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COOKIN’ UP COMMUNITY • STREAM TO PLATEALDERSPRING RANCH • UN-PHO-GETTABLE

Celebrating the food culture of Idaho

Fall 2016 • Number 16

Member of Edible Communit ies

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2 GRIST FOR THE MILL

4 EDIBLE READLentil Underground: RenegadeFarmers and the Future of Food inAmericaBy Casey O’Leary

5 IDAHO FINDPress & Pony’s housemade tonicsBy Linda Whittig

6 FRESH HOPPIN’ BEERIdaho brewers rush to producetruly local, seasonal drinkBy Scott Ki

11 THE SYMPHONY OF THE SEED, PART IIIe squirrelling of the seedBy Casey O’Leary

14 ALDERSPRING RANCHWhere new cowhands learn oldtricksBy Cindy Salo

20 COOKIN’ UPCOMMUNITYOutdoor feast has more on themenu than great foodPhotos and story by Guy Hand

26 STREAM TO PLATEA foraging adventure with Chef René Stein By Annie Fenn

Contents30 UN-PHO-GETTABLE

ree spots to slurp a bowl of noodly brothBy Tara Morgan

35 REASONS TO EAT IT UP!By Sherri Brooks Vinton

40 SEASONAL LISTBy Mike Landa

COVERPhoto of calf at Alderspring Ranch by Melanie Elzinga

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ALDERSPRINGRANCH

Where new cowhands learn old tricks

BY CINDY SALOPHOTOS BY MELANIE AND LINNEA ELZINGA

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Although Glenn and Caryl Elzinga of Alder-spring Ranch look like typical Idaho ranchers,their cattle operation is far from ordinary.

Like other ranchers, their homestead liesin a remote, spectacular mountain area calledthe Pahsimeroi Valley in central Idaho. eyraise skilled cowhands—seven daughters whorange in age from 11 to 22 years old. ey alsograze cattle on private and federal rangeland.

But what sets them apart is their privateand leased land is certified organic and theysell grass-fed, organic beef to consumers acrossthe country. ough they’re first-generationranchers, their ideas on grazing and raisinglivestock have existed for thousands of years.

Glenn and Caryl are in their mid-50s.He’s a self-described “recovering timber beast”who spent his career working as a forester, andshe’s a PhD plant ecologist who, literally,wrote the book on rangeland plant monitor-ing. As a result, science-based reasoning andcommon sense guide the Elzingas’ beef oper-ation. ey’re currently developing a cattlegrazing method they believe produces healthy,delicious beef, allows ranchers to maintainwildlife habitat to meet federal regulations,and generates good returns.

Typical ranchers check and move theirrange cattle regularly. Some ranchers hire rid-ers to herd cattle out of areas they could dam-age, such as creeks. But critics of public landgrazing say even this doesn’t adequately pro-tect watersheds and wildlife habitat. eElzingas’ approach addresses this criticismwith careful management. ey live with theircattle—or their “beeves,” as they call them—24/7 while they’re on public rangeland. In ad-dition to keeping beeves out of sensitive areas,homegrown cowgirls and hired cowboys movethe herd continuously to keep its impact low,and show Alderspring stock where to find thebest grass as they follow summer up themountains.

eir trek starts in late spring, when theherd leaves Alderspring’s 1,650 acres of privatesagebrush-grass range and irrigated pasture.ey head north onto the 46,000-acre federalHat Creek Allotment, which is almost as largeas the city of Boise. At night, beeves rest in-side a portable electric fence while cowhandscook dinner in a camp kitchen and later crawl

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into sleeping bags. With people nearby, pred-ators and rustlers avoid the temporary camp.

e Elzingas bought Alderspring Ranchin 2007 from e Nature Conservancy(TNC), which had acquired the land, for-merly known as the Moen Ranch, in 2004 toprotect habitat for wildlife, especially chi-nook salmon, steelhead and bull trout. Up-land areas of the property form AlderspringRanch and Idaho Fish and Game holds theriparian habitat along the river. Conservationeasements shield both properties from devel-opment.

Mark Davidson, director of conserva-tion initiatives for Idaho’s TNC, said his or-ganization is participating in the herdingproject because it turns on its head the cur-rent paradigm of simply fencing and herdingcattle out of some places. e Elzingas are theonly cattle ranchers trying this labor inten-sive approach to meet their ranching andconservation goals.

Davidson noted other differences be-tween the Elzingas and typical ranchers. “efirst time I met them, their ranch vehicleswere Toyota Tercels. Glenn is a tall guy andhe drove up and unfolded himself and gotout. When I asked about his vehicles, he said,‘ey’re cheap, they get great gas mileage andyou can [use them hard].’”

Last year was the first summer of Alder-spring’s “new” approach to grazing. It was thefirst summer they didn’t lose any animals towolves, poisonous plants, theft or straying.

e Elzingas also saw healthier beeves, whichmeant more beef. Glenn explained that if cat-tle had their way, they’d spend all summerlounging next to a cool, shady creek, ignoringthe more abundant and diverse feed in theuplands. e Elzingas believe the wild diver-sity of plants on their range also accentuatethe taste of Alderspring beef.

Glenn pointed out that they’re not thefirst to herd livestock. “Herding might be theoldest profession,” he said. Caryl added thatkeeping close tabs on stock would help cattleranchers meet federal grazing guidelines.“Herding and complete control of livestockmay be the only way for ranchers to meettheir federal guidelines for grazing, includingnew ones to protect sage grouse habitat.”

is year, a sustainable agriculture grantfrom the USDA allowed the Elzingas to col-lect detailed information on cattle weightsand rangeland condition before and aftergrazing. At the end of the season, they’ll com-pare growth of their beeves with that of anon-herding neighbor grazing similar range-land with similar cattle. is will help themcompare costs and returns from herding.

Glenn and Caryl Elzinga don’t followIdaho ranching traditions. ey reach backfurther, to the roots of agriculture, to find“new” ways to raise cattle and produce or-ganic grass-fed beef.

Cindy Salo is a plant ecologist who writes aboutscience, agriculture and natural resources fromBoise and Salmon.

Glenn and Caryl Elzinga don’t follow Idaho ranching traditions. ey reach backfurther, to the roots of agriculture, to find

“new” ways to raise cattle and produceorganic grass-fed beef.