This was the last week of my internship, and I am amazed by how much I have learned over the past ten weeks. My last week was slower than usual, but I was still able to learn a few things. I learned how to check if the tannins had thoroughly penetrated the hide. You do this by cutting a piece off the hide and if it has gone through the layer of the skin all the way, it is done. As you can see from the picture, this hide has not yet been fully penetrated. There is a new charger set up for the pigs and I learned how much easier it is to have a solar panel. The solar panel allows for the battery to last and not have to be recharged. The new controller shows how many volts are going through the poly wire, which will enable you to see if there are any issues. I burned some more of the foxtails this week and learned how fast manure can light on fire. I also learned it is essential to check the wind and humidity before doing a controlled burn.

This week, I reflected on the different tanning methods I have learned, specifically the bark tanning process versus the egg method. Both methods come with their own set of benefits and challenges. By questioning the effectiveness and practicality of these methods, I can determine the most suitable approach for my work. For example, eggs are more readily available to most people, whereas bark tanning requires a significant amount of bark. From my observations, egg tanning demands more effort but allows you to finish your hide much quicker than bark tanning, which requires a long soaking period. Most modern tanneries use chrome tanning because it is cheaper, but it involves harsh chemicals that can harm the environment and result in lower-quality leather. This process of critical thinking illustrates the importance of laying out all factors before deciding on the best approach to use. By challenging traditional methods and looking at new approaches, I can ensure that I am making thoughtful and sustainable choices.

I still have questions I would like to explore further. One area of concern from this week is preventing and treating flystrike for the livestock guardian dog. I want to understand the most effective treatment options, how to detect it early, and preventative measures to ensure the health of the working dogs. Additionally, I have questions about the effectiveness of different methods when removing foxtails. I would also want to understand the challenges and benefits of each method to see what would be the best for the situation on the pasture.

With all that I have learned this past week, I plan to use these strategies in the future. Tanning hides has led me to dive deeper into the different methods available. I believe this is important to carry through life as it emphasizes the value of researching various approaches. When I have livestock one day, I will ensure that I have a solar panel set up, as I have found this makes life a lot easier. Learning about controlled burns will help me to remove weeds safely in the future, ensuring that I consider factors such as wind and humidity to prevent fires. It is also essential to be aware and cautious of issues such as flystrike to ensure the health of working dogs. By applying these lessons, I strive to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and animal welfare in the future.

Submitted by: Elizabeth Herman
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team

This week we had the opportunity to attend the 2024 Wyoming Stock Growers Association
Environmental Stewardship Tour at the S&W Livestock Ranch, located just a short drive away. The morning began with the welcome breakfast and the presentation of the Environmental Stewardship Award for outstanding stewardship practices and environmental conservation achievements. Following the morning events was the most important part of the day, the ranch tour, where the owners and operators of the ranch were able to showcase the specific practices
that won them the Stock Growers Stewardship Award. The tour began with a look to compare the former pasture set up to the current pastures, transitioning from seven total pastures to more than 52 that are broken down even smaller is a major contributor to their over all success of their Environmental and Conservation Stewardship. We then moved onto the haying operation and from there we moved onto seeing some of the range that had been sprayed and maintained for invasive plants to promote better forage for the cattle.

Seeing grazing patterns, crop and cover crop rotations, as well as experimental tree plantings and designation protected riparian areas were all highlights of the day. Seeing the different ways ranches do the same things is always interesting and brings in new ways of doing work and can get the ideas flowing not just for those on the tour but also for those who are giving the tour in some cases. Especially if the ranchers and operators are open minded and welcoming to new ideas and information.

At the end of the day everything circled back around to the same tent where the welcoming was to allow the many different people from ranchers to conservations workers to ask questions, get answers and do a little individual networking. I met several other interns from the NRCS, giving me the opportunity to engage with individuals I may be working with in the future. A couple of them will also be attending UW in the fall, like myself.

