Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire
#bfrdpwy #aginternship #RightRisk
Week 2 started off being thrown from the frying pan into the fire, the branding fire that is. The western way of w working cattle is vastly different from the way I grew up working in the Southeast 20 years ago. Roping and branding were not things we were accustomed to o n our small farm where all the work was done pushing them into holding pens on foot or on a ATV and using a head catch for vaccinations and ear tags. Some l lessons during the day of branding came easier than others, while some came with bruises as short term reminders to slow down and wait for the rest of the “team” to do their part instead of r ushing i n too quickly.
The remainder of week 2 was spent conducting required maintenance in preparation for cutting, raking and baling hay to put up for the harsh Wyoming winters, another thing we are not accustomed to in the Southeast. Planning the processes and reading manuals that are instructed on the step-by- step maintenance procedures. We took teamwork lessons learned from branding; everyone had a job to do to get the equipment ready. As well as conducting the daily chores needed to keep the ranch operational and animals healthy.
On a ranch there is always work that needs to be done and sometimes you have to slow down and work with the environment instead of against it. Friday morning and Friday night is one of those examples. We had been having issues with a couple of the water tanks on the ranch ranging from timers not operating to tanks constantly leaking. Friday morning was spent investigating the causes of these issues and finding ways to get them fixed.
Noticing tracks in one of the l leaking tanks we were able to figure out why it was leaking and were able to create a blocking fence that would keep the sheep out of the center of the tank but still allow them free access to the water. My previous experience as Electronics Technician was instrumental in fixing the other tank with the malfunctioning timing system. With b other tanks running efficiently and holding water it was time to finish some of the haying.
Cutting, Raking and Baling hay is a mind numbingly, albeit essential, repetitive process that can and is most of the time very time and resource consuming, especially when the environmental conditions are not cooperating with a regular pattern. The specific field had been cut by others that morning and would be being raked and bailed that afternoon or evening, we had hoped. Environmental conditions being the ever-changing process they are, we did not begin work until nearly midnight and finished at close to 5 on Saturday morning.
The importance of slowing down, figuring the processes and creating a plan are all lessons I know very well in the scope of my previous job but the added element of having to work around the environment as well as the unpredictability of livestock and the importance of their care and wellbeing are new ideas. All of t these lessons, new and old, will be taken forward with me into week 3 of the internship and just like working around and with the environment will be adjusted as they fit each new situation in the coming week and weeks beyond that.
Submitted by: Cody Lancaster
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team
