Starting Them Young

Texas Beef Council partners with National Ranching Heritage Center Ranch Life Learning Center to bring beef industry education to elementary classrooms       

Ranching families across Texas have had a concerted effort as old as time to pass along passion, knowledge, and excitement for the beef industry to the next generation.

Lessons learned from growing up on the ranch translate into adults who have a deep appreciation of where their food comes from. It is a beautiful cycle, but with less than 2% of the population actively engaged in agricultural production, according to the American Farm Bureau Foundation, the reality is not all children have this opportunity.

In the spirit of sharing this experience, National Ranching Heritage Center (NRHC) launched Ranch Life Learning, a partnership with none other than Hank the Cowdog, a beloved book character created by rancher and master storyteller John R. Erickson. Ranch Life Learning includes a book series, educational resources, and an exhibition where anyone interested can learn about the ranching industry. 

“There's a real disconnect for kids as to where their food comes from,” said Julie Hodges, NRHC’s Helen DeVitt Jones Director of Education. “We are trying to give them an idea of where beef products come from and how that impacts the world around them.”

Missions Unite

The longstanding mission of NRHC is to preserve and interpret the history of ranching and address contemporary ranching issues. Hodges said part of today’s ranching issues is having an informed public to shape future perceptions and demand for beef in the marketplace.

The goal to reach Texans of all ages and backgrounds with beef industry experiences is a shared one with Texas Beef Council (TBC). A long history of friendship between the two organizations along with this shared mission, made a partnership creating and distributing Ranch Life Learning curriculum an easy decision.

“As marketing professionals, TBC has great resources and insight in extending programming,” said Victoria Heller, TBC’s senior manager of education. “The NRHC had a wonderful opportunity to capitalize on a beloved Texas icon, Hank the Cowdog, to extend ranching information to elementary school students and teachers. This was a very natural partnership to use both of our skill sets to help one another succeed for the greater good of the Texas beef industry.”

Erickson wrote a set of five books called the Ranch Life Learning Series with Hank the Cowdog where Hank tells readers about: livestock and cattle; cowboys and horses; wildlife; weather; and prairie fire. After purchasing a book, teachers can download a free activity guide, complete with lesson plans, to accompany the reading material to aid students and educators as they dive further into each topic.

TBC has specifically contributed by promoting the activity guide for the first book, Ranching & Livestock. According to Heller, this has been a great way for TBC to build excitement among educators from the existing Ranch Life Learning curriculum, as well as equip partners like Texas CattleWomen and AgriLife Extension Agents with a new classroom activation about beef production. After completing the first book and activity guide, the hope is educators in the state are eager to use the remaining books in the series with their students. 

Big Picture 

Since 2016, NRHC has impacted a quarter of a million teachers through workshops, given away 26,500 copies of the Ranch Life Learning books to educators who attended said workshops, trained 2,200 educators, and engaged with nearly 500 school districts. All these efforts have also resulted in more than 70,000 books sold worldwide.

As consumers show a greater interest in beef production with each passing year, this tool comes at the perfect time to build trust in the ranchers raising beef and the beef industry as a whole.

In addition to the curriculum, NRHC opened the Cash Family Ranching Life Learning exhibit in 2023 to offer a hands-on experience for museum attendees of all ages. Since then, their overall museum attendance has increased by 23%, they doubled their normal field trips, and more than 7,100 people have attended special programming in the exhibit to get a taste of ranch life as of October 2024.

“This is a good, reliable, safe way to make sure that we can inform our youngest consumers about the industry, about what life on a ranch is really like, and about the important role ranchers play and the fabric of our nation from taking care of grasslands all the way to giving you good, healthy protein to make you strong and viable,” Hodges said.

She said it is important to remember that kids are going to grow up and have purchasing power, so they're important to the future of the industry — and their adult educators aren’t immune from the valuable experience either.

To be a part of the impact this program has, connect with an educator to share about this curriculum and how to get Hank into their classroom by visiting BeefLovingTexans.com. In the meantime, plan to drop in next time you are in Lubbock, Texas, to see the exhibit for yourself.

Written by: Kayla Jennings. Kayla is a mom of two and no stranger to the beef industry. She and her husband reside in Mason, Texas, raising cattle and enjoying the ranching way of life. She is a proud partner of Texas Beef Council as we reach producers across Texas.