There are a couple concepts I learned at my educational event that I would implement in my own
operation. One would be breaking down larger pastures into smaller sections using electric fencing.
This would allow for ease of transition from pasture to pasture, while getting greater use out of the
existing area. Also, I would implement windrow grazing methods. Windrow grazing methods may not
have a particularly good view due to problems that have occurred with this host operation as they
tried it, but I would like to try it. concepts I would implement – breaking down larger pastures into smaller sections using electric fencing due to ease of transition from pasture to pasture and you getting greater use out of the existing area, I would also implement windrow grazing methods even though they did not have a particularly good view of it due to problems they had with it over the years they tried it. networking – met several other interns from the NRCS giving me the opportunity to engage with individual s I may be working with in the future, including a couple that will be going to UW this fall

Submitted by: Cody Lancaster
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team

What a week. I don’t even know where to start because this was my last week at my host ranch. As I pulled away from the ranch, I felt a wave of emotions because this has been the best 10 weeks of my life. I am so grateful to this program, my hosts, and everyone that I have met along the way. I can confidently say I experienced real ranch life, and I love it. Every morning, I craved the mystery of the day and never knew what to expect. This week was a great reflection of this statement because I did a little of everything.

I started the week with weed management. This meant long hot days on a 4- wheeler. The pastures we sprayed ranged from 2,000 to 4,000 acres. This is a lot of territory to cover and made the days very interesting because every second was different. The weeds we sprayed for mainly grew in crick bottoms or in areas where moisture pooled. This made the terrain another challenge to navigate. For me, the rush of navigating the steep banks, bumps, and conclaves is very exciting. Past that, I don’t care much for spraying weeds. But not everything can be fun and enjoyable. Weed management is a must and is so vital for range health.

While spraying, I kept myself distracted by the wildlife, livestock, and native vegetation. I never cared what kind or grass or plant I found myself in, but while spraying I did. While navigating the pastures I kept an eye out for coyotes because just like weeds, they are a nuisance. I saw four while out and marked my location so the trapper could locate them. One morning I even was able to see the trappers plan out flying ridges. They were able to locate the predators and successfully remove them.

The rest of my week catered to the weather because the Wyoming wind was in full force. Wednesday was hot, dry, and windy. This is a perfect recipe for a fire. While Wyoming has many upsides, the fire season is not one of them. Many fires broke out around us, so we prepared for the worst. Our spray trailer quickly turned into a water hauling trailer. We filled many tanks and made sure the pump was operational. My host quizzed us on fire protocol and made sure we felt comfortable operating hoses. Looking back, this is such a great idea because that preparation is essential in a natural disaster. Honestly, I want to put together a whole book or go-bag for my own operation. This would help in case of an emergency and be the difference between life and death.

The final part of my week was mainly targeting the heat and problem shooting. The highs reached in the 100s, so we ensured the livestock were receiving enough water and staying healthy. We set up another tank in the yearling sheep pasture to help them utilize more pasture. The sheep congregated around the new tank and didn’t have to travel so far for water. The new tank is not a permanent fixture and only produced enough water to keep water in the tank. While not ideal, it still proved plenty of relief to the hot livestock.

Friday was mainly setting up a new tire tank in a pasture that only had one water source. This was a bigger task than I expected because there are many moving parts. First, we had to tap into the power from the power line. Then we had to convert that to a timer so the tank wouldn’t run 24-7. This wasn’t hard but was a meticulous process. Next, we leveled out where the tank needed to sit. Let me tell you, that ground was not easy to work with. I definitely gained some sweat equity with my shovel. After moving the tank and making sure it was level, we filled the middle with dirt and concrete. My host is an expert at setting these tanks because he has learned from the others on the ranch. This was awesome to reflect on and compare tanks so we could make this tank better than the last.

Submitted by: Maggie McStay
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team

I can’t believe it has already been ten weeks. I have learned so much this summer and am so grateful I was able to have this opportunity. I have grown my knowledge and have made new connections. This week we checked the cows, learned about poisonous plants, and cut them down, and tore down a fence and rebuilt it. To keep your ranch productive and up to date, you have to do the odd jobs as you can.

We spent a couple days chopping larkspur, as this is a common poisonous plant in the forest. This plant can kill cattle if ingested; there is not a lot you can do if the cow eats this plant. Larkspur can cause up to 15% of deaths in cattle herds. My host explained that they used to be able to spray it, which would kill most of it, but some environmentalists spoke up and they are not able to now since it is on the forest land. Since Larkspur is a native species, they don’t want you to spray and kill it, even though it will kill cattle.

