Caleb Valdez

For a landless start-up with his savings invested in the herd, Caleb hoped to knit together a pasture rotation by leasing smaller fields owned by community members. That meant some nerve-wracking door-knocking. Luckily he met Frieda, a spry 91-year-old who’d worked cows, horses, and land all her life, and she took a gamble on him. Her encouragement kept Caleb going, and soon the community-based pasture rotation grew to include land leased from other neighbors around Montrose.

Plenary Panel

A Visionary Future: Supporting Young and BIPOC Farmers in the West