FOX – The Grant County Stock Growers have chosen Ken and Cici Brooks of Fox Valley as the 2008 Stockgrowers of the Year.

The award is given by the association to a member active in livestock production who demonstrates sound beef production practices and good land management and is supportive of the community.

A barbecue will be held at noon Oct. 18 at the Brooks ranch on Short Corner Road in Fox Valley. Everyone is welcome.

The meal will be a potluck with beef and beverages provided. Please RSVP to Cici Brooks at 421-3032, Tobe Zweygardt at 820-3624, or Sharon Livingston at 421-3032.

Weather permitting there will be a short demonstration of the Grant Soil and Water Conservation District aerator.

The Brooks ranch includes private hay, range and timber lands along with Forest Service allotments. The ranch produces calves and yearlings which are sold either from the ranch or fed for the Painted Hills natural beef program.

Angus, Charolais, and Hereford bulls are used for a rotational crossbred program. In most years, sufficient hay is produced on the ranch for the cow herd wintered there.

The Brooks have developed weed eradication and soil improvement programs for both the hay lands and range pastures. The forest land is managed for sustainable timber harvest and regeneration, fire control, and supports many species of wildlife.

Ken Brooks is a past president of the Grant County Stock Growers and member of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association. He is currently a member of the Five Rivers group of permittees defending livestock grazing on the Malheur National Forest and a participant in many public land grazing meetings and forums.

Cici Brooks works for the Natural Resources Conservation Service and is assisting with the soil survey for Grant, Crook, and Wheeler counties in addition to working on the ranch.

The couple were recognized for their long support of the economic well-being of Grant County residents and businesses, the 4-H and FFA programs, Oregon Hunters Association and a number of charitable organizations. The Brooks have four children and six grandchildren.

Son of Bob and Mary Ellen Brooks, Ken is a fifth-generation Grant County rancher. He said he feels blessed by his predecessors who were observant of the nature of animals and people, his ancestors’ values that he was expected to respect and continue, and “the savvy cowboys and cattle people he has worked with who have made it possible for us to be ranching today.”

Brooks is concerned, however, about the current trends not to use our natural resources and becoming more dependent on imported foods.