"One Good Cow" Program Makes
First Deliveries Of Donations

WHITEHALL, Mont. —(AP)— The first cows have been delivered, and some grateful North Dakota stockmen say the donations will let them keep their operations. But the organizers of the "One Good Cow" program say they're only halfway home.

One Good Cow, the brainchild of Whitehall rancher Michelle Tebay and Lisa Schmidt, a Montana State University Extension agent, asked farmers and ranchers who weren't hurt by last winter's blizzards to donate one good cow to help those who were.

About 650,000 cattle died last winter in the Dakotas and eastern Montana. The One Good Cow program has received applications to replace about 6000 of those.

So far, about 3000 have been pledged to the program, and the first 80 were delivered last weekend in Williston, N.D. Some of those on the receiving end had tears in their eyes.

Carol Rolla, who lost nearly half the herd she and her husband ran near Keene, N.D., said the donations mean she'll be able to stay on the ranch that her father-in-law homesteaded.

"This was just an answer to my prayers, I'll tell you that," she said as she and her husband accepted 31 cows worth about $700 each. They lost 48 of their 100-head herd last winter.

Five other families also got cows. Hollis Blake, who lost seven cows, eight calves and two horses, received nine cows. He said when his farm is recovered, he hopes to donate a cow back "to help someone else out."

Judy and Roger Molberg of Battle View, N.D., lost 11 cows and got six from the program. They also said they hope, eventually, to help someone else with a cow.

But Tebay said donations still are needed. She's asking for another 3000 cows, so all the applications can be filled. Donations are being accepted through Dec. 10.

Donations also have come from supporting groups, she said. Pfizer Animal Health products is donating vaccine and dewormer for every donated cow. Livestock auctions have offered their facilities. Livestock associations have helped organize. And a Lutheran aid organization called Orphan Grain Train agreed to coordinate the transportation of about 4000 cattle to distribution points.

"My family has over 230 years invested in agriculture," Tebay said. "And I guess it's our turn to help save other producers who are having a bad time ... Ranching is not a business. It's a way of life."