Company description

This apprenticeship opportunity is offered through a partnership between the host operation and the Quivira Coalition's New Agrarian Program. The Quivira Coalition is a nonprofit organization focused on building resilience by fostering ecological, economic and social health on western landscapes through education, innovation, collaboration and progressive public and private land stewardship. The explicit goal of Quivira's New Agrarian Program is to provide professional training and skills development for the next generation of agrarian leaders.

Internship description

Cobblestone Ranch is a sheep and cattle operation based on a combination of private, leased, and federal lands--all managed carefully for ecosystem and wildlife health.

Breanna Owens currently runs two hundred ewes using a rotational grazing strategy on a wildlife refuge with the overall goal of maintaining and enhancing wildlife habitat and specific goals of reducing thatch, shrub and weed control, and stimulating new herbaceous growth. She moves the sheep 1-2 times a week, in paddocks ranging from one to five acres. Grassfed and finished lambs are sold either as feeder lambs to a direct marketer or as finished lambs to a regional processor. She plans on transitioning a portion of the flock to organic and selling through a regional CSA.

Owens' cattle operation is run on the home place, on private leased ground, and on federal land. She sells the majority of calves as weaners, although a handful are finished each year and direct-marketed.

Bre purchased Cobblestone Ranch in 2014. Her goals include increased productivity through enhanced nutrient and water cycling. Owens is currently updating infrastructure to facilitate improved livestock management and to create better disturbance and rest regimes. Other projects include installation of hedgerows with plans for riparian corridor restoration.

Over the years, Owens has had opportunities to learn about land and livestock management from numerous people. She now wants to share what she has learned and provide opportunities for others to learn alongside her.

This apprenticeship is offered through a partnership between Cobblestone Ranch and the Quivira Coalition New Agrarian Program.

The apprentice will assist with all aspects of ranch operation. The position requires physical labor interspersed with seasonal, office and other tasks. As apprentices learn regular ranch duties and gain skill, they will choose additional responsibilities to take on, with continued guidance as needed.

Cobblestone Ranch is fairly new with lots of potential for growth and possibilities for additional enterprises. Apprentices can expect the following:

• Daily work and learning activities
• Pasture condition monitoring to determine grazing moves
• setting up temporary electric fence
• Moving livestock and hauling water
• Checking sheep and cattle, assisting with lambing, doctoring
• Sheep and cattle processing
• Ranch infrastructure maintenance and repair
• caring for guard/stock dogs (possible dog training opportunities)
• Bookkeeping/maintaining ranch records
• Monitoring soils, vegetation, birds using Point Blue’s Rangeland Monitoring Network protocols
• Tree/shrub planting, seeding, installation of nest boxes and other conservation projects
• Ranch visits through Point Blue Conservation to other operations engaging in conservation work
• Attending rangeland/conservation related workshops, meetings, conferences (CRCC meetings/annual summit, SRM Cal-Pac, UCCE).
• Other ranch projects and ranch-related events as appropriate

Stipend: The monthly stipend is determined each year, based on available funding; it is typically around $800 take-home pay, paid at the end of each month. The position does not allow time for a second job, so apprentices should consider their budgetary needs before applying to this position.

Housing: The apprentice will be housed in a camper trailer on the ranch. Heat and water are included in housing. Housing can be provided only for apprentices. Spouses, significant others, and/or children cannot be accommodated on the ranch. Pets will be considered.

Time Off includes one fixed day off a week. Additional time off can be negotiated as needed. Be aware that the ranch and the herd dictate workflow over the course of the apprenticeship.

Food: Apprentices receive partial board in the form of ranch products including beef, lamb, and eggs. Fresh veggies from the garden. Raw milk seasonally.

Education: The New Agrarian Program complements hands-on education on the ranch with an educational webinar series offered through Holistic Management International, focused on regenerative agriculture, and including topics such as soil ecology and biological monitoring, land management principles, business planning and financial management. Apprentices at all NAP locations will join in for a weekly, live webinar.

In addition, NAP apprentices will attend the annual 3-day Quivira Conference, held in Albuquerque, NM each November; have opportunities to participate in other Quivira workshops and events, and to visit other NAP locations; be required to write quarterly reports, to be posted on the Quivira website.

Cobblestone Ranch is located in Tehama and Butte Counties in the Northern Sacramento Valley. Los Molinos is a small agriculture-based community. The ranch is a fifteen minute drive from Red Bluff and a thirty minute drive from the college town of Chico. Sacramento, California is located two hours to the south. The Sacramento Valley is the northern half of California’s Great Central Valley, ringed by the Sierra Nevada mountains on the east and the Coastal Range on the west. The climate is mediterranean, with cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers.

Compensation

this position is: stipend / non-monetary compensation

Application instructions

Deadline

November 22, 2016