This week, I gained hands-on experience in both flower and vegetable farming, which helped me better understand the diversity of skills required in small-scale agriculture. Harvesting flowers like Snapdragons, Zinnias, Cosmos, Feverfew, and Sunflowers gave me more practice identifying maturity stages, handling stems carefully, and understanding how different flowers are harvested and stored. At the same time, I continued with weeding work, which reminded me how quickly invasive species like knapweed can take over and impact crop quality. Although it might seem repetitive, the task was a reminder of how essential it is to maintain field health on a consistent basis.

Visiting the Alpine Science Institute and working alongside the staff and students introduced me to more structured, thoughtful farm planning. I learned about crop rotation in real time, including how planting peas with beets could help restore soil nutrients, and how timing matters when planting heat-sensitive crops like spinach. Using the broadfork to prepare soil for Kohlrabi seedlings was new to me and taught me how physical soil structure can directly affect plant establishment. I also learned about harvest documentation by washing and weighing Kale and Eggplant, which helps farms track production trends over time. All of these experiences deepened my understanding of what it takes to manage a farm successfully from both a production and sustainability perspective.

One idea I found myself reconsidering this week is how we sometimes undervalue certain farm tasks, especially repetitive ones like weeding. It’s easy to fall into the mindset that these kinds of jobs are just “filler” when there isn’t anything else to do, but after spending time removing invasive weeds, I realized how crucial the timing and consistency of this work is. Letting weeds like knapweed go unchecked can drastically reduce the quality and yield of crops, making it a lot more than just a maintenance task; it’s part of protecting your investment in the plants. I think it’s important to shift the way we think about these types of jobs and see them as part of an active farm care strategy.

Another concept I’ve been thinking about differently is the complexity behind pricing in the floral industry after talking to my host. I always assumed pricing was mostly fixed or determined by the market, but her explanation showed me that it’s much more fluid and influenced by everything from materials and labor to heating and seasonal fluctuations. It was eye-opening to learn that pricing needs to be revisited regularly to stay financially sustainable. I now understand that it’s not just about what the flowers are “worth” visually, but about all the invisible costs that go into producing and delivering a single stem or bunch. This shifted my perspective and made me realize how business decisions are deeply intertwined with the day-to-day physical work of farming.

After this week’s experiences, I’m really curious about how farmers measure the success of different crops over time. When we weighed the harvested vegetables, it got me thinking what kind of tracking systems are most effective for comparing yields across seasons or plantings? Do most small farms use spreadsheets, apps, or written logs to keep track of this data? I’d also like to know how that data is used later to influence planting plans or decide if a certain crop or variety is worth growing again. Understanding this kind of analysis feels like the next step in deepening my grasp of farm planning and efficiency.

I’m also interested in learning more about how flower farmers manage the financial side of their business. How often should pricing be reassessed to keep up with inflation or rising material costs? What’s the best way to find a balance between covering expenses and still keeping products competitively priced? My host mentioned fluctuating costs, and it made me wonder what strategies she uses when pricing needs to increase. Does she notify customers, gradually phase in the changes, or adjust other parts of her operation to offset the difference? These are questions I’d love to explore more, especially if I ever take on a leadership role in a farming or floral business.

Looking ahead, I plan to approach fieldwork with a more strategic mindset. Instead of seeing tasks like weeding as routine, I want to view them as part of a bigger picture in keeping the farm productive and healthy. I’ll also try to stay more observant when working with crops, especially regarding soil condition, spacing, and how plant health changes across rows. The process of broadforking showed me how small interventions can make a big difference, and I’d like to learn more about when and where to use those kinds of soil preparation tools. I also plan to continue building on my flower harvesting techniques so I can become more efficient, precise, and gentle when working with delicate stems.

I also want to explore the business side of flower farming further. If I get another chance to sit in on pricing or planning discussions, I’ll pay closer attention to how cost calculations are made and what specific numbers are being used. I hope to ask more questions and maybe even start my own spreadsheet to track harvest weights or flower stem counts, just to practice seeing what data I might want to collect if I were managing a farm. All the lessons from this week, whether hands-on or business-related, showed me that successful farming requires both attention to detail and big-picture thinking, and I’m motivated to keep growing in both areas.

