Ag Education to Round Out the Summer
#bfrdpwy #aginternship #RightRisk
Wow, I cannot believe week 12 is done and my internship is complete! Even with only a few days left, I was still able to pack in a ton of learning into this week to round out a fantastic summer. Regarding irrigation, one of the most crucial elements of a summer operation, I finished a set of dams in a small patch of a pasture deemed “the triangle.” I tried and failed to set dams in a deep ditch with strong flow in our Number 2 meadow. We kept a gated pipe running, greased our pumps daily, adjusted a single bird mechanism, and turned the pivot on and off in accordance with the second cutting of the haying operation.
I was also involved in haying this week; I was responsible for operating the rake. As this was my first time working with any sort of machinery with a clutch, I had a lot of fun. There was a learning curve, but I worked through it by driving and operating the tractor. I also developed an appreciation for the AC (air conditioner) and the speaker (radio). All in all, I was glad to have been given the opportunity to add the tractor to my repertoire of vehicles I am able to operate.
This week I attended my educational event, learning a significant amount about soil health. It was an NRCS “Feed yourself, feed your soil” field day sponsored by the UW Research Extension in Wyarno. We traveled to two ranches, the Sunlight Ranch and Koltiska Cattle and Hay, as well as observed the plots at the Research Center. At the Sunlight
Ranch, we visited an irrigated pasture and talked about the transition from a conventional method of tillage and mono-cropping towards a no-till, minimal external inputs system, and how this effects when the rancher will graze out the field, along with what seeds should be planted to support biodiversity. We dug up a plant to observe how the roots were interacting with previous compaction, learning and observing how over time the shifts towards more sustainable methods will allow longer roots and more soil organic matter. At Koltiska Cattle and Hay, we looked at a dryland pasture with a successful planting of a 10-seed blend, including legumes to break up soil compaction such as purple top turnips. At the UW Extension research plots, we observed the differences in soil quality between tilled, no-tilled, and vertical-tilled plots.
This week, I challenge the concept of judgement towards those ranchers and farmers that continue to use “conventional methods.” In many educational environments and scientific articles, there is a judgmental stance towards those in agriculture who practice methods such as mono-cropping, tillage, spraying pesticides/fertilizer, etc. After listening to so many different perspectives in the industry at not only the NRCS event, but throughout the entire summer, it is clear people will move towards sustainability if it is economically feasible. Above everything, farmers and ranchers are stewards of the land and most are looking towards how they can improve the overall health of their land so that it may be bountiful for generations to come.
Questions I have from my week are: how can I continue pursuing ranching opportunities with minimal connections in the industry, how do we reconnect the public with knowledge of how their food is grown, and how can opportunities be provided to bring more young people into agriculture.
I plan to use what I have learned in the past week, and the whole summer, to continue pursuing opportunities to work hands on in the ranching industry. I want to become more involved with the people growing our food and try to understand more about how the industry of agriculture can see positive shifts to more sustainable operations that can relate to the people whose food they supply. I plan to continue using and improving the technical skills I was introduced to, such as welding, wood working, etc., as well as appreciating and utilizing the problem-solving mindset these sorts of skills require. I will continue practicing gratitude for all the wonderful things I have learned and observed this summer, as well as the amazing people I have met and been given the gift of learning from. Cheers to a wonderful 12 weeks!
Submitted by: Jamie Kaste
Edited by: GrowinG Internship Team
