Stocking Up on Experience
#bfrdpwy #aginternship #RightRisk
While the week was cut short by training for the National Guard, it was nevertheless once again a wealth of knowledge, especially the latter half. We spent our Monday fussing over non-compliant oilers, which are portable wells that you fill with diesel and insecticides and sprinkle about the ranch. Cattle rub up against cloth sections that secrete the solution and douse themselves to stave off the flies and mosquitos. To move them, you need a special trailer and a side-by-side. The first oiler was placed exactly to plan—easily moved, easily placed, and cattle were rubbing on it before we even left. The second, however, found a problem in a poor weld left behind by a previous hand that caused our trailer to break. As a result, we had to leave the oiler in the middle of the two-track road, load the trailer in the side-by-side, and use less-than-terrific methods to secure it and transport it back to the shop. After that, we decided to move to the second set of oilers and trailer on the southern side of the ranch. Here, we encountered a more immediate problem in that all of the oilers had a broken piece (the same on every one), rendering them all unusable for the time being. With that, we decided to take what we could get and clear out a solar panel’s pen so that the attached well could pump and then we mended the broken trailer.
Tuesday found us on the fence lines again, mending holes and checking strands in a pasture we had moved into the week before. Fencing, fortunately, is a fairly straight-forward task, even on the hills of Sheridan.
On Wednesday, I found myself on the road headed down to Douglas for the Wyoming Stock Growers Association Convention. On the way down, I made a point to take a look at the prairie dog towns on the way down, noting how they significantly reduced the amount of forage available. When I brought this up to my hosts down in Douglas, they pointed out that almost every town had a substantial amount of cheatgrass growing in it, which is a highly invasive species that “cheats” native species out of growing space by sprouting early; additionally, the early emergence makes for an early withering, which means it dominates the plains with dead material, which isn’t palatable for cattle. Prairie dog towns, I have learned, make for an excellent foothold for cheatgrass colonies because prairie dogs will mow down surrounding vegetation to make for better sightlines to spot predators, killing native species and giving that opportunity for cheatgrass to take root.
Wednesday and Thursday were filled with meeting new folks and learning new things at the WSGA convention. I sat in on meetings about brands, livestock wellness, and public land use, and learned some of the customs and courtesies of the WSGA. Before I took off for drill, I had the opportunity to meet not only the state vet and assistant state vet, the brand commissioner, the NCBA President, and a dozen big stockmen throughout the state, but also Governor and First Lady Gordon of Wyoming. Overall, it was an amazing experience and a really cool look into how small Wyoming really is—many of these folks knew my grandparents or my father or a friend of the family.
The only thing I would challenge from this week is that we didn’t run through the fencing before we moved cattle in, but I believe that was the original intent and plans just fell through. Most of this week was about learning and soaking up as much as I could in the little time I had to do it.
Going forward, I absolutely want to be a part of the WSGA. It’s an excellent space to learn, a great space to network, and a real way to effect change. Additionally, I think it might be wise to make sure those pastures are patched up before putting cattle out—cattle are more enjoyable when they’re not wandering into the next county, I find.
Submitted by: Leigh Stockton
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team
