Steer-a-Year, June 2024

Making an Impact Together

Since 1988, when the Steer-a-Year program began at the University of Idaho, over 1,600 steers have been generously donated.

With those cattle, more than $1.1 million has been raised through this program in support of U of I students and research.

The Steer-a-Year program impacts over 400 high school and college students annually, in utilization of the steers for a variety of educational activities.

All of these opportunities are made possible by the generosity of donors like yourself, and we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you for the impact you are creating at the U of I.

Meet the Team

Left to Right: Back — Stacey Doumit, Allison Markley, Lilly Phenicie, Taylor Dixon, Reegan Bybee, Makayla Proett; Front — Evan Vandenberg, Mitchell Hansen, James Wise, Cooper Trindle and Conely Martin.

Introducing New SAY Manager

We are pleased to welcome a new Steer-a-Year and beef feedlot manager back to the Vandal family. Makayla Proett has always had a passion for livestock. She explored that passion in her youth through showing livestock and working on her grandparents’ ranch.

Proett graduated from U of I in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in animal and veterinary science: production option. During her time at U of I, she was involved in many different college activities, one of which being the Steer-a-Year program.

As a student, Proett spent time working at the Steer-a-Year feedlot gaining valuable hands-on experience accompanied by her internships at Agri Beef’s Snake River Farms feedlot and Simplot’s Burbank feedlot. This is where she discovered her passion for raising feedlot cattle.

Post graduation, Proett took a management trainee position with Agri Beef’s Snake River Farms in the cattle department. Within a year of working for Agri Beef, she was promoted to feed department manager, where she led her team for over a year before returning home to Moscow in January. She is excited for new opportunities within the Steer-a-Year program.

Contact Makayla Proett, makaylap@uidaho.edu or 541-290-8237 (cell)

Developing New Relationships

Alumnus, Hannah Doumit, joined the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences as an associate director of development in April. In this role, she will be working closely with Steer-a-Year donors.

Doumit grew up in Troy, where she and her family raise beef cattle. She enjoyed raising and showing beef cattle in her youth and is a proud member of the Idaho Cattle Association. She graduated from U of I in 2020 with a degree in agricultural science, communication and leadership, minor in animal science. As a student, she was an active participant in Student Idaho Cattle Association, Block and Bridle Club, Sigma Alpha (professional agricultural sorority) and served as a CALS ambassador.

Upon graduation, Doumit took a position working for Lamb Weston, and is returning to Moscow after four years in Quincy, Washington. Doumit is excited to return to her agricultural roots in CALS and home to the Palouse. She looks forward to developing relationships with Steer-a-Year donors and positively impacting college programs that are dear to her heart.

Proett and Doumit both plan to attend ICA’s Summer Round-Up in June and look forward to connecting with Steer-a-Year members at the conference.

Contact Hannah Doumit, hdoumit@uidaho.edu or 208-874-2056 (cell)

Meet the Student Managers

Taylor Dixon graduated in May 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in animal and veterinary science: production option. Dixon is from Kuna and has been with the Steer-a-Year program for three years. The program has shown Dixon what sector of the cattle industry she wants to pursue following graduation. Taylor has accepted a feedlot trainee position with Five Rivers Cattle Feeders, Interstate Feeders location, having interned with the company the past two years. Read Taylor's story.

Mitchell Hansen graduated in May 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in animal and veterinary science: business option. Hansen is from Las Vegas, Nevada and has been with the Steer-a-Year program for two years. After graduation, Hansen plans on expanding his knowledge of the agricultural industry by pursuing a career in the industry.

Cooper Trindle graduated in May 2024, with a bachelor’s degree in animal and veterinary science: production option. Trindle is from Burns, Oregon and has been a part of the Steer-a-Year program for two years. Upon graduation, Trindle has decided to serve our country by enlisting with the United States Army.

Benefits Abound

All 64 steers have been on ration for about 130 days, with increasing intakes. The steers have proved to be in-valuable for hands-on and real-life experiences for many students, particularly students in the Intro to Animal Science course, AVS 110. In this course, Steer-a-Year employees had the opportunity to showcase the cattle by teaching students how to properly handle and vaccinate the steers. The steers were also able to provide data for a research project on virtual fences.

All steers were implanted with Revalor-XS in February. The implants will play a vital role in the steers average daily gain and feed efficiency. Student employees have been hard at work managing bunk conditions, batching rations, maintaining pen conditions during the winter months and managing daily performance checks, ensuring the cattle are healthy throughout the entire feeding period. The feeding period for this year's steers will range from 140 to 200 days on feed.

Before the steers are shipped for harvest, a visual evaluation will be performed to ensure there is proper finish on all of the steers. Upon harvest, steer carcass data will be collected for the donor performance competition. Awards will go to the top steer in the following categories: Average Daily Gain, Carcass Cutability, Lean Gain per Day and Most Valuable Steer.