About
the Ranch
Indreland ranch is located 13 miles north of Big Timber, MT on Hwy 191, just east of the scenic Crazy Mountains. The operation consists of a mixture of deeded and private leased ground, all of which is operated as if we owned it with the primary objective being to regenerate the landscape, building soil health and increasing biodiversity to complement Mother Nature’s system. The livestock consists of about 300 registered Angus cows with most heifer calves retained for breeding and 80+ bulls retained for our annual bull sale in early December. The bulls are sold at 18 months of age.
More Story
Our vision is to produce healthy nutrition and environment for people, livestock and wildlife using holistic management. We accomplish this by increasing resilience to economic and environmental factors and by providing opportunities and profit to all involved. Indreland Ranch is managed and operated by a team of motivated, goal oriented and open-minded individuals that work together in a respectful manner. Learn more about the ranch here.Â
Regenerative Practices
Our ranch is run with a regenerative mindset: How can we make things grow vs. how do we kill things? We practice intensive grazing with a lot of electric fencing. Being forage based, our cattle run on very little hay year round. Our soil is the key to our success, so decisions are made with that in mind.
For several years, we have been working closely with Agro-ecologist Nicole Masters of Integrity Soils from New Zealand. It is likely that the apprentice will have the opportunity to learn from her as well!
We occasionally host tours and soil health events at our ranch. The apprentice would be expected to be a part of those. In the last few years, we have hosted a Grasslands/Carbon Sequestration Project kick-off event, a group of ranchers from Chile, a group of WWF staff from around the globe and several other ranch tours.
Tour
the Ranch
The Mentor
Roger & Betsy Indreland
Roger Indreland: Roger grew up on the home ranch and started his herd of Registered Angus Cattle in 1977 as a sophomore in high school. He attended Montana State University and graduated with a degree in Farm & Ranch Management. After that he and Betsy worked together in construction, traveling on the west coast of the US and Canada. They returned to the ranch full time in the late 1990s. One of their most impactful educational experiences was attending the Ranching for Profit school in 2012 and again in 2017. They are involved with the RFP alumni program called Executive Link.
Betsy Indreland: Betsy grew up in the Big Timber area, but not on a ranch. She attended University of Montana then Montana State University where she graduated with a degree in Business with a Marketing emphasis. She joined the agricultural world when she and Roger were wed in 1986.
We have two daughters, Anne (31) and Kate (26). Anne and her son, Brooks (10) currently live in Texas as she pursues her passion for cutting horses. Kate and her husband, Davis, are First
Lieutenants in the Army and currently stationed at Fort Drum in upstate New York. Both daughters are engaged in the ranch and keep current on ranch happenings.
Lincoln Burggraff: Lincoln has been with Indreland Ranch going on two years and is an
integral part of managing the grazing on the cowherd, irrigation, equipment and pretty much
everything. Lincoln and his wife, Erin, live nearby on a property that we lease with their 3
children ages 1, 3 and 5. They are passionate about regenerative agriculture as well and have
a few enterprises of their own including gardening, chickens, milk cows and pigs.
Charlie Smillie: Charlie did his first year Quivira apprenticeship with us and we are excited that
he will be staying on for a second year apprenticeship! He will also have opportunities to
mentor an apprentice, especially on the one remote property where he grazed our cattle last
year.
The Duties Of
The Apprentice
What will an apprentice do?
What skills and traits are required?
- Valid Driver’s License & clean driving record
- This apprenticeship requires a mature person who can work and learn independently and is a self starter as they will be about an hour from the home ranch and be on their own many times
- Our apprentice should be able to hike several miles some days in steep, rugged country, sometimes carrying fence posts, wire or other loads some distances.
- They must be strong enough to lift, carry and stack 50-pound bags of salt and mineral. Ranch work often entails repetitive lifting, stooping and bending, and sometimes running, ducking and dodging. This may not be a good fit if one has back or mobility issues
- Willing and able to perform moderate, and sometimes hard, physical labor, work long days when needed and work in sometimes difficult weather conditions – from hot and dry to wet and muddy, sometimes cold with snow
- Willingness to learn to properly drive with primarily manual transmissions (stick shift), ATVs and tractors. This must be done with enough understanding and awareness of their surroundings and conditions to operate in the best interest of people, livestock, pets and the equipment
- Attention to detail, good observational and communication skills
- Compassionate and kind to animals and people
- Positive attitude and a sense of humor
- Enthusiasm for our mission & vision and willingness to learn!
What skills will an apprentice acquire?
