About
the Ranch
Start your career in Regenerative Ranching on the vast shortgrass prairie of eastern Colorado. Round River Resource Management has openings for 8-month intern/apprenticeships at the 50,000- acre Brett Gray Ranch in Rush, CO. Round River is a land and livestock management company, dedicated to restoring and regenerating ranchlands, providing professional livestock management services to livestock owners, and to provide a pathway into agriculture through our intern/apprenticeship/journeyman program. Round River currently manages and oversees the over 76,000 acres and 3500 stockers and 1200 cow/calf pairs annually on the Brett Gray and Lyme BX Ranches.
More Story
Since its creation in 2008 it has been Round River’s mission to provide opportunities to develop an appreciation for conservation and to teach the land and livestock management skills associated with regenerative ranching. Round River has developed an intensive intern/apprenticeship/journeyman program on the Brett Gray Ranch to develop the skills and knowledge deemed essential to sustainable ranching. Through the program we aim to address the increasing average age of farmers and ranchers, the steady increase in world population, Global Warming, and the continuous degradation of our natural resources. The average farmer/rancher in the USA is over 58 years old and with less than 0.5% of the US population involved in agriculture it is urgent and critically important that we provide a new generation of young, innovative professionals with the skills and knowledge necessary to successfully operate an economically profitable and ecologically regenerative agricultural businesses. To support regenerative agriculture there must be opportunities for a new generation of producers to learn and grow, much like Aldo Leopold’s Round River and its continuous flow of life. With high startup cost and the limited opportunities to learn these skills, our apprenticeship program is designed to introduce and teach the skills necessary to create and operate a regenerative and profitable ranching business.
Regenerative Practices
Round River Resource Management’s conservation ethic and regenerative management practices are founded on the writings of Aldo Leopold and the teachings of Allan Savory and Stan Parson. By utilizing livestock and prescribed grazing management, Round River uses the tools of animal impact, stock density, grazing duration, and recovery time to improve our natural resources in a way that increases the biodiversity of our plant and animal species, improves the mineral cycle, water cycle and captures more solar energy addressing the four eco-system processes.
To further improve and address the four fundamental ecosystem processes and regenerate the natural resources Round River utilizes:
- Â Ultra-High Density grazing in sensitive riparian areas to protect and improve the riparian ecosystem.
- Reintroduced beaver to the ecosystem to improve the water cycle and reduce potential erosion concerns.
- Calving in synch with nature (May-June calving)
- Managing for a predator-friendly environment
- Monitoring and documenting improvements to landscape and production
- Valuing and continuously seeking educational opportunities to learn new regenerative practices that will enhance the ecosystem processes.
Tour
the Ranch
The Mentor
Louis Martin
Louis currently serves as the CEO and general manager for Round River and oversees management of the Brett Gray and Lyme BX Ranches, working in collaboration with the Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners (SLB), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and others to achieve the desired goals of all stakeholders. He has been involved in the livestock and ranching business for over forty years, and has served sixteen years as general manager for the Texas A&M University Beef Cattle Center in College Station, Texas, where he oversaw all cattle operations and facilitated the teaching, research and extension activities at the Center. In addition, he has been involved in Holistic ManagementTM for over thirty-five years, consulted for numerous ranches and managed large ranches in Texas, northeastern Utah and Colorado before coming to the Brett Gray Ranch. Louis received a BS and Master’s degree in Animal Science and Ranch Management at Texas A&M University, has trained with several certified HRM instructors and is an alumni of Ranching for Profit and currently continues his education as an Executive Link board member and participates in numerous education opportunities annually.
The Duties Of
The Apprentice
What will an apprentice do?
What skills and traits are required?
What skills will an apprentice acquire?
Nuts & Bolts
More Details
Living on the Ranch
Town Information
The Brett Gray Ranch is located 60 miles from Colorado Springs, Colorado to the east and 50 miles to the south of Limon, Colorado. This is approximately a one-hour drive, two hours round-trip. The climate is arid, with summer highs of ninety degrees and cool nights. It is a vast and open landscape that is sparsely populated with an economy focused on agriculture. The ranch itself has a small creek that runs the length of it, several reservoirs, and many cottonwood trees. There is abundant wildlife and beautiful vistas of Pike’s Peak.
Housing
Round River provides a furnished house with living room and functional kitchen located on the Brett Gray Ranch. All utilities including water, gas, electricity, landline & internet are provided. Housing may be shared with 1-2 other apprentices. It is expected that the house and personal spaces will be kept clean and organized and efforts made to conserve energy and minimize waste. Pets, spouses, significant others, and/or children cannot be accommodated on the ranch.
Laundry
Washer and dryers are in all housing.
Internet Service
Internet service in the housing is provided by Round River.
Cell Service
Cell service is spotty.
Visitors
Guests are allowed and encouraged on the ranch. Employees are welcome to have family and friends visit, stay overnight, and experience the ranch. Employees are not required to notify management of guests, but a heads up is appreciated. All guests are subject to ranch regulations while on the property.
Food
Apprentices are responsible for their own food budget. Round River will provide a $150/month grocery stipend, ranch-raised beef and fresh eggs.
Pets
No pets are allowed at this site during the apprenticeship.
Drugs / Tobacco / Alcohol
No smoking or drugs on/in ranch, range, vehicles, housing – the ranch is a completely non-smoking, no-drug environment. Having a beer/glass of wine or two after work is just fine.
Firearms
This can be discussed.
Vehicle Info
Ranch Vehicles
Some of the ranch vehicles have standard transmissions. Apprentices will need to know how to drive stick-shift. Previous experience with backing up trailers is not required but extremely helpful. Should the need arise for an apprentice to use a ranch vehicle for personal needs, this can be discussed in advance with the mentors.
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 in order to run personal errands such as purchasing groceries and for travel.
Firearms
This can be discussed.
Work Hours / Time Off
Working Hours
Workdays generally start about 7:30 AM beginning with a brief staff meeting to update staff, plan the day’s activities and to address concerns and challenges. Livestock are of prime concern and are generally checked following the meeting and moved according to grazing plan. After livestock are checked other projects and activities are addressed and completed as planned and time permits. The days are varied as it goes with ranching, and the priority is always the animals. We aim to wrap up the day around 5:00 PM each day, but may sometimes go later as needed.Time Off
The apprentice will receive every other weekend (Saturday/Sunday) off and will be required to be on duty to check livestock and be available to handle emergencies on their weekends on duty. If an apprentice needs additional days for specific activities, he or she should let the mentors know as soon as possible. Be aware that the ranch and the herd dictate workflow over the course of the apprenticeship. Apprentices are allowed 3 personal days off during the apprenticeship upon request to their supervisor.
Health Insurance
Explore
Apprentice Stories
Check out past apprentices and what they have to say about their experience.