Submitted by: Courtney Robb
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team

Some of the major points that I have learned through my internship, and my own research, is that proper grazing practices not only benefit your pastures and your herd, but local wildlife as well. In a Ranching in the West seminar this spring, I learned how elk benefit from cattle rotationally grazing through valleys on national forest. This summer I saw that benefit first hand as the deer and elk in the area wanted to feed in areas that cattle had grazed already.

One concept, or idea, that I would challenge is choosing grazing practices that are limited in water in the later summer, forcing you to rely on pumps and wells. Pumps and wells can break down and require the whole herd to be moved just to get to water. This happened a few times this summer and took days away from haying during crucial points in the season. I believe this could have been avoided if those pastures were utilized earlier in the year.

The questions that I still have mainly revolve around specific forage species and invasive species, and how best to manage them. Such as, what is the best way to be able to limit cheatgrass? As well as, how can you implement grazing to be able to use it before livestock won’t feed on it after a certain point in the year?

I plan to use what I have learned about grazing practices to better understand rangeland and ranch management from the cattle and grazing perspective. Especially how a highly intensive, high impact, short duration grazing practice can really benefit the range especially after years of poor management.

Submitted by: Colby Barker
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team

On this final week I have learned a lot about preparation for county fairs, being that I worked with show steers, heifers, bulls, and cows all summer. Now the hard work is being paid off watching three heifers and one steer go to the fair. What we ended up doing is going from eight head to four to make it easier to handle, and allows us to be more attentive. As for the fair, I didn’t partake, so I cared for the ranch while everyone else was clipping steers and preparing at the fairgrounds.

From this week, I have been thinking about how to wash a show cow and how to desensitize it to allow them to be show ready. What we ended up doing, and what I learned, was first we hose them down to get them damp, then we bring them to the drying room, where we have several fans blowing. In the drying room, we comb their hair forwards to give it the memory. This comes in handy when it comes time to clip the steers before show, when they are fitted and ready to be shown.

At this point my questions have shifted from focusing on crops and water to the preparations of show animals. Now my question is, do we all prepare animals the same in some for or fashion? As such, what else was done at the county fair that I didn’t see? Do they apply a sort of hairspray to ensure that the hair stays stiff or would that not be allowed?

I am very thankful for the past ten weeks of learning about show animals, and just agriculture in general. I will use my understanding going forward to understand what is happening at any county fair seeing how show animals are shown and what they get scored on is something I will now pay attention too as I have learned.

Submitted by: Cody Long
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team

Throughout my internship at, I gained experience and insight into various areas and aspects of the operation, as well as, got hands-on time with equipment and techniques that I have never used before. It was an amazing opportunity and experience and I am very grateful to the GrowinG program for, and to everyone at my host ranch.

My internship started off with farming, something I personally did not have experience with. Because of this I was very excited to finally understand what all goes into successful farming, and get time to actually run the equipment, prepare the soil and plant seed. I got time running a disc, field machine, roller packer, and finally seeding on multiple fields. I also got to learn about common farming practices, especially when it came to dealing with tricky soil such as we had, and how switching your plant species every few years can help unlock the potential of the soil.

Fencing was another big aspect of the early stages of my internship, and while it is tedious, it is incredibly important. After all, in many cases a fence is the only thing keeping your herd off the highway, or from mixing with another large herd of cattle – that would be a nightmare to sort, epecially after bulls are released into the herd. I have experience fencing so that benefited me and my host, as I was able to go out and get many miles of fence checked and fixed. For something that many people don’t enjoy doing, I don’t mind being out working fence and
enjoying the outdoors.

A few different brandings occurred during the first half of the internship, which are always a blast to help out at. We had two brandings of our own, mainly finishing up later-born calves that weren’t part of the bigger branding that took place before I arrived on the ranch. Along with our brandings, we helped out on two bigger brandings up at a ranch in Montana. That was a great privilege to come along and see the differences – not only in the country, but in the strategies and techniques used for gathering, sorting, and branding.

The first cutting of the haying season was also a very time-consuming part of the internship, being the only cut of the dry-land hay fields and the first cut of the irrigated ground, it is the biggest cut of the year by far. This meant many days of cutting, raking, baling and hauling. I got lots of time running each piece of equipment and learning each step of the process, and although it can be frustrating, it is very rewarding when all of your bales are finally stacked and you know you have provided the winter feed for your herd.

As on any operation, there was lots of time between each major stage of the summer in which you spent your time getting anything repaired that you can, making improvements, or preparing for winter or future projects. I learned a lot even in these times of busy work, and gained skills that will undoubtedly help me in the future.