We also tore down a fence this week; we used a post puller for the T-posts and used the skid steer for the wooden posts. My host created a handy contraption to roll up the wire with the skid steer to make it a lot easier and faster. I was able to drive the skid steer to lay out the posts. We laid out three T-post to every wooden. We would lay out the posts first to make sure they are the correct distance away from another. The fence has to be up to government speculations, as my host uses grants from the NRCS for wildlife friendly fence. There is also an old corral right in the middle of the fence, so we tore down some of it and replaced wooden posts so that they could use it in the fall when weaning calves.

The one thing I would challenge from this week would be not being able to spray Larkspur. I think that they could at least regulate it and not just stop a rancher from doing it. There could be a regulation of only spraying half of the pasture or making sure you use a certain weed killer. It makes a lot of work for a rancher to chop all the weeds, and that is if they have time to. Ranchers are busy enough as it is, especially during this time of the year, with haying, checking calves for sickness, and moving cows to different pastures.

I have learned so much this summer and I will use the knowledge that I have gained in my last year of college and on my family farm. This week I learned about poisonous plants which was interesting to me because in Nebraska we don’t have a lot of poisonous plants, to cattle at least, where we live. It is interesting to see how different the country can be even if it is only one state away.

Submitted by: Danielle Wadsworth
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team

This week has been fairly uneventful since it is the end of the season. Next week is also my last week at my host site, which is hard to believe! I think about the beginning of the summer when my days were full of hustling back and forth between the cooler and the field, cutting peony blooms. It feels so long ago! But the end of the season has lessons to learn as well amidst the weeding (one constant is weeds never quit!). The world experiences four seasons, and agriculture follows the same pattern.

While peony season has been over for a while, many other flowers are just starting to bloom. Last week we trellised the sweet peas, and they have doubled in size! Since these are vining plants, having a trellis allows them to grow upward and have a longer stem. We also have a random bed of delphinium that has been blooming, as well as many roses, and the zinnias and dahlias we planted at the beginning of the season. It has been fun seeing other flowers bloom and grow. My site host encouraged me to cut some and see how they opened in the vase, so I cut some sweet peas and delphinium. Every flower has different requirements for being cut. Some flowers will stop opening once cut, which I observed with delphinium, so it’s best to cut them when almost all of their flowers are open. This is different from peonies which are cut when they are still in bud form. When you cut flowers also depends on how you plan to use them. If you are selling bouquets in a market, you want the flowers to last a long time in the vase. For these flowers, you pick flowers with a long vase life and cut them before they are fully open. For events, such as weddings, flowers are expected to last for only a day, so flowers can be cut when they are fully blown open.

My host and I have also been experimenting with increasing the use of native plants in her operation. We discovered a native vine that’s all over the property, usually growing on top of fences and other plants. We found out that it’s called Western White Clematis, also known as old man’s beard (which I thought was a funny name for it). We are trying to root it in water right now to see if we can establish it on the farm. The idea is to have a vining plant that could provide wind and water protection to some of the buildings on my host’s property, as well as have a low-maintenance foliage plant to cut from. Since they are a vine, they should root pretty easily just by being cut from where it connects to the main branch and being placed in water, so we will see if any roots develop in the next week!

This slower part of the season is also a great time to start planning for the next one. My host has been slowly planting other flower varieties en masse to use in her peony bunches, such as foxtail lilies and iris. Since these varieties do well in the Wyoming climate and have a similar bloom time to peonies, she purchased more to plant as a crop next year. She also showed me her layout for a bulb garden next year, using poster board and cut-out pictures from a bulb magazine, which will be used more for aesthetics than cutting. She has also been going through this year’s finances and sending out invoices, which she will show me next week, so I have an idea of how to manage an operation’s banking.

It makes me sad to think that next week is my last week. My site host told me to think about the remaining questions about flower farming I have and to send her a list of the resources that I want. So far, I think knowing the apps and resources she uses to maintain her business and purchase seeds and flowers wholesale would be useful. These resources will give me practical steppingstones so I can start my operation when I am ready.

Some questions I can think of include more of the business side of things, such as what a flower farmer realistically makes in a year, the yearly costs, how she stays organized, etc. She also mentioned she would show me how she does her invoices. To be completely honest, I don’t know what invoices are! So obviously, there is still a lot to learn. Good thing I have a week left!

