A Second Apprentice

I spent the weekend interviewing candidates for an apprenticeship at my ranch this summer.

I am one of many ranchers throughout Montana and Colorado who hire young adults who want to learn about ranching, but don’t have nearly enough experience to competently contribute to ranching jobs.

I had more than a dozen applications fill my email inbox.

I interviewed three women, looking for those unquantifiable qualities that will create a good fit at A Land of Grass Ranch.

Last summer was my first attempt to supervise an employee.

I got lucky.

Last year’s apprentice wanted to do the job correctly, showed up on time even if I was late, made suggestions in a manner so I didn’t automatically discount them, and was cheerful even when life was stressful.

She learned quickly and wasn’t afraid to fail, get up and try again.

I learned a lot about myself by hosting an apprentice.

I start and stop projects without completing them right away. I get bored – I suspect ADHD might come into play – and create the most outlandish excuses for pausing a project.

Often, I don’t finish my sentences, or if I do, I happen to be facing away from the target of my words so they might be inaudible.

My voice becomes emphatic during quickly-evolving situations.

I can substitute another word for emphatic: loud.

I try hard to remember that another person’s mistakes are my fault because I didn’t train her correctly, not hers.

I wish I had realized that when my kids were little.

I hope I remember this when situations evolve quickly.

I expect to learn more about myself with a second apprentice.

I hope to offer a position to one of these applicants and I hope she chooses my ranch. Each has applied to multiple ranches so while she has competition from other applicants, I have competition from other ranchers.

None of the three interviewees plans to operate a ranch in the future. At least, at the moment, none of them can see a path to that goal.

Instead, they expect to work for natural resource agencies, consultants and other advisors or suppliers to the ranching industry.

I realize that their experiences this summer will create their impression of ranching for their entire lifetime.

Good, bad or indifferent.

None has any other experience on a ranch. Her only image of ranching has been conjured in her mind, probably from watching Yellowstone and YouTube podcasts about environmental issues, animal care and our food supply.

Developing her image of ranching so it is authentic, realistic and positive is a daunting responsibility.

It scares me.

My apprentice will see, hear and feel the consequences of all of my decisions.

She will see my mistakes -- and probably live through a few of them.

Last year, on my apprentice’s first day of work, we pulled several long-dead sheep from the creek after they fell through ice during a snowstorm.

I didn’t discover them until that day. By then, all I could do was quit feeding bacteria in the water.

I was horrified and embarrassed.

As representatives of our industry, all of us carry this daunting responsibility, whether we recognize it or not.

Some of us avoid it like the plague.

After all, who am I to represent an entire industry? Each of us does things differently, has different opportunities and limitations, and different skills. We are not copycat cogs on a repetitive production line. These are inherent strengths that create resilience in ranching.

Yet, our differences create vastly different public impressions.

This year, who knows what will happen on my apprentice’s first day.

Whatever happens, I hope I respond in a way that creates a decent, yet realistic, long-lasting impression.