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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2015)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015 JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian From left, Chris Holen, a culinary teacher at Seaside High School, Marvin Avilaz, an adviser with HICCup, and Esther Dyson, founder of HICCup, visited The Daily Astorian newsroom Monday. Wellville: The challenge LVWR¿QGKHDOWK\IRRG students will actually eat Continued from Page 1A JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Melody Cowan helps calves reach the feeder in the weaning barn. Dairy: ‘Baby calves are my thing’ Continued from Page 1A ee April Zorich stirred total mixed ration, a mixture of es- sential nutrients, to help feed the approximately 500 calves, which Melody said can take about 5,000 pounds of milk and rations a day to feed. “Baby calves are my thing,” said Melody, who comes from a dairy farming family in 5LGJH¿HOG :DVK ZKLOH KHU husband’s family farmed near Cathlamet. The Cowans’ dairy cows, predisposed to grazing, are sought after across Canada and the U.S., especially in Missou- ri, where Brad said many New Zealanders have set up season- al pasture dairy farms. This spring, they started raising EDWARD STRATTON — The Daily Astorian :DJ\XVSUL]HGIRUWKHLUXVHLQ Running Cowan Dairy are, from left, Nathaniel, Marika, Brad, Melody and Julian Cowan. Kobe beef. Brad said the family can sell about 200 calves and cows Desi Velasco holds up a year. This year they held on a calf he found during a to many, populating Green- search of the covered area Gold Dairy, a 250-acre con- used for calving at the ¿QHPHQWGDLU\WKDWZHQWXQGHU Cowan Dairy. ¿QDQFLDOO\ DQG VWRRG YDFDQW for a year before the Cowans purchased it in October and JOSHUA BESSEX The Daily Astorian started setting up operations there. The family is constantly improving the genetics of their herd, a specialty of son Julian. All of the best cows get insem- inated, he said, and the best of the best get their embryos tak- en out and put into other cows. ty, Brad said. The family has Gold. His oldest son Nathan- no plans of going to 1,400 iel, 31, has been largely man- Growing in Astoria mature cows, instead looking aging the Astoria farm in his The beginning of their ma- to create a more sustainable absence, along with Marika, jor expansion, Brad said, came grazing operation between 26, who helps Melody with with the installation of their ro- Astoria and Nehalem with payroll, milks and can speak tating milking parlor, shipped longer lifespans and fewer Spanish. from New Zealand and com- young cows. Melody said she didn’t ful- missioned in 2004. Cows, Brad and Melody still ly realize how much of a help bribed in with some feed, walk technically own Cowan Dairy her kids are until recently, into one of 50 slots, are hooked in Astoria. GreenGold is joint- when she thought she would up for milking and take a spin ly owned by them and their lose Julian, 29, to late-stage while eating. children. lung cancer. By the time the parlor ³:H¶OO DOZD\V EH LQ- He’s returning to work came in, the dairy had in- volved,” said Brad, 56, about after having a successful sur- creased to about 700 cows. their succession planning. gery. By Jan. 30, Melody said, Under their most recently “The kids will be taking it VKHKDG¿QLVKHGKHURZQFKH- &RQ¿QHG $QLPDO )HHGLQJ over as they get older.” motherapy treatments and rid 2SHUDWLRQ &$)2 SHUPLW The Cowans’ oldest child, herself of breast cancer just in meant to ensure manure Aleia, 32, is a nurse in Port- time to start calving. does not pollute surface and land, but the other three ap- “The work we do, and the groundwater, the Cowans are pear interested in being career hours we put in,” she said, allowed up to 1,400 mature dairy farmers. struggling to hold back tears, animals. Brad has been busy setting “ I’m really happy I can do it The permit is a technicali- up the operation in Green- with my kids.” lunches, are something the :D\ WR :HOOYLOOH FRXOG KHOS accelerate through connec- tions with interested investors around the world. ³:KDWZHDUHWU\LQJWRGRLV support local players in doing things like this,” Dyson said. Any idea to improve health LQ&ODWVRS&RXQW\ZLOO¿UVWQHHG to be vetted by local groups, in- FOXGLQJDUHFHQWO\IRUPHG:D\ WR:HOOYLOOH 6WUDWHJLF$GYLVRU\ Council, which includes stake- holders in business, social ser- vices and education. The Strategic Advisory Council will take local ideas and match them with interested investors through the help of :D\WR:HOOYLOOH All ideas that work or fail will be shared among the other IRXU:HOOYLOOHFRPPXQLWLHV Improving school lunches is GH¿QLWHO\RQWKHOLVWRISRVVLEOH SURMHFWV:D\WR:HOOYLOOHFRXOG assist, according to organizers. No plans have been set yet and possible ideas are still IRUPLQJIRUWKH¿YH\HDUFKDO- OHQJH:D\WR:HOOYLOOHVSRNHV- woman Patti Atkins said. At- NLQV XQGHUVWDQGV WKH :HOOYLOOH communities are getting anx- ious, but plans are in the early stages. “Right now it’s so uncom- IRUWDEOHEHFDXVHZHDUHVWLOO¿J- uring out what we want to do,” Atkins said. At Seaside High School Monday, Dyson sat with stu- dents, met with the school’s head cook, its food supplier Chartwells and culinary teacher Chris Holen, who owns Baked Alaska in Astoria. Dyson discovered only 98 students out of about 475 stayed on campus for the school lunch, which was pizza or nachos. Many students crossed the street to fast food restaurants and convenience stores. The challenge, which has been attempted with other ini- WLDWLYHVLVWR¿QGKHDOWK\IRRG students will actually eat, Dys- on said. Logistics and cost are larger hurdles to improving the lunches. “It’s complicated. If it were easy, people would have done it,” Dyson said. Dyson spent Monday in Clatsop County prior to speak- ing in Portland Tuesday night at the Linus Pauling Memorial Lecture, which covers topics in science, technology and society. Along with visiting Sea- side High School, Dyson also toured Tongue Point Job Corps Monday. Dyson, who visited Clat- sop County in January for a kickoff event, said she is en- couraged with the foundation of programs and groups in the community that revolve around health. 6KHGHVFULEHV:D\WR:HOO- ville’s role with an analogy of a group helping a business, not acting as the owner of the busi- ness. :D\WR:HOOYLOOHZLOODVVLVW where it can, but it will be up to the locals to achieve a healthier community. “If it happens without us, that would be great, too,” Dys- on said. Paul John Hayner, MD WELCOME BACK! Columbia Memorial Hospital would Dr. Paul John Hayner like to welcome Dr. PJ Hayner back to Internal Medicine Astoria! Dr. Hayner, who specializes in internal medicine, has opened a new primary care clinic, Renaissance Health, at 1406 Marine Drive, Astoria. Dr. Hayner previously practiced in Astoria from 2003- 2010. Then he and his wife have worked and lived in California for five years, but the Columbia-Pacific region stayed in their hearts. We are happy he chose to return to Astoria. At Renaissance Health, Dr. Hayner cares for adult patients with a focus on preventative care. To contact Renaissance Health, call 503- 325-0505. ([FKDQJH6WUHHW$VWRULD2UHJRQ÷ ZZZFROXPELDPHPRULDORUJ÷$Planetree Designated ® Hospital