Submitted by: Emzie Coop
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team

This week was a mix of checking calves, doctoring sick calves we found, and cutting down Tall Larkspur, scientific name Delphinium occidentale. We are preparing to move a set of cows to their next pasture on the mountain, so that means riding through the herd every couple of days to check for sick calves. The calves are susceptible to pneumonia and if not caught in time, will kill them. We vaccinated them against pneumonia when we branded and another time after branding; however, the vaccine only works for a few weeks then wears off. If a calf catches pneumonia, it can be hard to identify and can take their life quickly. Healthy calves are alert, move along when we ride close and they like to run around, while signs of a sick calf we look for are droopy ears, a dull like appearance and the sick calf won’t jump up and run when we ride close. It is important to catch sick calves as early as possible to prevent the disease from taking its life.

Once a sick calf is identified by one of us riding, we come together to rope it. When the calves are smaller or are very sick, one person can rope the heels of the calf and drag it forward which will cause the calf to lay down. Once it is down, the two other people come off their horses to grab the calf’s front leg and hold it down while medicine is administered in the neck. As it is later in the summer, the calves are big and very strong, so sometimes it takes one person to rope the neck and another person to rope the heels of the calf to hold it down. The remaining person will administer the medicine while the calf is secured by the ropes. These methods have been used for centuries and are used in daily cowboy life to this day.

Another important job for the cattleman is taking care of their pastures, which involves preventing and destroying poisonous plants such as Tall Larkspur. Larkspur is deadly to cattle if ingested, it will kill fully grown cows along with the calves. Many ranchers are able to use an herbicide to spray it every couple years to control the population, and my host used to be able to do this. He has an issue with Larkspur on one of his mountain allotments, which adds another element to the issue as he has to go through the Forest Service to manage this area. In the past, he was allowed to use a certain herbicide to spray Larkspur and keep it under control; however, about three years ago, regulations changed, and he was no longer allowed to use herbicide to control Larkspur on his mountain allotment. My host has noticed on other occasions that chopping the plant at the base can reduce the amount of regrowth the next year by about 50% which is what we are doing on the mountain allotment. We bring sharpened shovels and walk through the brush to look for the Larkspur and unfortunately, we have found a lot. There are lots of young Larkspur growing, as well as some mature plants, which all need to be removed to protect the cattle. It has taken a couple days to get a good start on it, and we will be continuing to go out and chop the Larkspur until we have covered the whole area.

A question I had about poisonous plants such as Larkspur, was if they affected wildlife the same as they do livestock. I got to talk to my host about this question as she is very knowledgeable about the rangelands and some of the processes of the government as she works for the NRCS. I wondered if the Forest Service would allow Larkspur to be sprayed again if it had detrimental effects on wildlife like it has on cattle. She informed me that Larkspur does not affect wildlife like it does cattle and she has seen elk eat the tops of Larkspur on multiple occasions. She also noted that she believes they will allow Larkspur to be sprayed again in the future because the BLM has accepted seven new herbicides to be used on their ranges. The Forest Service and BLM are both government agencies that regulate certain areas of state and public land, so their regulations are similar in some respects. I thought this conversation was very informative and made me wonder more about the different regulations for plants on the government land.

I plan to take the information I have acquired this week to investigate other regulations on the Forest for other plants and compare those to the regulations on Larkspur. I also look forward to continuing to check the cattle and help ensure the calves are healthy.

Submitted by: Ronnie Owens
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team

This week marks my last full week at my internship. Though I feel like it was just yesterday that I arrived at the ranch, as I look back on the last few weeks, I realize the incredible amount of experience and knowledge I have gained throughout the internship. Not only have I had the opportunity to become more comfortable and confident in my abilities as it pertains to working with cattle and horses, but I have also gained great insight into overall ranch maintenance and success. I am very excited to move forward with the process of applying to vet schools and finishing out my senior year of classes with the knowledge and experience I have gained as I believe it will prove to be helpful. As I head into my final week (a little less than a full week) of the internship, I am sad to leave, but feel fulfilled with everything that was accomplished.

Throughout this week I worked in a multitude of different areas on the ranch as I worked in the pastures with cattle, in the office with records, and in some of the ranch building cleaning and organizing. Aside from these tasks during the workday, I also spent one night this week doing sound monitoring for a wedding taking place on the ranch as well. Working in these different aspects of the ranch made for a well-balanced week of work and reminded me of the variety of skills I have gained experience with. For me, this week was exactly what I needed. During my last full week of the internship, it was nice to be given the opportunity to have a sense of variation in the tasks I was completing. I also enjoyed being able to do something different each day of the week as it broke up the monotony and reminded me that there is always work to be done, and no day is the same on the ranch.

