Join us in honoring Vernon Gebhard, a cornerstone of our community and a dedicated member of the Grange Co-op family. Born and raised in Central Point, Oregon, Vernon graduated from Oregon State University and served our country as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. In the spring of 1953, Vernon began farming when his father, Harold Gebhard, passed away unexpectedly. Despite being in the Air Force at the time, Vernon took on the challenge and built a successful farming operation. Over the years, Gebhard Farms has included cattle, hay, grains, alfalfa seed, grass seed, pear orchards, and annual flowers grown for seed production.

Vernon's remarkable 48-year tenure on the Grange Co-op Board, beginning in 1965, has been instrumental in shaping the future of our organization. His wisdom and stability have been key to our success, always advocating for the long-term benefits of our members and customers over short-term gains. In recognition of his outstanding contributions, Vernon was inducted into the Oregon State Hall of Fame at the Agricultural Cooperative Council in 2012. He is also actively engaged in the Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service Committee (now known as the Farm Service Agency), Jackson County Farm Bureau, Jackson County Stockmen's Association, and the Central Point Grange.

From all of us at Grange Co-op, we wish you the happiest of birthdays, Vernon!

For over a year, Grange Co-op has been partnering with KDRV news to provide viewers with quick garden tidbits and advice covering everything from tulips to tomatoes, pests and pollinators, and a bevy of other common horticultural topics. One of our newest co-hosts is Brandon, who is also the new assistant manager at our Klamath Falls store. He brings with him a prodicious amount of lawn and garden info thanks to his years-long background in the nursery business.

You can catch Brandon and our other co-hosts on DKRV's "In the Garden" segments, and find older clips here.

Fair season is already underway, and that means Grange Co-op associates have been proudly attending the many junior livestock auctions across California and Oregon, representing the communities we service. So far this year, we've made auction purchases at the Tehama District Fair in Red Bluff, Silver Dollar Fair in Chico, Shasta District Fair in Anderson, and Colusa County Fair in Colusa, California. North of the border, we've attended the first of many Oregon fairs with the Jackson County Spring Fair in Central Point being the first. That's barely a third of fairs we're expecting to attend this year!

Every fair brings bushels of buyer's letters from our local young 4-H, FFA, and project animal students. Many come into the store and talk directly to members of our management teams about their animal, how it was raised, the highs and lows of their project, and what they hope to accomplish. These letters are also formal invitations to their respective auctions and are reviewed and shared amongst Grange Co-op stores as we admire the professionalism of these young farmers and ranchers. This is a time-honored tradition that all managers look forward to, and Grange Co-op is proud to share in the success of these youth! Congrats to all of those who have finished their auctions, and best of luck to those still finishing the season!

As part of our commitment to the success of Youth in Agriculture, Grange Co-op was honored to sponsor an educational trip for two young Junior Stockmen as part of the Purina Honor Show VIP Experience. Fernando

Corona Melendez and Kyle Straube flew to the Purina Feed facilities just outside of St. Louis, Missouri for this yearly event. During the trip, the students were able to see everything that goes into researching show feed production and spoke to veterinarians and nutritionalists about some of the show feeds that we sell here at Grange Co-op.

Fernando, who has two 4-H project animals this year (a market goat and a steer) was very impressed by not only the degree of research that goes into making quality animal feed, but the levels of proactive care as well "They test each batch of corn coming in". He said this impacted the way he considered not just the feed he was raising his project animals on, but his approach to the overall health of the animals in his care from a "Feed Greatness" perspective.

Kyler, who also has a project steer, walked away with a better understanding of how his feed patterns could better address his approach to animal husbandry. Moving forward, he wants to make sure that he has his animal on a better feed schedule "to keep them from getting all flustered".

Both Fernando and Kyler will be joining hundreds of their peers at this year's Junior Livestock Auctions, and we congratulate them on the success of their project animals so far!