The First Battalion

By Zoe Barilla-Deuschle

At the beginning of South Texas Ranch Brigade, Mr. Petter asked us to raise our hand if we thought this experience would change our lives. Most other cadets raised their hands. In fact, probably everybody did, except for me. As a city girl who felt out of place and inexperienced, I didn’t think this Brigade would leave an impact on my life. I thought I would learn about cattle and ranch operations and go back to my com fortable life in Austin. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

South Texas Ranch Brigade was a rigorous, intensive experi ence. It covered a wide range of topics from beef fabrication to learning how to march. Each educator brought something unique to the program and all cadets learned and grew so much together. Each day we were challenged with something new and unexpected.

We were separated into four herds, but we did many activi ties all together. On the average day, we were expected to be outside and ready to march at 7:15 in the morning. Marching is how you get from one place to another in a timely and orderly fashion. It was more difficult than it seemed because it involved coordination and working together as a herd. However, it was important for us to keep practicing and try our hardest because it was part of a weeklong competition for the title of Top Herd. After marching, we ate breakfast together before heading into the field to get hands-on experience with anything from grass species to cattle anatomy. After doing a few activities outside, we would head back for lunch. After lunch, there would normally be a quiz over the grass content we had learned the previous day, and then new grass types would be introduced.

In the time before and after dinner, we listened to several presentations on a wide range of topics including cattle nutrition and range health. My favorite was by East Foundation’s Mr. Sawyer about the concept of carbon credits. A carbon credit is one metric ton of carbon dioxide, which businesses and corporations would purchase from ranchers and farmers. They would do this in order to take steps to achieve net zero carbon emissions as a company. Ranchers and farmers would increase vegetation on their property, which takes in the carbon.

I found this presentation particularly interesting because we have a responsibility as the next generation to find ways to keep ranching and agricultural practices sustainable and profitable. Carbon credits seem to provide a very innovative and promising role in the future of ranching.

In addition to learning about ranching, we did activities that taught us about leadership and adult skills. We conducted social experiments, learned how to have the best online presence we could, and how to communicate effectively.

We ended each night with some words of wisdom from different educators. This was a really enjoyable way to end each night. Our days were packed full of activities and learning, and it was nice to take some time to unwind and listen to what the speakers had to say. These talks gave us something to reflect on at the end of each day.

A big part of South Texas Ranch Brigade is the competition throughout the week for the title of Top Herd. We received points for almost all the activities we did from trivia games to the ranch competitions on the final night. Throughout the course of the week, we learned how to rope, build fences, sort goats, and do ranch chores in preparation for the final ranch competitions. We competed as herds and had to complete each task efficiently and skillfully to gain the most points and win.

My herd, the Brahmans, were in second place before the ranch competitions, so we really wanted to outper form the other herds to put us ahead. In fence build ing, goat sorting, and ranch chores we placed second or third, and we knew that wasn’t enough. So when it came time to rope, we gave it all we had. In addition to the chaos of the ranch competitions, we did most of the tasks as the sun was setting because we had a weather setback. That meant that because roping was last, we would compete in the dark.

Everybody’s nerves were wracked as the roping began. We went up in teams of two, with one person roping three times, which was incredibly exciting because I had never

The competition for Top Herd came incredibly close. Each herd performed so well in different aspects, and the ranch competitions were a very small factor on the scale. My herd ended out coming up on top, which was such an exciting moment. It was awesome to celebrate our hard work and earn the title of Top Herd at the very first battalion of South Texas Ranch Brigade.

I can confidently say South Texas Ranch Brigade changed my life. I walked away with an abundance of gained knowledge and people I connected with. It was an experience I will never forget, and something I hope I can return to in the future.

Texas Brigades is a conservation-based leadership organization which organizes wildlife and natural resource-based leadership camps for participants ranging in age from 13-17. Its mission is to educate and empower youths with leadership skills and knowledge in wildlife, fisheries, and land stewardship to become conservation ambassadors for a sustained natural resource legacy. There are multiple camps scheduled in the summers, focusing on different animal species while incorporating leadership development. Summer camps include Rolling Plains and South Texas Bobwhite Brigade, South and North Texas Buckskin Brigade, Bass Brigade, Waterfowl Brigade, Coastal Brigade, and Ranch Brigade. Visit texasbrigades.org or call 210-556-1391 for more information.