Liz Nielson Hails from Quincy, WA…his member of the Beef Northwest team has spent the last two summers with us, and we are looking forward to having Liz start full time this June.
She is currently a senior studying Animal Science at the University of Idaho. Growing up in Quincy exposed her to the agricultural community, but it wasn’t until high school that she found her passion for cattle. She credits her high school ag teacher Mr. Wallace for putting her in contact with Quincy feedyard Manager, Ben Velasquez.
In her sophomore year of college, Liz cold-called Ben asking about summer work and found herself hired as summer help. Throughout her summer Liz spent time learning all aspects of the yard alongside 2018 summer intern, Sam Buhrig. One of Liz’s most memorable yard adventures happened when she and Sam went to lunch and locked themselves out of Sam’s car. After a struggle and joint effort to squeeze Sam through the back window they unlocked the doors and got back to the yard on time! Now she always remembers to grab her keys when she gets out of the car.
After her time working on the Quincy yard, Liz was invited back to be our Boardman feedyard intern for the following summer. Liz spent a few months at our largest yard focusing on her internship project of cattle feeding efficiency. After her internship was completed, Liz was offered a full-time position. Upon her graduation Liz will be our company wide Training Coordinator based out of Boardman with a focus on helping our employees grow their skills to be their best.
Her advice to anyone who wants to pursue a career in agriculture or cattle is to not be afraid to jump in with both feet! She said work hard, having a good attitude, and being eager to learn from others will set you apart. For every one thing you learn in this industry, you discover two things that you don’t know and that’s okay. Liz lives and works by the motto ‘Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.’ Thanks for being a part of our cattle crew Liz!