Though this week was a little slower than the last as the construction for the ranch rodeo (that took place last Sunday) was complete, there were still many tasks on the schedule for this week. One of the tasks included preparing some of the rentable cabins on the ranch for hunting season. This served as another reminder of the ways in which the ranch itself can be utilized for other activities in order to make a profit on the side. This is especially significant when the cattle are no longer on the ranch, as other sources of income are extremely valuable. To prepare the cabins, we had to move furniture items into them so that they are ready for the hunters and/or hunting guides that pay to stay on the ranch during hunting season.

Outside of concepts relating to ranch management, other tasks completed this week pertained to my interests in animal health and had to do with cattle nutrition. Much of the work with cattle this week related to putting out supplements for the herds. There was not much doctoring to be completed this week, and the cattle were not worked too much as the temperatures were relatively high this week, so my main responsibility was ensuring they are still being supplemented effectively. This week we also switched from a mixed bag of minerals to only salt. This was the first week that they had been given only salt as a supplement.

The switch from mixed mineral to only salt created a multitude of questions for me. I did not have the chance to ask why the mineral was switched, but I am curious about the factors that determine this. As I looked into this further I found that in general the type of supplement/mineral being given depends greatly on the pasture and environmental conditions and also the stage of growth that the cattle are in. If I had to make a prediction, I would guess that since the weather this week was hotter than usual, more sodium was given. These general considerations make sense, but I still have questions about the aspects of the environment and growth stage that are looked at to determine this.

Another topic that I am interested in learning more about pertains to cattle gains and the factors that might affect them. This week, my boss raised concerns about the cattle on one side of the ranch losing gains as a result of inefficient pasture conditions. This made me question cattle gains and losses as it relates to grass quality. It makes sense that better pasture would result in greater gains in the cattle, but I am curious as to how these gains and losses can be monitored and measured. Additionally, much of the pasture conditions are determined by the irrigation effectiveness therefore I am interested to see the ways in which these pastures will be irrigated differently in order to make up for these losses.

With the experience I gained this week, I first and foremost hope to understand cattle development better. Through better understanding the mineral requirements and pasture conditions optimal for cattle, I hope to be able to have a better understanding of effective cattle nutrition. Cattle nutrition was a topic that I did not realize would be this critical, especially during this internship. I did not realize the factors and considerations that can influence cattle gains, but I am thankful to be more aware of those factors now. Having a better understanding of the factors that impact cattle nutrition will be useful to know as I take more animal nutrition and health classes in the future.

On a similar note, I hope to use the knowledge I obtained regarding cattle nutrition, in addition to the knowledge I was exposed to with pasture conditions, to optimize cattle gains. I would like to continue to broaden my understanding in regard to pasture conditions as I was able to see firsthand how it can affect cattle gains. By understanding how to use pasture in combination with effective cattle supplementing and health, I would be able to develop an extremely useful skill set as I head into an animal medicine field of study. Much of the issues relating to large animals can relate to their nutrition therefore I am hopeful that the experience I have obtained throughout this week, and the internship as a whole, will help me understand the relationship between large animal health and nutrition and the ways in which it can be optimized.

Submitted by: Sydney Thorvaldson
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team

The first half of this week was primarily focused on peeling tin off the barn roof so that roofers could come in on Wednesday and put a new tin roof on. This project was pretty cut and dry, and while it took a while, wasn’t difficult to do.

The second half, however, was a little different. This week, Sheridan suffered a 6,000 acre fire, sprawling over several nearby ranches, engulfing plains, hills, and timber. Wednesday afternoon into Thursday morning found the ranch’s employees putting in the hours fighting the fire. My host is a volunteer firefighter and has a truck from the fire department and he employed it to battle the flames.

I found myself on polaski duty, swinging the tool to bury the flames in the grasses that the truck couldn’t reach. This was about the only task to have physically beaten me thus far—some things have been difficult for other reasons, from technique to having to think in a different manner, but fighting fire with an axe and a dream really whipped me. Fortunately, when I eventually faltered, host and another ranch employee were there with the hose or shovels of their own to help me.

