Colorado

Eight years of meetings with prominent leaders, persuasive telephone conservations and minute planning have culminated in a heroic-size sculpture, honoring Colorado's farmers and ranchers.

On Sept. 23 during Ag Day, "Twenty Percent Chance of Flurries" will be dedicated during a ceremony on the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins, Colo. The dedication will be at 4:30 p.m. on the south side of Shepardson Hall.

"We've met with many state leaders, business professionals and prominent ranchers to make this happen," said Don Ament, commissioner of agriculture at the Colorado Department of Agriculture. "The heritage of our state was built on many generations of farmers and ranchers. This statue is a tribute to all those hardworking men and women."

The statue is heroic size, which means it is larger than life size. Standing 16' tall and 11' long, it depicts a rancher battling the elements to rescue a young calf from a springtime blizzard.

"The weather forecast was a 20 percent chance of flurries, but Mother Nature can be unpredictable," said Sculptor Chris Navarro, as described in his proposal. "So he has saddled up his horse, rode out in the storm and pulled a weakened calf from a snow drift and is heading back to the barn for warmth and shelter. It has always been an inner drive of every farmer and rancher to do whatever it takes to save his crop and livestock. For not only is it his livelihood, it is his way of life."

The idea for the statue originated in 1998 from a trip to Calgary by Jim Rubingh, director of the markets division at CDA.

"I saw a statue honoring their farmers and ranchers and was rather struck by it," said Rubingh. "After returning, we held a competition of artists and had a panel that chose Chris Navarro as the sculptor. Since then, we raised funds by selling about 75 maquettes, which are miniature versions of the statute."

In addition, six primary donors contributed to the project: Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.; Colorado Agricultural Development Authority; Colorado Foundation for Agriculture; Colorado State University; Monfort Family Foundation; and Safeway, Inc.