VALLES CALDERA NATIONAL PRESERVE — After a week of learning about the many aspects of managing a ranch, the participants at the New Mexico Youth Ranch Management Camp presented their plans for combining a cattle operation with wildlife and forest management to make the Valles Caldera National Preserve a feasible business.
New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service and members of the beef industry of New Mexico sponsored the fourth annual ranch camp during the first week of June.
“We are proud to offer this one-of-a-kind program for the future cattle producers of our state,” said Jon Boren, NMSU College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences associate dean and director of the Cooperative Extension Service. “The collaboration between our Extension specialists, county Extension agents and members of the ranching industry has provided an opportunity for the youth to see the many aspects of managing a ranch.”
Attending the camp were Taylor Anaya, of Mountainair; Corde Bason, of Capitan; Cheyanne Carlisle, of Tohatchi; Michael Carrejo, of Reserve; Matricia Garcia, of Chama; Jessica Hays, of Deming; Hannah and Sam Jameson, of Weed; Antonio Jaramillo, of Anton Chico; Kaleb Meador, of Bloomfield; Jason Quintana, of Santa Fe; Hayden Randall, of Taos; Miguel Mateo Romero, of Arroyo Hondo; Andrew and Benjamin Sanchez, of Cuba; Lena Sanchez, of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque; Abby Spindle, of Moriarty; Collen Spradley, of Nageezi; Kari Vallo, of Acoma; Noah Fleming and Bradley Jones, of Veguita; and Abram Chaparro, Thomas Sullivan and Carson Vandiver, of Clayton.
NMSU Extension specialists presented educational sessions that ranged from nutrition and proper care of the cattle to how to determine the grazing load on a pasture, as well as determining the quantity of wildlife also living on the land and wildfire reduction through proper management of natural resources.
“Each day, the youth participated in college-level curriculum of hands-on activities and lectures,” said Jack Blandford, of Luna County Extension, the ranch camp’s director. “The information that the youth learned was used to develop a ranch management plan for the 89,000-acre Valles Caldera National Preserve and 95,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land north of Santa Fe.”
During the final day’s presentations to three judges from the beef industry, the campers explained the revenue-generating activities and expenses in their ranch management plans. Besides grazing yearling cattle at the Valles Caldera and having a cow/calf operation on the BLM land, the campers proposed limited hunting of wildlife, including elk, deer, bear, prey animals and even prairie dogs, along with forestry management practices such as thinning trees for firewood and vigas.
The 2015 winning team members were Hannah Jameson, Benjamin Sanchez, Randall and Romero. The runner-up team consisted of Garcia, Andrew Sanchez, Bason, Anaya and Carrejo.
A “Top Hand” was selected each day by the instructors for showing exceptional interest in the topics. Receiving Top Hand award buckles were Anaya on All Things Beef Day, Spradley on Marketing Day, Sam Jameson on Natural Resources & Wildlife Day, and Hannah Jameson on Range Day.
Top Hand runners-up received engraved knives. They were Spindle, Carlisle, Lena Sanchez, Vallo, Randall and Bason.
“If these young people are a demonstration of what is in store for our industry, the future looks bright,” said Dina Chacon-Reitzel, executive director of the New Mexico Beef Council, one of the camp sponsors.
For more information about the youth ranch management camp, visit nmyrm.nmsu.edu.
Information from NMSU