She’s not
just a vet, she’s also a produc-
er, and I think that makes a big
difference.”
Oregon Dairy Farmers give two achievement awards
SALEM — The Oregon
Dairy Farmers Association
honored the Oregon Dairy
Women and Larry Hansen
for their contributions to the
industry at the association’s
recent convention.
The Oregon Dairy Wom-
en, a nonproit organization
that promotes the dairy indus-
try, received the Community
Service Award, according to
an ODFA press release. Han-
sen, Northwest and Mountain
Division Pool Manager for
Organic Valley, received the
Distinguished Service Award.
The Oregon Dairy Women
is an all-volunteer organiza-
tion. One of their promotional
efforts is the dairy princess
ambassador program, which
has been active since 1959.
Princess ambassadors have
been educating children of
all ages through school pre-
sentations, county and state
fairs and other events. During
2015, princess ambassadors
reached more than 15,500 stu-
dents across the state.
The dairy women have
also made the Red Barn an
Online
www.oregondairyfarmers.org
Photos courtesy of Oregon Dairy Farmers Association
Members of the Oregon Dairy Women are shown at the recent
Oregon Dairy Farmers convention in Salem, where they received
the Community Service Award.
icon of the Oregon State Fair,
where they have invested
countless hours to provide ice
cream to the public. Proceeds
are donated to 4-H and FFA
programs, Ag in the Class-
room, Oregon Ag Fest, the
Summer Ag Institute, dairy
judging teams, Adopt a Farm-
er and the princess ambassa-
dor program.
The dairy women have
also given scholarships to
more than 100 students in
the last 12 years. The schol-
arships go to college students
from dairy families, students
studying dairy-related majors
and community college stu-
dents.
They have also been an
important part of ODFA’s
Dairy Day at the Capitol the
last several years.
“Thanks on behalf of all of
our members. We are pleased
to be recognized for our ef-
forts,” said Jill Hewitt, pres-
ident of the dairy women, in
the press release. “The Ore-
Larry Hansen, left, receives
the Distiguished Service
Award from Allen Hanselman,
representing the Oregon Dairy
Farmers Association, at the
annual convention in Salem.
gon Dairy Women work hard
to promote dairy products
and dairy farmers. We look
forward to continuing to serve
this great industry.”
Hansen has worked in the
dairy industry his entire life,
starting out as a teen-ager
working on a farm. He worked
as a herdsman on a Willamette
Valley dairy. From there he
worked for Walco Internation-
al, Darigold, Horizon Organic,
and in 2012 he became the
Northwest and Mountain Divi-
sion Pool Manager for Organic
Valley.
Larry and his wife, Laurie,
have been married more than
40 years and have two children
and seven grandchildren. He
has been a Boy Scout leader
for over 25 years, mentoring
many young men.
The words that come to
mind when you think of Larry
are: milk quality, loyal, efi-
cient, sense of humor, and a
friend to the dairy industry,
said Tami Kerr, ODFA exec-
utive director. “Larry is be-
loved in our state. It doesn’t
matter who you ship to, Larry
means a lot to everyone. ...
Our board was very pleased to
honor and recognize him for
his many years of outstanding
service.”
The Oregon Dairy Farm-
ers Association, established in
1892, works on behalf of Ore-
gon’s 240 dairy farm families.
Donations sought for Dayton FFA alumni dinner auction
Dayton FFA alumni are
seeking donations for the 26th
Annual FFA Alumni Auction
and Dinner on April 2.
The auction is held in the
old gym at Dayton, Ore.,
High School.
“The auction is the largest
Calendar
fundraiser the alumni do,”
said Ian Heard, president
of the Dayton FFA Alumni.
“Proceeds from the auction
go toward vocational ag pro-
grams that would otherwise
go unfunded. In years past, we
have been able to help send
Sponsored by:
To submit an event go to the
Community Events calendar on the
home page of our website at www.
capitalpress.com and click on “Sub-
mit an Event.” Calendar items can
also be mailed to Capital Press,
1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem, OR
97301.
4 p.m., Eastern Washington Agri-
cultural Museum, Pomeroy. www.
co.garield.wa.us/museum
Saturday, April 2
Thursday, April 7
26th Annual Dayton FFA Alumni
Auction and Dinner, 5-9:30 p.m. in
the old gym at Dayton High School,
801 Ferry St., Dayton, Ore. The
silent auction starts at 5:30 and an
“agrilicious dinner” will be served at
7 with the oral auction following at
8. Tickets are $10 per person and
may be purchased at the door or in
advance by calling the Dayton Ag
Shop at 503-864-2080.
