Jumping In: Learning Sheep Work at Ranch Camp

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This week I will be writing about the educational event I attended. This was the Ranch Camp in Bags, Wyoming on the Ladder Ranch. I had a great time at this camp and learned many different hands-on tasks and lessons, but for my favorite experience, I want to focus on Lamb docking. Before this, I had never really been around sheep in any sort of work setting, it was very new to me, but I was excited.

Applying the lessons I have learned through going to college in the RMAL program and the Growing internship, I told myself I wasn’t going to be apprehensive to try a new thing before I got there. This mindset paid off. I jumped right into the action when we arrived at the docking. I found myself in the corral holding lambs while members of the ladder ranch crew castrated and banded tails. This was a great experience for me; it gave me a lot of confidence and reassurance that I could effectively try new things and apply myself to be a valuable asset in a workplace setting. I was also able to learn new things about the sheep industry and the labor that goes into having sheep on an operation. When the morning was done, we were informed that we docked something like 834 lambs in a few short hours. For me, hearing that number was extremely rewarding and gave me a reminder of why I am pursuing a career in the business and lifestyle of agriculture. I do it because I love it, and nothing will beat the satisfaction of finishing the task at hand.

A valuable lesson I learned from ranch camp that I will apply in different areas of my life and future careers is the importance of listening to everyone around you, even if they are similar in age, or younger than you. One of my peers at ranch camp despite only being a few years older than me, and still a young man himself, was able to share with me many valuable lessons. One of these lessons was about being a young person in agriculture. He told me about instances when his ideas were not accepted by those who have been in the industry for a long time. He said it’s easy to get discouraged, but it’s important to keep your head up and not lose motivation. He pointed out that every producer is different, and just because one thought your idea was dumb, doesn’t make it any less likely that the next guy thinks what you bring to the table is great.

I will keep these words of advice with me as I move forward in the agriculture industry and constantly remind myself that not everyone will like my ideas, but some may, and pleasing everyone is impossible, especially when everyone does things differently. In the end, listening to everyone, not just those who appear old and wise, is extremely important, especially in agriculture, because those who sit around you in class and at these opportunities like ranch camp, are the people who will be in the industry right beside you.

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