The Washington State Livestock Coalition was founded in 2009 in the midst of the great recession. When most folks think back on those uncertain times, they think of a depressed stock market, a failing housing loan system and a dire scarcity of jobs.
However, those with a connection to the world of livestock remember just how difficult those times were around the barnyard. The housing crisis and collapsing job market put many livestock owners in a pinch and forced them to make difficult decisions. Some owners skimped on feed to cut costs, while others lost their homes entirely. Some equine owners even went so far as to take their horses to places like the Capitol Forest and simply let them run away, while other owners brought their critters to popular hiking and riding trails and left them tied to trees with the hope that someone else would take over the burden of their care.
“Our reason for starting was we were seeing people who were being charged for animal cruelty and we didn’t believe that it was fair,” said Nick Cockrell, president of the Livestock Coalition. “Most of the folks were being charged with felonies and pleaded down to misdemeanors,” said Cockrell. “There were a number of instances where we felt the system was not treating people fairly.”
While disappointed by what he believed to be an overreach by the long arm of the law, Cockrell realized that the group would be best served by not coming on the scene guns ablazing and trying to turn the justice system on its head. Instead, the Livestock Coalition set out to work as an intermediary between overwhelmed livestock owners and law enforcement in order to find more equitable solutions.
“I’d said to folks, ‘We can’t be vigilantes. We need to come up with a program that will help people,” said Cockrell.
In order to accomplish their goal the Washington State Livestock Organization has outlined three key operating principles – Education, assistance and advocacy.
“We’ve gotten calls for Animal Control or local sheriffs about people who are in over their heads and are borderline hoarders,” said Sandy Cockrell, co-founder of the Livestock Coalition and wife of Nick Cockrell. “They get so attached to their animals and they just can’t bear to get rid of them.”
While the Livestock Coalition has conducted operations all over the state their efforts are primarily focused in Southwest Washington. They operate out of Lewis and Thurston counties, and their regular work brings them to Grays Harbour, Pierce and Mason counties. They even make occasional helpful jaunts into Cowlitz and Pierce counties as well.
Some of the Livestock Coalition’s work is focused on trying to influence sensible legislation coming out of Olympia, but more often than not they can be found eschewing sport coats and slacks for overalls and mud boots in order to get hands on with animals and their owners. The Livestock Coalition offers temporary and emergency assistance to small farms and other non-commercial operations on an as-needed, and as-available basis. Once, the group went so far as to help relocate 50 goats and 20 horses from a property in Centralia. The animals were all found to be in poor health by officals, with some nearing death, so the Coalition took control of the animals and then found them new rescue homes in order to remove liability from the original owners.
While that effort was successful, it is not the organization’s preferred method of intervention. In a perfect world, livestock owners would contact the coalition at the first sign of trouble so that they can help to head off such a serious situation much earlier. However, Coalition members noted that fear of legal repercussions, or even common embarrassment, can often act as a barrier to folks who need help.
Jon Adams, who has raised livestock of all sorts over the years, is the head of the Coalition’s assistance program. He noted that livestock owners can apply for a free consultation by going to the group’s website and filling out a simple request form.
“Jon can go out and consult without being judgmental,” insisted Nick Cockrell. “He really just wants to help.”
Adams noted that the most typical requests the Coalition receives are for feed such as hay and grain. He said the group also receives frequent requests for help transporting animals with the use of a large livestock trailer, and for assistance with burying large animals.
“We’ve transported numerous animals to the vet for people who didn’t have the means to do so,” said Adams. “Those types of tasks are never fun, and they can be especially difficult without the proper equipment.
Adams added that over the years the Livestock Coalition has even helped out folks who do not own any animals at all. In those cases the Coalition helped to reinforce property line fencing in order to keep neighboring animals from stampeding to the proveriably greener grass on the other side.
Another way that the Washington State Livestock Coalition helps the community is by providing scholarships to local youths who are interested in pursuing a secondary education in livestock or agriculture. So long as the degree matches that stipulation it can be utilized at a community college, university, or tech school.
“Our first scholarship was created in 2015. It was a $500 award for the Buster Smith Scholarship,” explained Sabra Noyes, head of the Livestock Coalition scholarship program.
That first year the Coalition offered just one scholarship, valued at $500, but after the program proved popular and meaningful the group made a concerted effort to boost the available funds.
“One of our recipientes wrote such a moving letter that it brought us to tears and we upped the ante,” said Noyes.
In 2016, the Livestock Coalition added the Dr. Everett Macomber Scholarship to their offerings, with both scholarships valued at $500. Now those scholarships, both named after area stalwarts with a history immersed in handling and caring for livestock, have been increased to a value of $1,000 each.
Noyes called Buster Smith a “local hero who dedicated his life to raising animals,” and noted that he is in the horse cutting hall of fame. Dr. Macomber is a longtime area veterinarian who found a niche caring for large animals.
Elizabeth Warren, of Rochester, has been lucky enough to win both scholarships over the years. As the inaugural scholarship recipient, she is also the winner who wrote the thank you letter than inspired the Coalition to expand their scholarship program. The Livestock Coalition noted that numerous local businesses, including Grocery Outlet, have been instrumental in helping to fund the scholarships.
“We do receive wonderful support from our local businesses,” said Noyes.
While the generosity of local businesses has helped to put local youths through school, the Livestock Coalition takes another course in order to keep some green in the bank and hay in the barn. Each year they run a horseback poker ride in the Capitol Forest that serves as their primary fundraiser. This year’s poker ride will be the eighth annual event and is scheduled for June 16. The ride will take off in the morning from the Evergreen Sportsmen’s Club near the Mima Mounds in Littlerock, and prizes will be given out to riders who collect the best poker hand throughout the day.
Additional information on the Washington State Livestock Coalition is available online at www.waslico.com/.
