A team of young ranchers learns about measuring forage.


fi rst Bobwhite Brigade. The men soon convinced the Texas Brigades leadership that a brigade on ranching would work. The next job was to raise support funds and fi nd


a ranch to host the camp. Farley was successful in organizing a team of professionals who were will- ing to share their expertise and serve as instructors. The group soon developed the Ranch Brigade mission statement: Educating and empowering the next gen- eration of natural resource managers with the skills and knowledge necessary to successfully manage and promote sustainable beef production. The fi rst Ranch Brigade battalion was held in 2013 at


Camp Buckner in Burnet. Twenty cadets participated. Farley and his team evaluated their fi rst brigade, made a few tweaks and were ready to make Battalion Two bigger and better. Battalion Two, held in July, increased to 24 ca-


dets — 16 young men and 8 young women. A diverse group, they hailed from deep East Texas, Big Bend, north-central Texas to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and there was even a cadet from Georgia. Some had ranch backgrounds while others had not


stepped onto a ranch until they arrived at the Warren Ranch near Santa Anna. Owned by Stirling Warren and his family, the ranch


proved to be an ideal location considering its geographic location, facilities and the fact that it is an actively managed cattle and wildlife operation. Farley is ex- cited and hopeful that the Ranch Brigade may have a long-term home. “The Warren Ranch allowed us to add 2 local vet- erinarians and a group of agents from the Natural


82 The Cattleman December 2014


From left, Justin Smith, Chris Nash and Eli Garcia develop a report at the Ranch Brigade.


Resource Conservation Service in the Coleman area into our pool of professional volunteers,” Farley says. “They added the tremendous value of education to


the learning process and are an outstanding group of mentors for the cadets to network with.”


“Tell me, and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand” The ancient Chinese proverb was adopted as the


Brigades’ motto and is fully embraced by Farley and his team. From the time the cadets arrive at camp, they are


submerged in a curriculum with a scope that would rival most professional short courses developed for adult ranchers. The word “Brigade” has real meaning. Setting a


tone of seriousness and discipline, mornings began with the cadets lined up in formation and marching to the cadence calls of an adult leader. Breakfast was soon served, and then the process of “involving and understanding” was promptly underway. A competitive, team-based approach was used for


much of the instruction. Divided into “herds” of 6 cadets and named for beef breeds (Hereford, Angus, Charolais and Brahman) the groups were scored on their course work. The “Top Herd”, determined by which team earned


the most points from plant identifi cation, ranch trivia, creation and delivery of a digital presentation and other activities, received a weekend visit and tour of the legendary Pitchfork Ranch given by ranch manager, Brooks Hodges. The Warren Ranch’s pastures and cattle handling


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