Spring Farming Days, 9 a.m.-
4 p.m., Eastern Washington Agri-
cultural Museum, Pomeroy. www.
co.garield.wa.us/museum
Sunday, April 3
Spring Farming Days, 9 a.m.-
Established 1928
Board of directors
Mike Forrester ..........................President
Steve Forrester
Kathryn Brown
Sid Freeman .................. Outside director
Mike Omeg .................... Outside director
Corporate oficer
John Perry
Chief operating oficer
By MATTHEW WEAVER
doctor of veterinary medicine
degree from Washington
Capital Press
Wednesday, April 6
Idaho FFA State Leadership
Conference, College of Southern
Idaho, Twin Falls. idahoffa.org/
Growing Agripreneurs — A
Season of Farming Training, 6-9
p.m., Growing Agripreneurs is a
seven-month program, beginning
April 7, designed for beginning
farmers interested in gaining the-
oretical and practical knowledge
through classes, ield work, mar-
keting, food preservation, farm
tours and one-on-one mentoring.
Pre-registration required. Southern
Oregon Research and Extension
Center, 569 Hanley Road, Central
Point, Ore. Cost: $350 (couples
discount, $600) Partial scholar-
ships available. http://extension.
oregonstate.edu/sorec/farms
Idaho FFA State Leadership
students to the National FFA
convention in November.”
The doors will open at 5
p.m. for registration at DHS.
“The silent auction will be-
gin at 5:30 with a staggered
closing of the tables starting
at 6:30. Every 20 minutes a
table will close,” said Heather
Oliveria, silent auction chair.
An “agrilicious dinner” will
be served at 7 p.m. with the oral
auction following at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $10 per person
and may be purchased at the
door or in advance by calling
the Dayton Ag Shop at 864-
2080.
Any individual or business
that would like to donate an
auction item, time, money or
services to this year’s auction,
call Karen Goddik at 503-
560-9275.
GASES / WELDING / SAFETY / FIRE
20 Northwest Locations
Conference, College of Southern
Idaho, Twin Falls. idahoffa.org/
Idaho, Twin Falls. idahoffa.org/
Friday, April 8
Idaho FFA State Leadership
Conference, College of Southern
Idaho, Twin Falls. idahoffa.org/
Oregon Cranberry Growers
Twilight Meeting, 4 p.m., Robinson
Farm, Bandon, Ore. www.oregon-
cranberrygrowers.com
Saturday, April 9
Wednesday, April 13
96th Annual California Ram
Sale, Viewing starts at 8 a.m.
Over 400 range rams from Cali-
fornia, Oregon, Idaho and Utah.
Crossbred, Hampshire, Suffolk
and White-Faced (Columbia, Ram-
bouillet) rams will be auctioned
off in the sale. In addition three
purebred ewes will also be sold.
Also, ultrasound carcass mea-
surements and a range ram index
will be provided on all sale rams,
Porterville Fairgrounds, 2700 W.
Teapot Dome Ave., Porterville, Ca-
lif. http://cawoolgrowers.org/sale/
ramsale.html
Idaho FFA State Leadership
Conference, College of Southern
Tuesday, April 12
International Fair of Agricultural
Technologies Conference and Ex-
hibition, FEXPO Agricola Central,
Talca, Chile
Thursday, April 14
International Fair of Agricultural
Technologies Conference and Ex-
hibition, FEXPO Agricola Central,
Talca, Chile
Friday, April 15
International Fair of Agricultural
Technologies Conference and Ex-
hibition, FEXPO Agricola Central,
Talca, Chile
Saturday, April 16
Oregon Women for Agriculture
Auction & Dinner, 5-9 p.m. The or-
ganization’s 29th annual fundraiser,
themed “Oregon Agriculture A to Z,”
will take place at the Linn County
Fair & Expo Center, 3700 Knox
Butte Road E in Albany, Ore. Cost:
$40 per person. http://owaonline.
org/owa-auction-2016/
Holistic Land Planning, 9 a.m.-5
p.m. Create the ideal land plan for
your ranch. What is the ideal lay-
out of your fences? Where should
infrastructure be located to facilitate
animal handling and movement?
Kittitas Valley Event Center, 901 E.
Seventh Ave., Ellensburg, Wash.
Cost: $227 until April 2. www.root-
sofresilience.org
International Fair of Agricultural
Technologies Conference and Ex-
hibition, FEXPO Agricola Central,
Talca, Chile
Hood River Hard-Pressed Cider
Fest, noon-7 p.m., 3315 Stadelman
Drive, Hood River, Ore. http://ho-
odriver.org/cider-fest/
Capital Press Managers
Mike O’Brien .............................Publisher
Joe Beach ..................................... Editor
Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director
Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor
Barbara Nipp ......... Production Manager
Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager
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Index
Dairy ...................................... 9
Markets ............................... 13
Opinion .................................. 6
Correction
A story on page 7 of last week’s
editions incorrectly identiied the
Crook County, Ore., sheriff’s dep-
uty who investigated the killing of
a rancher’s three guard dogs. The
deputy’s name is Brian Bottoms.
The Capital Press regrets the
error.
Correction policy
Accuracy is important to Capital
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