THE SPOKESMAN • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2022 A3
LocalNews
FFA, band teachers win awards
By Spokesman staff
Two Redmond High School
teachers were recognized for na-
tional and regional achievement
at a back-to-school assembly
at Redmond High School on
Sept. 15.
Lance Hill, Redmond’s agri-
science, fabrication and design
teacher, was awarded the Hon-
orary American Future Farmers
of America degree — the high-
est national FFA honor. Hill has
been teaching in the Redmond
School District for 13 years and
has 25 years of teaching experi-
ence overall.
“Lance Hill is well-known in
the agriculture and FFA world.
His work with students in these
areas is unmatched, and it’s
no wonder he is receiving this
award,” said Dr. Audrey Hau-
gan, Redmond High School
principal in a press release. “He
makes a difference in the lives
of our students every day, and
the honors and awards our stu-
dents bring to Redmond High
School year after year are a tes-
tament to his hard work and
dedication.”
Hill will be receiving his
plaque and medal at the 95th
National FFA Convention in
Indianapolis next month where
the RHS FFA livestock evalua-
tion team will also be compet-
ing for the national title.
Ben Lawson, RHS Band and
Choir teacher, was awarded the
2023 Regional Teacher of the
Year through the High Desert
Education Service District. He
received a plaque and a cash
award at the assembly. Lawson
is also in the running for Ore-
gon’s 2023 teacher of the year.
“Ben has been teaching for
eighteen years and has touched
thousands of young lives with
his passion for music, his cre-
ativity, and his unwavering
commitment to music educa-
tion,” said Principal Haugan.
Principal Haugan also spoke
about how Lawson went above
and beyond during the pan-
demic to keep his students in-
volved and connected through
music.
“If something did not work
well, Ben created something
new,” said Haugan. “I don’t
JAROD OPPERMAN/The Bulletin
FILE- Redmond High School ag teacher Lance Hill instructs students on wiring basic circuits using national electricity code standards in 2016.
Photo courtesy Redmond School District
Ben Lawson, Redmond High band and choir teacher, was awarded the
2023 Regional Teacher of the Year through the High Desert Education
Service District.
think anyone spent more time
or energy in creating new ideas
to engage his students as Ben
did.”
“We’re very grateful to have
such incredible educators on
our team and in our commu-
nity,” said Dr. Charan Cline,
Redmond School District su-
perintendent.
JAROD OPPERMAN/The Bulletin
FILE- Redmond High School ag teacher Lance Hill helps students, from left, Haily Brown, Callie Nance and
McKenzie Miller tend to their geraniums in 2016.
Redmond beef co-op to lead new climate program
$10 million effort to make
cattle ranching good for
planet
BY GEORGE PLAVEN
CO Media Group
The USDA is providing $10
million to help establish what
advocates say will be the larg-
est program to promote cli-
mate-smart ranching in the
West.
Sustain-
able North-
west, a Port-
land-based
nonprofit,
is working
with Coun-
Probert
try Natural
Beef of Red-
mond to adopt “regenerative”
agricultural practices at 120
different ranches across nine
states, covering more than 7
million acres of public and
private rangeland.
Regenerative agriculture
refers to methods of farming
and ranching that build soil
health, improve water reten-
tion, increase biodiversity and
sequester carbon from the at-
Sustainable Northwest
A ranch in the Klamath Basin. Sustainable Northwest has received a $10 million grant from the USDA to implement the largest climate-smart
regenerative beef production program in the West.
mosphere.
In the case of beef produc-
tion, ranchers may consider
rotational grazing of cattle,
where the animals are rotated
frequently between pastures.
This allows forage and grasses
to recover more quickly, re-
plenishing organic matter in
soil while preventing erosion.
“This is the next generation
of climate action,” said Dal-
las Hall Defrees, regenerative
ranching program director for
Sustainable Northwest. “How
can we ensure that the food
we eat is storing and reducing
greenhouse gases, enhancing
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ecosystem processes and sup-
porting family- and tribal-run
ranches?”
Funding comes from
the USDA’s Commodity
Credit Corporation through
the Partnership for Cli-
mate-Smart Commodities
Program, which allocated $2.8
billion for 70 projects in all 50
states, plus the District of Co-
lumbia, Puerto Rico and tribal
nations.
The Partnership for Cli-
mate-Smart Commodities
also provided $50 million
to Oregon State University,
which is collaborating with
Washington State University,
the University of Idaho and
Northwest farms and tribes to
improve soil management.
Earlier this year, Sustain-
able Northwest also received a
$488,500 grant from the M.J.
Murdock Charitable Trust to
roll out its regenerative ranch-
ing program with Country
Natural Beef.
Country Natural Beef is
headquartered in Redmond
and is the country’s largest
beef production co-op.
Program leaders predict
they will reduce the carbon in-
tensity of beef production by
50-100% compared to conven-
tionally-raised beef; sequester
enough carbon every year to
offset 1 billion gallons of gas-
oline or 10 billion pounds of
coal; and provide $67 million
in annual increased market re-
turns for producers.
Country Natural Beef will
market this meat under the
name “Grazewell.” The co-op
sells to well-known regional
and national restaurants
and supermarkets including
Whole Foods, New Seasons
Market and Burgerville.
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(541) 526-5543
1950 SW Badger Ave #102,
Redmond, OR 97756