February 2025

Serendipity
/ˌserənˈdipədē/
Noun
the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way; a happy accident

Some people believe there is no fate and others believe we are all just drifting in the wind. I believe a life of purpose is lived somewhere in between helping yourself get where you want to go and knowing sometimes the wind will blow you off course. It is that mixture of purpose and windy days that brought me here.

If you’re just coming to the Washington CattleWomen for the first time, welcome! I hope you will consider joining us. There is no cattle ownership requirement. We only require that you have a love of the people, the livestock, the land, and the natural resources devoted to the raising of Washington state’s cattle. Those cattle will eventually feed your friends, neighbors, and the world. You can learn more about membership here.

If you’re a longtime member of the WCW, thank you for being the lifeblood of this organization! Without you, we would lose our way. When it comes to telling the story of our community, you are the keepers of the family photo albums, all the “good dirt,” and the best recipes.

We need to combine the “old” stories from our long-time members with the “new” stories from our freshest faces in the next chapter of our community tale. Perhaps the next story highlights efforts to minimize wildfire damage through understory grazing with our cattle. Maybe we are sharing the nutritional benefits of beef through low-cost meal options courtesy of the Beef Commission. Possibly a generational ranch shares how succession planning looks between unusual inheritance relationships.

What makes our farms and ranches extraordinary is that each is unique. Two ranches with the exact same breed of livestock, number of animals, feed, sire program, water, and calving schedule operating side-by-side will still be different because of the people working and living on the ranches.

All farming and ranching, at its core, is about the people who do it. It is about serendipitous moments that happen to make our daily lives just a little bit better than they were before. So, I hope you’ll take time this year to catch a moment of serendipity and share it with someone who is not familiar with your operation. It might mean the difference between success and a windy day.

Sincerely,

Pam Lewison
JP Ranch
Washington CattleWomen President