On Friday, my host and I went up the mountain to set up some electric fencing, which was more or less a ribbon with wire running through it and several portable posts running down the length hooked up to a solar-powered battery. This was a pretty neat way to quickly set up and tear down pastures, and while I’ve read about it and seen it done on videos about holistic management, I’d never fiddled with it myself, so the hands-on experience was welcome.

One of the big lessons I’m taking away from this week was crystalized on Thursday on the fire. When I thanked the others for hopping out and joining me in the labor, my host responded: “It’s not a one man job.” While he was specifically talking about fighting fire, it struck me that that’s the essence of ranching—no part of this job is meant to be done alone. Sure, it can be, but it’s best done as a team, and every single task I’ve done over the past nine weeks has proved it, from poisoning prairie dogs to fencing to working cattle. In this, ranching is a lot like wrestling or cross country or track—you might compete alone, but your work impacts the success of the team directly. I was often solo while gassing rodents, sure, but because I was doing that while Andrew was checking water and my host was fixing a side-by-side, the ranch will be in better condition than we found it.

Applying that thought process, I think ranch management is most effective if you have pairs or teams running most tasks, with supporting tasks (like weed and pest management or water/salt checking and distribution) being operated solo. Skeleton crews work pretty well, as I’ve seen both in military operations and in ranching, but it’s always good to have a partner for working cattle or land, whether that be just for a second opinion on if that cow’s lame or for that extra hand putting out a fire.

Submitted by: Leigh Stockton
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team

This‬‭ week‬‭ started‬‭ off‬‭ with‬‭ spraying‬‭ for‬‭ weeds‬‭ in‬‭ one‬‭ of‬‭ the‬‭ larger‬‭ and‬‭ more‬‭ rugged‬‭ pastures‬‭ of‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ the‬‭ ranch‬‭ and‬‭ almost‬‭ immediately‬‭ getting‬‭ stuck.‬‭ Luckily‬‭ enough‬‭, the‬‭ other‬‭ intern‬‭ was‬‭ also‬‭ in‬‭ the‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ area‬‭ and‬‭ was‬‭ able‬‭ to‬‭ provide‬‭ assistance‬‭ in‬‭ the‬‭ form‬‭ of‬‭ an‬‭ off‬‭ road‬‭ rescue.‬‭

Spraying‬‭ for‬‭ a‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ couple‬‭ of‬‭ days‬‭ led‬‭ into‬‭ mid‬‭ week‬‭ and‬‭ with‬‭ wind‬‭ picking‬‭ up,‬‭ the‬‭ spraying‬‭ ceased‬‭ and‬‭ other‬‭‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ “odd” jobs‬‭ began‬‭ to‬‭ be‬‭ completed; the‬‭ most‬‭ notable‬‭ of‬‭ which‬‭ was‬‭ placing‬‭ a‬‭ tire‬‭ water‬‭ tank‬‭ in‬‭ a‬‭ new‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ location‬‭ to‬‭ improve‬‭ cow‬‭ and‬‭ sheep‬‭ water‬‭ access‬‭ in‬‭ that‬‭ pasture.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

‭Placing‬‭ the‬‭ tank‬‭ involved‬‭ digging‬‭ out‬‭ and‬‭ leveling‬‭ the‬‭ location‬‭ with‬‭ the‬‭ skid‬‭ steer‬‭, as‬‭ well‬‭ as‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ hand‬‭ tools‬‭, and‬‭ having‬‭ the‬‭ power‬‭ company‬‭ run‬‭ a‬‭ service‬‭ line‬‭ from‬‭ the‬‭ meter‬‭ to‬‭ the‬‭ pump.‬‭