Some of the major learning points for me were in the farming/haying aspect of the operation, not only in how to operate all the equipment, but also the strategy and reasoning behind each step. A concept or idea that I would challenge would pertain towards giving shots and vaccines at branding. I have learned that it is best to separate the shots by at least 4 inches to prevent “mixing”. At the ranch in Montana, they gave them all in the same place, which leads me to think that some of the effects of the vaccines they were administering were being negated by other drugs. The questions that I still have all revolve around the marketing side, such as when is it advantageous to focus on wholesale and self-marketing? And finally, I plan to use everything I learned this summer in the future, the good and the bad experiences. From the farming and haying, to running down bulls in the pasture, this internship will be extremely helpful to my future in the industry.

Submitted by: Colby Barker
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team

This week was mostly calm, except for when a fire was started a couple miles from the ranch by lightening and the heifers got into the two year olds. The rest of the week was spent raking hay and checking waters. As the week ended we packed out stuff and prepared to leave.

At the beginning of the week a fire was started by a lightening storm. A couple of days later the heifers got out and we had to sort them back into their part of the pasture. The bulls had broken through the fence during the night and half the of the heifers had gotten into the cows and calves. We fixed the fence and then had to sort the heifers off of the cows and calves and back into their trap in the pasture.

By the end of the internship I didn’t have any questions. Through out the internship any questions that I had I made sure to ask even if they felt like they had simple answers. My hosts were amazing and anytime I had a question no matter how stupid it seemed I was able to ask and they answered it without judgement. They always had answers to any question I asked and were always willing to take the time to answer them.

I plan to use everything that I have learned this summer to help run an operation and make decision on how to run the day to day and the larger parts of an operation. I think that this internship has given me a lot of tools and knowledge to help me in a future career.

Submitted by: Chelsea Finch
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team

This final week has been very busy. We took four lambs in on Monday to be processed and I was able to help with the processing. The USDA inspector was there as we unloaded the trailer to make sure the lambs were able to walk and appeared healthy. I learned that any animal that looks questionable will be put into a separate pin and observed to see if it improves as the day goes on. The inspector also watched all of the lambs be slaughtered to make sure it was done humanely and quickly. I learned from the man who was doing the slaughtering that if the lamb did not become unconscious after the first try, then he had a pistol as a backup to make sure that the lamb would go down quickly.

I helped with the no tolerance inspection that took place after the lamb was skinned and gutted. In the inspection, we looked for any hair, dirt, or bodily fluids and cut them off the carcass. I learned that wool sheep generally have a cleaner carcass than hair sheep because the wool doesn’t shed as much as the hair does. The USDA inspector would approve how the carcass looked before we washed it down, sanitized, weighed, labeled, and cooled the carcass. The carcass was washed in 180°F water to kill any bacteria then sprayed with an apple cider vinegar and water solution to sanitize it. The USDA inspector said that the carcass has to be cooled to 40°F within 24 hours of slaughter. There is not an aging time for lamb.

On Tuesday, we took the two cow-calf pairs that we separated from the herd two weeks ago to the sale barn. The process was very simple: we drove to the pens behind the auction house, unloaded the trailer, and my host gave the needed information to the brand inspector.

That same day, a man from Weed and Pest came to give my host some advice about how to manage his gumweed. We learned that gumweed usually appears when pastures are grazed too low. This is usually a problem that appears with horses. He suggested either moving the cows quickly through the pasture so that the grass is left taller to better compete with the gumweed or to spray it with 2,4-D in the spring.

The rest of the week was spent building H-braces and a Kiwi brace. I learned that the braces need a wire to keep them straight against the pull of the fence. The wires for the H-brace are diagonal because that provides greater leverage on the posts. The wire for the Kiwi brace goes straight across the bottom because it is trying to keep the diagonal beam in place. A 45° angle for the leg of the Kiwi brace is best because it will hold up longer and push more against the post holding the fence.

The week was wrapped up with chicken processing on Sunday. I was working at the evisceration station again because that is my favorite station. We noticed while packaging the chickens that some have short thighs while others have longer ones. We think that the short thighs belong to the chickens that sat under the trailer all day while the longer thighs belong to those that would roam the entire pasture all day. This batch of chickens generally liked to roam more than the last batch of chickens we processed. My host told me that each flock of chickens has a different overall personality.

