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Help mini cow find big fame
sanjay
Photo provided Sanjay is a handicapped miniature cow who needs your help to be in the running to win $10K to cover his medical care. He is currently entered in the America’s Favorite Pet: Animal Kingdom photo contest online, which will end tomorrow.

A local cow rescue needs your help, and all it takes is the click of a button.

Samma Farm, located in the Midway area of McMinnville, is entered in a contest called America's Favorite Pet: Animal Kingdom with $10K on the line. Denise Montrose, founder and operator of Samma Farm, asks the public to vote on the rescue's behalf.

Sanjay, featured by the rescue, is a miniature cow who came to Montrose unable to stand or walk without assistance. With her loving care and the expertise of talented professionals, he has regained some mobility.

"Sanjay means a lot to me because he was our first bottle calf," Montrose said of her connection with the calf. "Sanjay also lived in the RV with us for two and a half months and that was so much fun. Once I moved into the nonprofit office above the garage, he lived on the porch for another month until we built him his own pasture. Funny story, Sanjay has his own house so he got a house before my own house was ready."

The contest is slated to end tomorrow, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. PDT with the winner taking home $10K and two-page spread in the InTouch Magazine. Sanjay is currently a quarter-finalist in the competition, and needs to secure the top spot in his category in order to proceed.

"The $10k we would win from the contest will help pay for Sanjay’s prosthetic. He can no longer support his growing weight on his three legs," explained Montrose. "We are currently investigating whether he can keep the leg or whether it will need to be removed."

Voting for Sanjay in the contest is easy, all it requires is a Facebook account or credit card to verify. There is no charge, but the system is in place to avoid bots and automated voting from cheating.

To vote, go to americasfavpet.com/2022/sanjay and follow the prompts to complete vote. Votes can be purchased, but daily votes are free and appreciated.

Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
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Warren County Schools has beefed up lunch menus this school year through a new community partnership. Thanks to a collaboration between the district’s School Nutrition Department and Barton Creek Farms, students at Warren County High School, Warren County Middle School, West Elementary, Eastside Elementary, and Dibrell Elementary are enjoying locally sourced, farm-fresh beef in their lunches as part of a pilot program.

The initiative, spearheaded by Terri Mullican, Director of School Nutrition, has already shown great promise in its first few months. The partnership with Barton Creek Farms, located in Rock Island, Tennessee, ensures that the beef served is not only local to Warren County but of the highest quality. Barton Creek Farms specializes in farm-to-fork beef, with grass-fed and grain-finished cattle. Each calf is born and raised in Rock Island and goes through USDA-inspected processing, ensuring it meets the strictest safety and quality standards.

“When the opportunity arose to provide fresh, local beef, we knew it was a no-brainer,” Mullican said. “The fact that it’s a product from right here in our community makes it even more special. We can’t wait to implement it district-wide.”

Barton Creek Farms delivers fresh ground beef to the district monthly, and the nutrition

department incorporates it into homemade recipes such as lasagna, meatloaf, chili, and tacos.

As of now, the beef is being served at five schools, but the ultimate goal is to expand the program to all ten lunch-serving schools in the district.

The pilot program originated from a conversation between Mary Roller of Barton Creek Farms and Mullican. Roller, recognizing the farm’s potential to support local schools, reached out to gauge the district’s interest in serving local beef to students. Around the same time, a Warren County school board member contacted Mullican to share information about a similar partnership in neighboring Dekalb County, which helped push the initiative forward.

The timing worked in the district’s favor, as the nutrition department was able to fund the purchase of the beef using existing resources, eliminating the need for additional funding. Now that the pilot program is enjoying a successful run, the department has budgeted to extend the partnership district-wide for the 2025-26 school year.

Dr. Grant Swallows, Director of Schools, praised the program’s economic approach to student nutrition.

“This pilot is a perfect example of how we can use local resources to continue providing nutritious, healthy meals for our students,” he said. “We are grateful for partnerships like this one that benefit both our students and our local community. We always strive to support our local businesses when we can because our community is so good to us.”

In addition to working with Warren County Schools, Barton Creek Farms also partners with local restaurants to offer farm-fresh beef on their menus. The farm’s offerings include ground beef, steaks, roasts, and custom cuts by the quarter, half, or whole cow, meeting diverse consumer needs.

As the program continues to grow, the district hopes to expand its focus on farm-to-school meals, benefiting students’ health and connecting them to the agricultural roots of the community