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THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, JANuARy 25, 2022
Teen raises steer with plans to donate meat to food bank
By DICK MASON
The Observer
SUMMERVILLE — The
Northeast Oregon Regional
Food Bank is set to receive a
one-of-a-kind 1,200-pound
bonus thanks to the generos-
ity of an Imbler High School
senior.
Tel McBride is raising a
steer for his senior project
and plans to donate all of the
meat from it to the North-
east Oregon Regional Food
Bank, which is operated by
Community Connection of
Northeast Oregon. McBride
said he wants to make beef
available to those in need
because the price of meat
has gotten so high during the
past year.
Audrey Smith, man-
ager of the Northeast Ore-
gon Regional Food Bank,
is delighted about the pros-
pect of receiving meat from
the steer.
“Beef is our No. 1
requested item,” she said.
Unfortunately, the North-
east Oregon Regional Food
Bank rarely can provide
beef because the cost makes
it prohibitive. Smith said
in the five years she has
been manager of the North-
east Oregon Regional Food
Bank, it has been able to
offer beef only a couple of
times.
Smith is McBride’s men-
tor for his senior project and
said she is impressed by the
steps he has taken to make
sure the meat from the steer
will be able to be distrib-
uted by the food bank. The
Imbler senior is ensuring
the meat processing com-
pany is properly certified so
the meat meets government
health standards for public
distribution.
The steer is one of five
McBride is now raising
and among about 30 he has
raised altogether.
McBride started raising
cattle at his family’s home
more than a decade ago. He
stopped for a few years and
then started raising cattle
again in 2017. He said rais-
ing cattle is a process of per-
petual discovery.
“It is fun. Every day I
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Tel McBride stands with his cattle at a Summerville ranch.
learn something new about
them,” he said.
McBride, whose mother,
Susy, works for Community
Connection of Northeast
Oregon, added cattle can be
unpredictable.
McBride said when cat-
tle make up their mind to do
something they are hard to
stop.
“If they want to go some-
where they will go there,” he
said.
McBride’s interest in cat-
tle dates back 15 years when
he was visiting a ranch in
North Powder run by Butch
Mascall, who offered a free
calf to him if he could lasso
the animal.
“I lassoed it on my first
try,” he said.
McBride’s family took
the calf home and proceeded
to help raise it. McBride
went on to raise more cat-
tle, while receiving guid-
ance from Mascall and for-
mer La Grande Police Chief
John Courtney.
McBride plans to sell
off his cattle after graduat-
ing from high school so he
can have a chance to attend a
school in Hermiston for rail-
road conducting. After grad-
uating from there he plans to
pursue a career in railroads.
He will be following the
lead of his father, Kevin,
who works for Union Pacific
Railroad.
McBride said that he will
likely return someday after
high school to again raise
cattle at some level because
it is in his blood.
“It is something I really
enjoy,” he said.
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