No Ranch! No Problem!
Hi! I am Camden Brown.
Ever since I was a little boy, I have been dreaming of working on a ranch and raising livestock! But, because I live in town I didn’t really think my dream would come true. That was until I visited CALF’s Lowell Ranch with my school during a second-grade field trip. I couldn’t believe that there was a ranch with animals just ten minutes from my house. That day, I learned that maybe my dream could come true!
I knew raising a livestock project would be hard, and I couldn’t do it by myself. So, after a lot of convincing, my parents agreed to let me raise chickens at CALF last year! I become a CALF Kid and part of a community of other 4-H and FFA members raising their livestock projects at CALF.
That was just the beginning!
This year, at the age of 15, I raised my very own market sheep project and showed him at the Douglas County Fair. Even better, CALF hired me as one of their ranch hands as part of their leadership program.
With unending patience, Linus, CALF’s Ranch Manager (and mentor to all the CALF Kids), taught me so much this summer. We worked on irrigation lines, planted and cared for pumpkins, graded the roads, mowed, cared for the livestock and so much more.
Honestly, the real-life skills such as hard work, responsibility, and financial literacy that I am learning as part of raising livestock and working at CALF are helping me in so many ways. Even if I don’t become a rancher, what I am learning at CALF will help me with whatever I end up doing in life.
Without the community of CALF supporters, I would not be able to have these experiences. I know that I would not be able to raise a steer project this coming year. My steer's name is Duke and he is already at CALF. I go to the ranch twice a day to feed and care for him! He is the best and I am learning so much.
If you are reading this, I hope you will consider donating to CALF! Your support at any level is truly cultivating the future and changing the lives of young people like me! CALF looks forward to matching your gift, and I would love to introduce you to, Duke!