Nuts & Bolts
More Details
Living on the Ranch
Town Information
The Indreland Ranch is located approximately 13 miles north of Big Timber, Montana, 75 miles from Bozeman and 100 miles from the largest city in the state, Billings. Big Timber has a mid-size grocery store, a natural food store, and a variety of small businesses including a few good restaurants and bars, clothing store with quality work gear, hardware store, auto parts store, and a brew pub. Livingston is about 50 miles from the ranch and is a bigger small town with 2 large chain grocery stores. Bozeman is the fastest growing city in Montana and has a very trendy Main Street with a variety of restaurants, coffee shops, art galleries and theaters. There are frequent live music performances. Bozeman is also home to Montana State University.
We are close to Yellowstone National Park, the Beartooth Absaroka Wilderness, and abundant public lands for fishing, hunting, hiking, backpacking and camping. You can be at the Trailhead of Big Timber canyon in the Crazy Mountains in about ½ hour. From there, it is a short walk to the falls. We are also members of the nearby Glasston Lake boat club and try to frequent the lake for water skiing and a BBQ occasionally on a hot summer afternoon. There are several small ponds and streams on the ranch that can be used for kayaking, canoeing, fishing and swimming. Besides the occasional elk, black bear, mountain lion and bobcat, there is an abundance of wildlife living on the ranch including deer, antelope, coyotes, fox, badgers, snakes, skunks, racoons, gophers, rodents of all types, many bird species, pollinator insects, earthworms and the associated microscopic soil biology alive and well under our feet. We strive to observe this system and learn from it!
We are fortunate to live in a community that has several like-minded ranchers! A number of these ranches are hoping to have an apprentice, so there should be a group of apprentices in this general area.
Housing
A studio apartment near the ranch headquarters will be available for the apprentice at the beginning of the apprenticeship then again at the end (March/April then November/December). Mid April through the end of October, housing will be a camper at the leased property on the West Boulder. It is expected that the housing areas will be kept clean and organized and efforts made to conserve energy, minimize waste and recycle when possible. The apartment and camper are furnished and have sheets and towels. The apprentice is expected to maintain a clean and orderly home environment and to maintain a mowed/trimmed yard. One needs to be willing and able to operate a push lawn mower and weed eater. Keeping the general appearance tidy around the farmstead is important.
Laundry
A washer and dryer in the basement of the house are available for your use.
Internet Service
Internet via Starlink will be available at the apartment and the camper.
Cell Service
Cell phone coverage on the home ranch is generally good and we text and call each other as necessary. At the lease property on the West Boulder, cell phone coverage is very spotty. It is best to plan to make calls when hooked to the internet. Verizon is the most reliable carrier in our area.
Visitors
Guests are generally welcome but must not be disruptive to the work schedule.
Food
Beef from the ranch will be provided. Gardening is encouraged. There would be whole raw milk as long as you are willing to manage the milk cow! Also, eggs as available.
Pets
No pets allowed. We have working dogs, barn cats and chickens that are an integral asset and we cannot risk temporary introduction of other pets.
Drugs / Tobacco / Alcohol
Ranch housing, vehicles and enclosed work spaces are all smoke free. Legal and appropriate alcohol use is OK … almost always outside scheduled work hours. We have a one and done DUI policy and being at work under the influence of any intoxicant is grounds for immediate termination. Possession of any illegal substance will also be grounds for immediate termination. We cannot tolerate compromising the safety of others on the ranch.
Firearms
Firearms are allowed on a case-by-case basis. Please discuss during the interview.Â
Vehicle Info
Ranch Vehicles
We will train you to operate vehicles and equipment on the ranch including pickups, pulling trailers, operating 4 wheelers, tractors, loaders and stationary equipment. If you have experience, the training period will be short, if not, we will help you achieve our desired level of competence. If it is apparent that you are not gaining proficiency on necessary equipment then instruction will cease and you will be expected to walk or do that work by hand.
Personal Vehicles
While apprentices will not be asked to use a personal vehicle for work purposes, the apprentice will need the flexibility of his or her own vehicle on their days off to run personal errands such as purchasing groceries and for travel.
Work Hours / Time Off
Working Hours
8am-5pm, six days a week (1 hour for lunch) Weekly planning meetings are held first thing Monday morning.Time Off
Some Saturdays and most Sundays off with the exception of tending to the necessary chores and irrigation. We can be quite flexible with days off as Roger, Betsy or another employee can fill in for the required tasks for each day, however, expect no less than 48 hours per week. The apprentice’s work schedule will accommodate attending NAP events and being on NAP calls. Attendance at other educational events is encouraged as the season of work allows. Most requests for time off for educational opportunities or personal things can be accommodated with proper prior planning. Adjustments to compensation will be made if time off requested is excessive. We are not worried about a day here and there, but if more than that, adjustments may occur. (Not including NAP events, of course)
Health Insurance
Explore
Apprentice Stories
Check out past apprentices and what they have to say about their experience.