New Mexico Summer Camp Trains Tomorrow’s Leaders in Beef Cattle Ranching
In partnership with: New Mexico Department of Agriculture
Even though she comes from five generations of ranching, Cheyanne Carlisle had no idea of the financial difficulties of sustaining a ranch until she went to camp. This was no ordinary camp with crafts or canoeing. Youth Ranch Management Camp (YRMC) spans five intense days where 30 youth, ages 15 to 19, discover what it takes to own or manage a beef cattle operation. An initiative of the New Mexico State University (NMSU) Cooperative Extension Service, the New Mexico Beef Council and nearly two dozen industry partners, the unique camp’s college-level curriculum covers topics from managing natural resources to marketing strategies.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Organizers say Carlisle’s lack of financial understanding is common among campers. On the first day, youth are asked what they’d do with a gift of $1 million. “Many of them say they’d buy a ranch,” says Sidney Gordon, Otero County Extension ag agent and co-chair of YRMC. “They don’t realize a million bucks won’t be nearly enough, and these are oftentimes kids who already live on ranches. That’s a real eye-opener for them.”
Much of the curriculum focuses on career options. If you can’t buy a ranch, Gordon says, you could still work on one, or in other areas of agriculture. Guest speakers include current ranch managers, trappers, and hunting guides and outfitters. “I had no idea ranchers could make a little extra money from private hunts on their land,” says Carlisle, whose family ranches near Tohatchi in McKinley County.
Food for Thought
The camp takes place in June at ranches like CS Cattle Co., a working cattle ranch and hunting operation.
Each camp kicks off with the processing of the beef that will be utilized for the campers’ meals the rest of the week. “We talk about how cattle are graded, and they learn what a good carcass should look like,” Gordon says.
During range management day, campers learn about varieties of grasses and how to calculate available forage in animal units, a difficult lesson for many campers. “I still struggle with this because all grasses look alike to me,” says Carlisle, now a student at New Mexico State University. “But that one day at camp helped me a lot when I started range science classes in college.” An animal science major, she’s eyeing a career as a high school ag teacher or county Extension agent.
Sponsors Make the Grade
Throughout the week, teams of students work on a ranch plan, which is presented to parents, instructors and judges on the last day. For many campers, it’s the first time they have been introduced to balance sheets, net income or profitability – the business basics of ranch management. “For many of these kids, it’s also the first time they’ve had to present in public,” Gordon says.
The camp’s budget is about $30,000 annually, and Gordon notes the camp wouldn’t be possible without the support of industry partners, many of whom cover the $300 fee for each camper to participate.
Camp organizers say their goal is to strengthen today’s beef cattle industry while building tomorrow’s leaders, and Carlisle agrees. “You learn a lot of life lessons at ranch camp – and you also learn a lot about yourself,” she says.
See more: How New Mexico Teachers are Bringing Ag in the Classroom
Camp Sponsors
- NMSU Cooperative Extension Service
- Singleton Ranch Foundation
- NM Beef Council
- NM Cattle Growers’ Association
- Cattlegrowers’ Foundation
- CKP Insurance
- Bill and Carol Alexander
- BNSF Railway
- Merck Animal Health
- NM Farm & Livestock Bureau
- Vermejo Park Ranch
- NMSU Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness Center
- Ag New Mexico Farm Credit
- NM Society for Range Management
- New Mexico Stockman/Livestock Market Digest
- Farm Credit of NM
- Central Valley Soil and Water Conservation District
- Penasco Soil and Water Conservation District
- Eddy County Farm and Livestock Bureau
- Santa Fe County Farm and Livestock Bureau