I don’t have any questions that I would like to ask nor any concepts I would challenge from this week. This final week reviewed what I had learned about fencing from the other weeks with a few more details added. I know how the slaughter process works for two different types of livestock which I think will be useful if I ever need to do a home process on lambs and chickens or if I decide to open an abattoir. As I leave this internship, I will look for opportunities to apply and use what I have learned here.

Submitted by: Anna Agee
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team

This week, I learned the importance of post-event cleanup and how much effort goes into resetting materials for future use. Cleaning the hurricanes, vases, and buckets taught me the value of maintenance and organization in floral work. It’s not just about arranging flowers, but also about managing tools and supplies so the workflow stays efficient. I also got more experience with harvesting flowers, which helped me understand the timing and technique needed to gather blooms at the right stage for later use. Additionally, working with the film crew gave me a glimpse into how farm and floral work can be represented and communicated to a wider audience.

One concept I would challenge is the idea that behind-the-scenes or repetitive tasks like cleaning or weeding are less important than visible or creative ones like floral arranging or filming. This week reminded me that the unglamorous tasks are what keep everything else running smoothly. However, I sometimes find it difficult to stay motivated when the work feels monotonous. I’d like to explore ways to bring more value or efficiency into those moments, maybe by finding systems to streamline cleaning or pairing the tasks with music or podcasts to stay engaged.

I’m still curious about how farms and floral studios manage inventory and storage long-term. For example, how do they decide how many buckets or vases to keep on hand, and how is everything tracked between events? I’d also like to know more about flower fertilization schedules, how often are different areas of the field fertilized, and how do we know what product is best for each type of plant? These are things I’m starting to notice more as I’m more involved in both the studio and the farm work.

Next week, I plan to approach behind-the-scenes work with more intention, recognizing its value to the overall operation. I’ll try to be more efficient when it comes to tasks like cleaning or watering, and I want to pay closer attention to the state of the materials and tools we use to help keep everything in good working condition. I also hope to ask more questions about fertilization and flower harvesting so I can contribute more knowledgeably and independently during those tasks.

Submitted by: Courtney Robb
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team

The final week of the internship was largely uneventful — most of it was spent stacking hay, fiddling with irrigation, and prepping for/watching polo. The first two are borderline muscle memory by now, and the latter is an easy task anyhow, so I had ample time throughout the week to reflect on the last ten weeks and the massive steps I’ve taken both as a hand and as a person.

When I got to the ranch, I had never thrown a loop around anything bigger than a 19-year-old coworker. Now, I’ve roped calves ranging from fresh out to branding size. I’ve been on both sides of the branding pen, I’ve learned how to tag from horseback, how to work irrigation around a field, and how to ride a young colt that needs a little more guidance in getting things done. I’ve tacked on shoes (which are still holding strong, by the way), fought fence, wrestled calves, and operated a tractor for the first time in my life. On top of all of that, I managed to hold a much more consistent running schedule and got stronger through calisthenics, proving to myself that it is possible to get everything done in a day. To say that this has been an amazing summer would be an understatement. Thanks to Pierson, John, and Cade, I’m a lot more confident in my skill and my ability, more confident in my problem solving, and significantly more capable all around. Their patience, tutelage, and guidance has kept me growing and learning on a steady path, and for that, I can’t even begin to praise them enough.

On top of all of these skill sets, though, I’ve taken away a few major life lessons from my time out here on the ranch.

The first is that my aspirations are possible. I guess I kind of had the notion that being a good cowboy and being a good family man don’t mix well — I didn’t have many examples growing up, and the ones I did were often good at one or the other, so I had a vision in the back of my head that it was this or that. When I got here, though, I was greeted by two healthy families headed by cowboys who are phenomenal at their jobs — both aspects of these men were compounded through the year as I interacted with them within the job and outside of work, and they’ve proven to me that you can raise a family and be present and be a solid hand on a ranch. It doesn’t sound like much, but for me, it was an epiphany like no other and has become a firm life goal.

The second was the importance of compromise. Sometimes, a task just isn’t going to get done in the time allotted, and that’s okay — you have to compromise between your work life and home life to make sure you don’t burn out. Sometimes, the farming side and the ranching side need two different things — you’ve gotta compromise and figure out a solution that at the very least doesn’t hurt the one to maintain those relationships. Finally, there comes a time when someone else needs something you’re sitting on, whether it be ranch housing or equipment or even time. If you’re going to maintain relationships and keep the ranch in harmony, you need to assess need — might be the other guy needs what you’ve got more. If that’s the case, it’s best to just let it go; odds are, whatever it was worth to you will come back your way when your need arises.

