How did you get interested in agriculture? And what are you hoping to gain from your apprenticeship?
May 2025

Doors close, doors open. Sometimes you have to do your part and knock on the door before it will open. The day I dropped the old boot spur knocker on the weathered door of an old yellow house, I could not have seen how much that place was going to impact my life. Beckton Stock Farms at the base of the Bighorns in Sheridan WY will forever be my heart’s home as long as I am on this earth. Full of history, between buildings and blood lines, Beckton is dedicated to continuing the legacy of Ms.Sally Forbes. Calving out registered red angus was my first hands-on interaction with the agriculture world independent of my family. Having been raised around cows and the upkeep of family property I was not a stranger to the work. Beckton won me over to the world of raising beef. I was hands on in all the different aspects of a cow calf operation; calving, sorting for pasture breeding groups, haying, fencing and all of the other odds and ends that are involved on a working ranch. Being a quick learner and hard worker, I quickly was allotted more responsibilities as time progressed. Along with the autonomy, my interest and enjoyment of the work grew. My favorite feeling is a day spent sorting cattle and watching the smoothness of a day well spent in the corrals, there is nothing like it. This interest has drawn me to search for different and better ways to accomplish cow work. Having always been intrigued by the how and why of things, I daily asked questions on the ins and outs of our activities. I spent almost two years there when my curiosity of the wider world of ranching took my wandering gypsy soul searching for ranching opportunities in other places. 

One of the unique things about ranching is the community there is throughout the country. The common goal of focusing on being productive people, and living life in a way that brings contentment. I have found this community in Oregon, in Texas and now in Montana through Quivira Coalition. My search for new things and new ways in the agriculture world has led me to meet many people, some of those being the connections who led me to this apprenticeship. My goal is to gain experience through my time spent at Veseth Cattle Company, by spending more time hands on and gaining confidence, in all things but specifically in cattle handling. I am looking forward to the focus on the Bud Williams style of handling and the time that I will be able to spend honing in on my own personal skills.