On Tuesday and Wednesday, April 19 and 20, this week, students from all over the region traveled to the Hugh B. McKeen Ranch just outside of Alma. Tuesday saw students from Silver City. Wednesday hosted students from Glenwood, Reserve, Quemado and Datil, NM, and students from Alpine and Duncan, AZ.
Each year, the Frisco Cowbelles of Catron County raise funds to sponsor the event to let "city" kids learn about agriculture and ranching. According to host Margie McKeen, the Alma Grill orders the food for the students' lunches and stores it in, as well as doing some preparation work. The Cowbelles, with donations and fundraising to pay for the food, do the rest of the preparation and serve the students.
Presenters, ranging from the Extension Service to USDA, the Gila National Forest to the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, New Mexico Farm Bureau and Natural Resource Conservation Service, and plenty of volunteers help plan and put on the event each year.
Photos by Mary Alice Murphy
Ranch Days 2016
Ranch Days 2016
The cannulated cow keeps eating grass, while students poke their arms into her side to pull out partially digested hay.
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Ranch Days 2016
Tristan Leyba of Quemado pulls out partially digested grass from one of the stomachs of the cannulated cow. Gerry Dolan of USDA Jornada Research Center checks him off the list.
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Ranch Days 2016
Nita Imel explains to students how the hay baler works.
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Ranch Days 2016
Judy O'Loughlin prepares the entire student body of Glenwood Elementary to make butter
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Ranch Days 2016
Fred Austin of Duncan, AZ, shows historic guns to students from Alpine, AZ.
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Ranch Days 2016
Silas Davidson of the Gila National Forest tells students about how pack horses are used in the wilderness. These horses retired from the Grand Canyon.
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Ranch Days 2016
J.C. Nelson helps Emilio Jake from Quemado try his hand at roping.
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Ranch Days 2016
Students from Alpine, AZ, try their hand at archery, led by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
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Ranch Days 2016
Len Mason of Glenwood stokes the fire for hamburgers
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Ranch Days 2016
Molly Bryan demonstrates how to make Dutch oven biscuits to students from Duncan, AZ.
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Ranch Days 2016
Judy O'Loughlin, Grant County Extension agent, sits the kids on the ground to churn butter.
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Ranch Days 2016
Frisco Cowbelles, sponsors of the annual event, rest before serving lunch. From left are Sally Mason, Jane Klumpker, Joanne Kopren, Jeanne Johnson, Sam Duree and Jenny Forward.
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Ranch Days 2016
Track Curry of the New Mexico Farm Bureau Ag in the Classroom program asks students from Datil where they think certain food items come from.
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Ranch Days 2016
Doug Cram of the NMSU Extension Service talked about fire ecology and forest health to students from Duncan, AZ.
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Ranch Days 2016
Farrier Christin Sell of Iron Bar Horseshoeing demonstrates to Reserve Elementary students how she creates a horseshoe.
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Ranch Days 2016
Monte Topmiller of the Natural Resources Conservation Districts shows the difference in plant growth with the rain simulator.
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Ranch Days 2016
Ernest Herrera of USDA Cotton Research shows students from Alpine, AZ, how to spin cotton and how strong it is when spun.
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Ranch Days 2016
Homeschoolers from apache Creek and Reserve check out Houdini, one of the farm animals on display.
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Ranch Days 2016
Judy O'Loughlin, Grant County Extension agent, shows students how to churn butter
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Ranch Days 2016
Students from Alpine, AZ, learn about branding from Karen Chavez and Dalli Nelson.
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Ranch Days 2016
Rilinger Allen watches his dad poking around in the worm compost bin.
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Ranch Days 2016
John Allen, Hidalgo County Extension agent, holds a jar of "worm tea," out of the composting bin.
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Ranch Days 2016
Craig Painter and Eileen Dodds of the NMSU Extension Service showed students how to shoot a pellet gun, These two students are from Duncan, AZ.
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