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
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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
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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
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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
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Cowan Dairy.
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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
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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-
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motherapy treatments and rid
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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
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accelerate through connec-
tions with interested investors
around the world.
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support local players in doing
things like this,” Dyson said.
Any idea to improve health
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to be vetted by local groups, in-
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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
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All ideas that work or fail
will be shared among the other
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Improving school lunches is
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assist, according to organizers.
No plans have been set
yet and possible ideas are still
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woman Patti Atkins said. At-
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communities are getting anx-
ious, but plans are in the early
stages.
“Right now it’s so uncom-
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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-
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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.
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ville’s role with an analogy of
a group helping a business, not
acting as the owner of the busi-
ness.
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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