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

Oh, how eager I am, and how breathtaking a ride it shall be.

I didn’t know what to think when I first heard I was accepted to the 2025 apprenticeship. Excitement? Flustered? And a bit of nervousness … All of these feelings came at once. I knew when I got the email that I had to jump for this opportunity, for all I knew now was that I needed to make a renewed commitment like the one I had made 4 years earlier. When I committed myself to A career in agriculture and stepped onto my first job, I knew then I was holding myself back and didn’t know why, but that I was now where I needed to be, doing what I was passionate about. 

My love for agriculture was engraved in me at a very young age. I’ve worked on small hobby farms, and whether it was riding my sorrel mare or sticking my hands in the dirt and growing produce out in the garden, or identifying plants and wildlife, it’s where I always found a sense of belonging. A healthy soil composition is necessary, and this is a statement that I’ve grown accustomed to and has become more apparent to me on my journey and within the daily work I do. I am extremely excited to continue my education with this apprenticeship on such a large operation and apply myself more deeply within the space of regenerative ranching and agriculture. I hope with this apprenticeship to hone my Managerial and Business Management skills while also absorbing all the necessary details that make a business run smoothly and successfully. I would love to become more mechanically inclined and be able to troubleshoot and repair issues on my own. I would love to delve deeper into my learning of low-stress stockmanship and horsemanship. I plan to learn more about grazing plans and stocking rates. I hope to come out of this a more well-rounded business woman, land steward, and cattlewoman that will help me set a strong path toward my future. I hope this experience will strengthen my connection to the land while doing what I’m passionate about. I hope to strongly apply myself when making decisions, not only on a daily basis but in long-term decisions as well. 

Overall, I hope that with this apprenticeship I will become more confident in my decision-making skills. More or so, being able to identify forage types, birds, and wildlife species has also brought me enjoyment, so being able to incorporate some of this as a benefit to a ranch would be lots of fun and I’m looking forward to making a special impact here with the Barthelmess family. I always hope that whatever I do in life is heartfelt and meaningful. So, as far as this experience goes, I will embark on this journey and take this learning opportunity by the reins and go at it head-on with pride. At no moment will I regret the experience I have or the wonderful relationships I’ll make.