There are nine states where cattle out number people.

Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Oklahoma and Wyoming all claim more cattle than humans. 

In Wyoming cattle out number people 2:1. 

As the self-proclaimed “Cattle Capital of Wyoming” Goshen County cattle out number people by nearly a 9:1 ratio.

With that many cows roaming around, the Goshen CattleWomen are making sure area third graders know where all those cows come from and how much work local ranchers put into beef production in Wyoming.

The pilot program, called “Adopt-a-Heifer,” is being tested out in area third grade classrooms. Schools participating in the project this spring are Lingle Fort Laramie, Southeast and Valley Christian Schools. 

The premise is simple — local ranchers offer up a heifer to be “adopted” for the calving season. The class names her, gets regular updates on her progress and when she has her calf, the class names it also. The initial presentation includes ranch vocabulary, lessons in stewardship and a poll on the calf’s gender.

Goshen CattleWomen President Marlisa Hall said the organization is excited to share the joy of calving season with students.

“The Adopt-a-Heifer Project is an opportunity for our local third graders to take part in the best season of ranching — spring time with baby calves. We are looking forward to completing this project with them as fourth graders when they attend the Ag Expo at SAREC this fall. They will be able to see how their calf grew over the summer and the transition it will make as it is weaned. It’s a great way to showcase the whole process of raising a calf on a commercial cow calf ranch in the Cattle Capital of Wyoming.” Hall said of the project.

RANCHERS GET INVOLVED

Local ranchers Wade and Jamie Phipps and Levi and Sara Kosmicki volunteered to document heifers from their herds for the project this year. 

The Phipps ranch is covering Lingle Fort Laramie and Valley Christian while the Kosmicki heifer will be adopted by students at Southeast.   

Eric Anderson’s third graders at Valley Christian recently had their initial presentation with Jamie Phipps.

“We are constantly looking for ways to teach our students how God’s designs in nature affects us. Living in an agriculture community we learn the cycles of life through the raising of livestock. All the care and hard work that the ranchers take to maintain their animals have given our students a greater appreciation of what is required to provide food for us.” Anderson said. 

Heather Rutz, Lingle Fort Laramie third grade teacher said doing the Adopt-a-Heifer project fills an important role in rural education. 

“I agreed to work with the CattleWomen and this project because our students are from rural areas and need to be educated in all thing’s agriculture. By teaming with the CattleWomen, my students will gain experience and knowledge by working with the Phipps.”

Jamie Phipps said that after the presentations, the kids at Valley Christian named their heifer Muffin and Lingle Fort Laramie decided on Cindy.   

The presentation at Southeast will take place next week. 

Sara Kosmicki is hopeful the project will be successful and continue to grow. 

“Connecting young people to their food source is important. A lot of kids think food comes from the grocery store. We are hoping that by starting these conversations and being in the classroom to answer questions directly from the producers, we can help educate and form those connections for students.”

The Goshen CattleWomen plan to expand the project next year to include all third grade classrooms in Goshen County that want to participate.

For more information on the project, contact Marlisa Hall at hallmarlisa@gmail.com.