Kansas Ranch and Range Management Internship

Kansas Ranch and Range Management Internship

Summary

WORK ACTIVITIES
Our first year was difficult, because we were not notified of final approval by the AC until May 2, 2011. Regardless, we accomplished a fair amount.

Recruited and placed three college students with highly qualified mentors. They were:

1. Travis Panek, Cunningham, KS(FHSU)
Mentor: Ted Alexander, Alexander Ranch, Sun City, KS

2. Alec Tiemeyer, Morrowville, KS(Cloud Co CC)
Mentor: Lynn Meyers, TippetsMeyersRanch, Lewellen, NE

3. Matthew Westerhaus, Pratt, KS(Pratt CC) -
Mentor: Keith Yearout, Z-Bar Ranch, Lake City, KS
(one of Ted Turners Buffalo operations)

All interns were paid ($8 to $8.50/hr), provided housing, and Alec was also provided board. They started in late May after the end of spring semester, and worked until a week or two before the start of the fall semester.

All interns and mentors completed a learning contract form outlining their desired goals at the beginning, middle and end of the summer (results described later).

Enrichment activities included:
1. Nebraska Ranch Practicum
Normally a ten month (one weekend per month) in-depth producer training program
July 6, 2011 – Whitman, NE (all three interns attended)
June 16, 2011 – Whitman, NE (Alec attended)
2. Jim Gerrish Workshop
Nationally known grazing expert and consultant
Hays, KS – Travis and Matt attended
Holton, KS – Alec attended
3. Pasture Walk
August 4, 2011 – Cancelled due to extreme weather conditions
4. Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition Range School
All three interns were offered free attendance to a 3-day range school put on by NRCS and The Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition, but regrettably none were able to attend because it was scheduled after the start of fall semester.
5. Nebraska Grazing Conference
August 9 and 10, 2011 – Kearney, NE
Alec attended the 2- day conference through an invitation from his mentor, Lynn Meyers. Alec addressed a “think tank” meeting of the Nebraska Grazing Land Coalition with his thoughts and concerns on Generational Succession at the end of the conference.

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
We organized and launched a website: www.ksranchinstitute.org .
Visitors can learn about who we are and what we do, including descriptions of our mentors and their operations, testimonials from our interns describing experiences as interns. How to apply for an internship is also included, of course. The site is generating considerable activity.

We developed a tri-fold, color pamphlet describing our program that we hand out to interested students when recruiting.

We recruited two new mentors. There are now 7 ranchers who have qualified and agreed to become mentors. Finding ranchers who are good managers, practice outstanding grass management, use good conservation practices, and are financially successful is not too difficult of a job. Finding those among that group who are also willing to put in the time and effort required to train an intern is much more difficult. They are few and far between.

RESULTS
Analysis of the final evaluation forms of the learning contract that the interns and mentors filled out at the end of the summer disclosed:
Most of the program goals the interns and mentors listed at the beginning of the summer had been achieved. Additionally all three interns indicated significant improvement in skill level in the domains of pasture management, livestock handling, and on-farm decision making. Two of the three interns indicated that they would have liked more training in financial management.

Exit interviews indicated a surprisingly high level of satisfaction with the program from all involved. Since only one of the mentors had previous mentor experience, and that all of the program staff were neophytes, that finding is most gratifying. We had no personality conflicts, no one quit or was fired and everyone stayed the course and claimed to have enjoyed themselves. Importantly, all interns reported learning a significant amount during the summer. That applied to the mentors as well.

It was significant that almost all involved reported, in one way or another, that a significant factor in determining their interest in and dedication to the program was the fact that the program was specifically designed to be a stepping stone experience directed at helping the intern become a ranch owner/operator, not just another hired hand.

WORK PLAN FOR 2012
We are now well into year two’s planning and execution. In year one (2011), because we received funding so late, our recruiting was last minute and we only recruited at 6 Junior Colleges (listed in our proposal), Fort Hays State University and Kansas State University. This year (year two, 2012) we started recruiting during the fall semester before students made their summer plans and added 3 Junior Colleges (Allen Co., FT Scott and Coffeyville), all of whom are in the Flint Hills of SE Kansas. We presented to well over 200 students and received indications of interest from more than 40, however, we have only received 3 qualified applications to date. We are still accepting applications and hope to place at least two more interns this year.

This is perplexing, but it appears that much of our recruiting problems stem from the fact that all of our traditional Agriculture Curricula programs promote production oriented classes while only paying lip service to practical application classes such as ranch and range management. We have worked hard at developing working relationships with the faculty at the various institutions, and when asked what they think of our program, all respond very positively, saying things like “I wish I had had an opportunity like that when I was a student.” and “I would have taken an opportunity like this in a heartbeat”. These instructors tell their students the same thing. Regardless recruiting at the traditional institutions does not appear to be very fruitful, so we are elaborating our recruiting efforts. From discussions with Pete Ferrell, one of our new mentors, and Kevin Fulton, a colleague from Nebraska, both of whom have had interns for some time, we are placing postings at places such as ATTRA, and World Opportunities in Organic Farming (WOOF) to try and reach more intern prospects, albeit non-traditional.

OUTREACH
1. Nebraska Grazing Conference
August 10, 2011 – Kearney, NE
Alec Tiemeyer addressed the “think tank” meeting of the Nebraska Grazing Land Coalition
2. NCR – SARE Site Visit
September 13, 2011 – Barnard, KS
Five NCR-SARE staff from University of Minnesota, University of Missouri, and Lincoln University of Jefferson City, conducted a site visit to Calvin Adams’operation. During that visit both he and Alec T. addressed the group.
3. Kansas Hay and Grazing Conference
December 7, 2011 – Salina, KS
Ted Alexander, Travis Panek, Cade Rensink and Calvin Adams presented the Internship Program
4. Kansas Natural Resources Conference
January 27, 2012 - Wichita, KS
Ted Alexander, Travis Panek, Cade Rensink and Calvin Adams presented the Internship Program
5. Healthy Farms and Rural Advantage 2012
February 10 and 11, 2012 – Lied Lodge and Conference Center, Nebraska City, NE
Calvin Adams was invited to present
6. Planning for the Future Conference
March 31, 2012 – Concordia, KS
Cade Rensink and Calvin Adams have been invited to host a breakout session
7. Student Presentations
All three interns made at least one presentation at their respective schools during the fall semester.

Next year we plan on several presentations at the same or similar meetings.