The most important lesson that I learned all summer, though, was the value of community. Early in the summer, Pierson’s youngest daughter had a particularly nasty horse wreck. In the interest of maintaining privacy, it boils down to a life flight to Denver and weeks in a hospital for Pierson’s family and an awful lot of stress for those of us that know them personally. But out of that accident, a miracle spawned.

It started local. Cade and John took over, picking up the work that Pierson normally did, making calls and decisions and maintaining the place while Pierson spent his time with his family. I did my best to be as useful as possible, and I think I did a pretty decent job, but it was child’s play compared to the other two—two already highly productive members of the team turned into ranching and farming machines; it was amazing to watch, frankly.

Then, as time went on (and not much), that radiated out. Pretty soon Cade’s ear was nearly glued to his phone, even when we were tagging calves or pushing the herd, because he was taking so many calls from people reaching out to give Pierson’s family a hand. They’d offer food, money, a shoulder, anything they had, and they were beyond happy to do it. It wasn’t borne out of a sense of obligation, but a desire to prop up one of their own that had stumbled. The whole county reached out, it seemed like — Cade told me once he got a call from a lady neither he nor Pierson had ever even heard of to offer a hand. It felt like the whole state had dialed in on the plight on the ranch, and everyone was looking to help — it wasn’t for the gossip, it wasn’t for the clout, it was just for the love of a neighbor and that innate Wyoming desire to prop each other up. Far and away, it was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen, and it made me even more proud to hail from this amazing state.

The ranch’s team are known for their charisma. They do an awful lot of neighbor helping, they’re involved in the community, and you don’t have to wander very far to find someone that knows one of them — though if you do, you can go clear to the other side of the state and you’ll still be finding guys that know them well. All that effort they’ve put in to helping those around them and building relationships came back a hundred – fold the second they needed a hand.

What I learned while I watched this play out was that giving to those around you can end up helping you more than you’d ever dream in the long run. Giving with no expectation of getting back does the same thing, but even better. It doubled down the importance of that old line from the Code of the West: “Ride for the brand”. Folks far and wide had watched Cade and Pierson ride for the brand — they know the operation and they know the kind of man that owns it, and because Pierson has worn it with such pride and skill, people knew he was worth helping. The greatest thing you can do for your family, I learned, is to be good to those around you, because when your family falls on hard times, those folks you helped will be there to give the ones you love a hand.

Going forward, you can bet I’ll be giving help every chance I get, especially while I’m young and I’ve got time to burn. I’ve been given gold in the form of knowledge at every turn this summer, but maybe the most precious nugget I’ve found was the importance of community and the beauty that it brings out in people. Maybe, just maybe, the world will be alright — how could it not, with people like this in it?

Submitted by: Leigh Stockton
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team

Some major points that I have learned this past week came from the preparation of installing water lines up in a mountain pasture. It takes a lot of money and planning to water on a mountain; you must develop a spring head and ensure that water will flow properly. Then, what I was asked to do was dig a mile or so trench to lay 1 1/4 inch pipe all the way down the mountain to a basin. Through that I learned about where to set a galvanized tank in which it should be farthest away from mineral to enable a cow to be active.

What I would like to challenge from this week is understanding the criteria for healthy calves. Throughout the week I learned about log keeping – which cow was breed to which bull, and when they should be expected to calve. Up on the mountain, as we prepped for the waterline project, we came up on a thirty-five and a “half” head of cows. The ranch manager was pleasantly happy to see a small calf that was around two to three weeks old running around, and very healthy. That was thanks to the constant moving to drink water and grazing.

Some questions I have from this week would be: what determined where we place water tanks for a pasture, as well as, why would there be so many in the same pasture near one another? All these have stemmed from watching and understanding how to prepare for such a large project and it has been in the making for the past month or so.

What I learned from this past week is how to plan and execute such a large project that greatly impacts the well-being of a heard on a mountain pasture. With that, I will take that newfound knowledge and proceed to use it when I look for cows where they could be hanging in the hot heat of mid-summer looking to stay hydrated and cool off during the day.

Submitted by: Cody Long
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team