This‬‭ is‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ where‬‭ previous‬‭ experience‬‭ was‬‭ very‬‭ beneficial‬‭ since‬‭ there‬‭ was‬‭ an‬‭ old‬‭ power‬‭ panel‬‭ adjacent‬‭ to‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ the‬‭ pump‬‭ giving‬‭ us‬‭ the‬‭ ability‬‭ to‬‭ route‬‭ power‬‭ cabling‬‭ through‬‭ it‬‭ instead‬‭ of‬‭ just‬‭ having‬‭ it‬‭ laying‬‭ on‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ bare‬‭ ground‬‭ the‬‭ way‬‭ the‬‭ power‬‭ company‬‭ had‬‭ laid‬‭ it‬‭ out.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Routing‬‭ the‬‭ new‬‭ power‬‭ cables from‬‭ the‬‭ meter‬‭ into‬‭ the‬‭ box‬‭ and‬‭ out‬‭ to‬‭ the‬‭ water‬‭ pump‬‭ did‬‭ away‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ with‬‭ an‬‭ inline‬‭ splice‬‭ that‬‭ was‬‭ laid‬‭ on‬‭ bare‬‭ ground‬‭ waiting‬‭ to‬‭ be‬‭ buried‬‭ and‬‭ involved‬‭ a‬‭ little‬‭ bit‬‭ of‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ digging‬‭ to‬‭ find‬‭ and‬‭ access‬‭ the‬‭ buried‬‭ conduit. We had to find‬‭ which‬‭ connections‬‭ correlated‬‭ to‬‭ each‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ other‬‭ and‬‭ then‬‭ simply‬‭ connecting‬‭ the‬‭ cables‬‭ in‬‭ the‬‭ proper‬‭ order.‬‭

We‬‭ also‬‭ verified‬‭ that‬‭ the‬‭ fuses‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ in‬‭ the‬‭ safety‬‭ kill switch‬‭ were‬‭ intact‬‭ and‬‭ operable, along with verifying‬‭ operation‬‭ and‬‭ then‬‭ putting‬‭ partial‬ power‬‭ to‬‭ the‬‭ system, followed by full‬‭ power‬‭ to‬‭ the‬‭ system‬‭ and‬‭ making‬‭ sure‬‭ the‬‭ water‬‭ pump‬‭ was‬ operating‬‭ properly.‬‭ At‬‭ the‬‭ end‬‭ of‬‭ the‬‭ project‬‭ we‬‭ all‬‭ came‬‭ away‬‭ with‬‭ a‬‭ better‬‭ understanding‬‭ of‬‭ the‬ entire‬‭ process.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

‭As‬‭ I‬‭ was‬‭ writing‬‭ this‬‭ summary‬‭ on‬‭ Sunday‬‭ afternoon,‬‭ I‬‭ received‬‭ a‬‭ call‬‭ from‬‭ my‬‭ host‬‭ asking‬‭ what‬‭ I‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ was‬‭ doing, letting‬‭ me‬‭ know‬‭ that‬‭ there‬‭ was‬‭ a‬‭ fire‬‭ a‬‭ few‬‭ miles‬‭ away‬‭ from‬‭ us‬‭ and‬‭ we‬‭ were‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ going‬‭ to‬‭ go‬‭ help‬‭ contain‬‭ and‬‭ extinguish‬‭ it.‬‭ Ranchers‬‭ helping‬‭ ranchers‬‭ is‬‭ the‬‭ way‬‭ of‬‭ the‬‭ west‬‭ it‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ seems,‬‭ whether‬‭ it’s‬‭ for‬‭ calf‬‭ brandings,‬‭ sheep‬‭ dockings,‬‭ or‬‭ helping‬‭ save‬‭ as‬‭ much‬‭ range‬‭ from‬‭ the‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ devastation‬‭ of‬‭ a‬‭ wildfire‬‭ as‬‭ possible.‬‭

