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Growing up today
Riley
Lamb wants to continue to work on the family
farm
 |
| Jason Miller, Lost River High’s FFA advisor, talks with Riley Lamb, left, about upcoming projects. - H&N's Photo |
Lost River High School student Riley Lamb knows what he wants: a career on the family farm.
Lamb, 17, has his sights set on working with his stepfather, Eric Strum, on their farm near Malin, where they have about 600 acres in alfalfa.
A senior at Lost River, Lamb has been involved with the farm for years, operating and repairing equipment, changing water lines and working alongside Strum.
“Not always doing the same thing all the time,” Lamb says of what he likes about farming. “Always doing something different. I can do everything now.”
Because of his work-oriented focus — his duties on the farm cover the monthly payments for his pickup truck — Lamb, like other students from farming backgrounds, is not involved in school activities and not troubled by challenges that face other teenagers.
“You don’t have to work all the time,” he laughs when asked what he enjoys best about being in school. “Riding motorcycles and stuff like that.”
Taking over the farm
His dreams and aspirations are few. “Don’t have any,” Lamb says of long term goals, other than working on the farm. “Gradually take it over.”
Jason Miller, a Lost River High School teacher who oversees the FFA program, says the challenges Lamb and other farm-oriented students face typically center around activities like fall cattle gatherings, spring branding and seasonal farm activities.
“As a teacher, it seems like the kids who come from farms or a farm related background don’t necessarily focus on their studies because they’re thinking about the farm,” Miller says. “Academics is not on their minds.”
Not unusual
Miller says it’s not unusual for students with farming or ranching backgrounds to arrange their schedules so they can leave school at noon or in early afternoon to feed or move cows, work on machinery or tackle a myriad other chores.
Lamb says his father, Travis, who works for Wong Potatoes, doesn’t want him to farm. Strum, however, says Lamb is focused on working on the farm.
“He pretty much knows what he wants to do. He enjoys it. He’s always been involved,” Strum says. “He does just about everything. He can do any of it.”
When Lamb graduates next year, his short-term future on the farm is set.
How about five or 10 years down the road?
“Don’t know,” he says. “Don’t think about it now.”
Side Bar
Riley Lamb
Age: 17
Education: Lost River High School senior
Hometown: Malin Greatest challenge:
Balancing school with
work.
Coolest thing: Riding motorcycles.
Dreams: Working on the family farm.
Coolest thing: Riding motorcycles.
Dreams: Working on the family farm.
Riley Lamb works on a tractor at the Lost
River High School shop.
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