BROKEN BOW – The Sandhills Task Force has launched, and is currently accepting applications for, its first summer internship program for individuals interested in ranching, livestock production, and rangeland management.
The organization is partnering with several ranchers throughout the Nebraska Sandhills to build bridges between established ranch operators and the next generation. Sandhills Task Force Executive Director Shelly Kelly says that one of the difficulties facing aspiring and established ranchers is simply a lack of communication.
“If you’ve been around the area, I’m sure you’ve heard ranchers complain about, ‘There are just no young people willing to work,’ and I know enough young people to know that there’s a lot of young people willing to work, they just don’t have these opportunities.”
Kelly says that taskforce’s newly-introduced internship program meets a specific need for the region’s ranchers both established and curious by alleviating some of the financial risk smaller ranching operations feel they may be taking by hiring inexperienced workers.
“There are a lot of ranchers out there who have a lot to share, but they don’t know how to reach students, or maybe income is tight enough that if they’re going to pay somebody to work on the ranch, they need them to work instead of learn. We thought we could facilitate some of those tasks, which would free up the rancher to share their reasoning in management, their lessons in stewardship, and build a positive relationship with students.”
While the program does refer to potential applicants as “students,” Kelly says that such language could be misleading; the doors to an internship through the Sandhills Task Force are open far wider than they first appear.
“We are going to accept applications from, and could see the successful placement of interns for, young people who didn’t go to college. If they’re staying home on the ranch and working but want experience from another operation, we think this is a really good avenue for that. So there’s not a college requirement on this.”
A perk of the internship program for both the fiscally-conscious rancher and strapped-for-cash youth is that it will be paid; each intern will receive a healthy monthly stipend for each of their three months of work. Kelly says compensation is a necessary piece of the program, so no applicant should be dissuaded.
“We wanted to be able to reach students even if they needed to be provided an income.”
Kelly says that her organization, once the March 1 deadline passes, will be as hands-on or hands-off as each rancher wants, though ultimately, the ranch partners will select their desired applicants.
“We’ve had conversations with the host ranches as far as what they’re looking for, so we’ll put together a package, or if they want to look through all the applications, they’re more than welcome to do so. Or, if they want us to select the top ten, we’ll do that.”
As it currently stands, the Sandhills Task Force has 6 participating ranches: two in Gordon, one in Ericson, one in Valentine, and one in Crookston. The program currently has space for a guaranteed 4 interns, though Kelly believes that the number could increase even before the deadline, and should increase in the coming years.
The Sandhills Task Force has garnered enough money through a Nebraska Environmental Trust grant to secure funding for the program for the next 3 years, and Kelly, like many others throughout the Sandhills, is hoping it will expand well into the future.
