Choosing Your Focus

#bfrdpwy #aginternship #RightRisk

Throughout this last week of work at the ranch, I have continued to develop the skills that I have learned in previous weeks. I have been in a good routine of work on the ranch and have been consistent in my daily tasks for the most part. Some new things I have experienced are rigging and testing electric fence and catering to the tourism in the area via trail rides and ranch tours. Tourism is something very new to me and it has been interesting to see how it mingles with the daily workings of the ranch. I have also had more opportunities to operate different equipment, such as the mini excavator to dig irrigation ditches.

One idea from this week that I would maybe challenge, or think of in a different way, is having everyone working on separate tasks versus having everyone know how to do everything and work together to get it done. For the most part here, everyone has their own certain daily tasks to complete. There are times when everyone kind of works together on some things, but that is less of the time. Overall, I think it is a good dynamic, having everyone working together to complete tasks, as long as everyone is on the same page and knows their roles. It is beneficial when someone can ask for extra help on something.

A question that I have been thinking about this week is what the long-term goals of the ranch might be. Do the owners have a plan? Do they really care what happens with the ranch as long as it’s running? Do they want to make any changes to the ranch or do they want things to stay the same? I think looking at long term can be important, but also in agriculture, there are a lot of things that you cannot control so it can be hard to decide what you’re outcome will be.

My plan moving forward is to expand my knowledge and skills as much as I can, I plan to do this by asking more questions and applying myself to new tasks and projects as much as I can control. I also plan to continue to expand on my horsemanship skills and confidence in the saddle. I will keep my mind open to new experiences and focus on attention to detail!

Submitted by: Mack Mlnarik
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team