For‬‭ this,‬‭ like‬‭ many‬‭ things‬‭ in‬‭ ranching,‬‭ every‬‭ ranch‬‭ has‬‭ a‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ different‬‭ setup.‬‭ Our‬‭ setup‬‭ is‬‭ two‬‭ 300‬‭ gallon‬‭ water‬‭ containers‬‭ on‬‭ a‬‭ flatbed‬‭ trailer‬‭ with‬‭ another‬‭ 300‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ gallon‬‭ water‬‭ container,‬‭ several‬‭ hoses‬‭ and‬‭ a‬‭ gas‬‭-run‬‭ water‬‭ pump‬‭ in‬‭ the‬‭ back‬‭ of‬‭ the‬‭ truck.‬‭ The‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ trailer‬‭ can‬‭ be‬‭ dropped‬‭ at‬‭ a‬‭ central‬‭ location‬‭ for‬‭ resupply‬‭ for‬‭ not‬‭ just‬‭ us‬‭ but‬‭ for‬‭ others‬‭ and‬‭ possibly‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ the‬‭ fire‬‭ department‬‭ itself‬‭ depending‬‭ on‬‭ the‬‭ severity‬‭ of‬‭ the‬‭ fire.‬‭ The‬‭ truck‬‭ then‬‭ has‬‭ better‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ maneuverability‬‭ and‬‭ has‬‭ plenty‬‭ of‬‭ water‬‭ to‬‭ cover‬‭ a‬‭ decent‬‭ sized‬‭ area.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Upon‬‭ arrival‬‭ to‬‭ the‬‭ area,‬‭ we‬‭ saw‬‭ that‬‭ it‬‭ had‬‭ burned‬‭ several‬‭ hundred‬‭ acres‬‭ already‬‭ and‬‭ was‬‭ at‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ the‬‭ moment‬‭ partially‬‭ contained.‬‭ After‬‭ dropping‬‭ off‬‭ the‬‭ trailer‬‭ in‬‭ a‬‭ safe‬‭ location‬‭ we‬‭ worked‬‭ our‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ way‬‭ to‬‭ the‬‭ fire‬‭ line‬‭ and‬‭ found‬‭ where‬‭ there‬‭ was‬‭ a‬‭ reflash‬‭ of‬‭ the‬‭ the‬‭ fire‬‭ in‬‭ a‬‭ small‬‭ draw‬‭ about‬‭ 30‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ yards‬‭ long‬‭ and‬‭ immediately‬‭ jumped‬‭ out‬‭ and‬‭ began‬‭ pouring‬‭ water‬‭ to‬‭ it.‬‭

Sweeping‬‭ the‬‭ base‬‭ of‬‭ the‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ flames‬‭ as‬‭ we‬‭ moved‬‭ along‬‭ the‬‭ leading‬‭ edge‬‭ of‬‭ the‬‭ fire‬‭ making‬‭ sure‬‭ the‬‭ grass‬‭ line‬‭ along‬‭ it‬‭ and‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ clumps‬‭ of‬‭ sage‬‭ were‬‭ soaked‬‭ and‬‭ not‬‭ going‬‭ to‬‭ reflash‬‭ after‬‭ moving‬‭ on.‬‭ Taking‬‭ about‬‭ an‬‭ hour‬‭ to‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ fully‬‭ control‬‭ our‬‭ somewhat‬‭ chosen‬‭, but‬‭ mostly‬‭ stumbled‬‭ upon‬‭, section‬‭ of‬‭ the‬‭ fire‬‭, we‬‭ needed‬‭ a‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ resupply‬‭ of‬‭ water‬‭ and‬‭ began‬‭ moving‬‭ towards‬‭ the‬‭ trailer.‬‭

From‬‭ our‬‭ resupply‬‭ trailer‬‭ we‬‭ were‬‭ able‬‭ to‬‭ survey‬‭ the‬‭ area‬‭ and‬‭ make‬‭ the decision‬‭, like‬‭ several‬‭ others‬‭, that‬‭ we‬‭ were‬‭ no‬‭ longer‬‭ needed‬‭ in‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ that‬‭ section‬‭ and‬‭ could‬‭ move‬‭ on.‬‭ Moving‬‭ on,‬‭ we‬‭ found‬‭ that‬‭ the‬‭ fire‬‭ was‬‭, at‬‭ that‬‭ time,‬‭ fully‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ contained‬‭ and‬‭ no‬‭ longer‬‭ a‬‭ threat‬‭ and‬‭ began‬‭ preparations‬‭ to‬‭ return‬‭ home.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

This‬‭ wildfire‬‭ fighting‬‭ experience‬‭ was‬‭ unlike‬‭ any‬‭ other‬‭ experience‬‭ so‬‭ far‬‭ at‬‭ the‬‭ ranch.‬‭ Learning‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ the‬‭ different‬‭ aspects‬‭ of‬‭ fighting‬‭ a‬‭ fire‬‭ as‬‭ a‬‭ civilian,‬‭ as‬‭ well‬‭ as‬‭ seeing‬‭ the‬‭ different‬‭ truck‬‭ and‬‭ tank‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ set‬‭ ups‬‭ the‬‭ ranchers‬‭ have‬‭ to‬‭ help‬‭ other‬‭ ranchers‬‭ save‬‭ valuable‬‭ forage‬‭ and‬‭ keep‬‭ the‬‭ threat‬‭ away‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ from‬‭ homes‬‭ and‬‭ livestock.‬‬‬‬‬

Submitted by: Cody Lancaster
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team