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Quivira Coalition's New Agrarian Program Apprenticeship

We are excited to host an 8–10 month apprenticeship through the Quivira Coalition, offering aspiring ranchers the chance to gain real-world experience in regenerative ranching.

About the Apprenticeship

The New Agrarian Program (NAP) provides apprentices with hands-on learning opportunities by working alongside experienced mentors while also engaging in complementary educational offerings through the program.

Designed for aspiring agrarians looking to gain real-world experience in regenerative agriculture, the program requires a strong commitment to long hours and hard work. While there is no formal age requirement, most apprentices are between 20-35 years old and often have limited prior experience in agriculture when they apply.

Apprentices work full-time from March or April through November, actively participating in the daily operations of the ranch or farm. Their work balances foundational, repetitive tasks with increasingly complex responsibilities, allowing them to develop higher-level skills and deepen their understanding of regenerative land stewardship. - Quivira Coaltion

Apprenticeship Information

What will an apprentice do?

No day is ever the same and no task too small for any member of the team. Working with Christy and Fiona will include learning how to, and eventually managing, spring/summer ditch irrigation across the ranch; building polywire fence and moving cattle (on foot and on atvs); evaluating and managing livestock health issues; repairing and building infrastructure such as permanent fence, irrigation headgates, irrigation ditches, out buildings, and roads; learning to use the skidsteer; assisting in monitoring and management of pastures (scoring the grazing impact, documenting grazing moves and pasture arrangement, assisting with photo points, species lists, invasive weed management).

This position is best suited for an individual who is energetic, excited to work outside, has an upbeat attitude and is eager to learn, is comfortable and competent working independently, and is able to follow through on a wide variety of tasks in variable weather and across a variety of terrains. This position will advance your knowledge in regenerative grazing and land management ecology. 

Duties and Opportunities

Our goal is that the apprentice will learn how our ranch operates and build skills, confidence, and capacity in the tasks and responsibilities described below. The general expected calendar for this apprenticeship is as follows:

  • March-April: Orientation with the ranch, our SOPs, and irrigation infrastructure prep

    • Assisting in day-to-day tasks

    • Learning the pasture and irrigation ditch names

    • Meeting neighbors

    • Reviewing SOPs

    • Working with all members of the RwR Team

    • Assisting with irrigation ditch and infrastructure prep for the season

  • May-July: Flood irrigation, ditch member engagement and irrigation infrastructure maintenance 

    • Moving tarps 1-3 times a day depending on the ditch & field

    • Mapping irrigated footprint

    • Working with neighbors who share the ditch to coordinate rotations and any ditch infrastructure issues

    • Identifying, and as appropriate, repairing issues with the ditches

    • Documenting the ranch’s use of water and keeping these records tidy

  • July-September: Assisting with stocker herd grazing and management

    • Prepping pastures for livestock moves (build polywire, repair exterior barb wire fence, check water cells and energizer)

    • Moving the cattle by foot, on ATV or horseback

    • Daily checks of the herd, fencing, and pasture

    • Tracking the salt/mineral inventory

    • Monitoring herd health and doctoring with darts if appropriate

    • Shipping cattle off the ranch 

    • Opportunity for exposure to custom grazing numbers, EQIP numbers and pricing, and SDA and #/Acre of Forage calculations

  • September-Early January: Eventual management of one of two fall cow herds the ranch plans to run. This might look like:

    • Making the grazing plan with your supervisors

    • Prepping pastures for livestock moves (build polywire, repair exterior barb wire fence, check water cells and energizer)

    • Moving the cattle by foot, on ATV or horseback

    • Daily checks of the herd, fencing, and pasture

    • Tracking the salt/mineral inventory

    • Monitoring herd health and doctoring with darts if appropriate

    • Deciding the polywire paddock design in each pasture

    • Documenting the actual days grazed after the fact and noting utilization 

  • Additional duties & opportunities:

    • Horse care during the regular work week

    • Record keeping – irrigation, grazing, doctoring, ranch inventories

    • Grazing plan creation, modification and real-time tracking

    • Building and repairing permanent barbed and hi-tensile fence

    • Assisting with regular pasture monitoring and data collection of grazing and livestock for future decision-making and planning

    • Assisting with quarterly photo-point monitoring

    • Mowing around buildings and conducting targeted fuel maintenance

    • Continued cleanup & repairs around facilities, across ranch and in out-buildings

    • Orchard maintenance

    • Basic regular maintenance of vehicles and heavy equipment

    • Loading, securing and hauling heavy equipment and trailers 

    • Participation in ongoing professional development related to RwR operations: i.e. book club, visiting other livestock operations, webinars, outings/events on the ranch with consultants and other partners, potential opportunities to help out on neighboring operations for spring and fall works, and opportunities to participate in related business planning meetings (WOTB)

    • Participation in weekly staff meetings (WITB) and safety meetings

    • Additional responsibilities as needed and requested

What skills and traits are required in an apprentice?

  • A positive attitude, desire to grow individually and be a part of the team, and ability to make the best out of challenging situations when they arise

  • Physically capable of, and willing to commit to, long days and physical labor (lift up to 50 lbs)

  • Clear communication and ability to ask for clarification and/or help whenever needed

  • Good organizational skills both on the job and in shared housing

  • Dedication to the task/project the best you can and in a way you are proud of, every time 

  • Problem solver willing to identify and address problems individually and as a team

  • Demonstrated comfort and competence with smart phones, Google Suite, digital record keeping and the use of other technology tools

  • Ability to manage professional and healthy relationships with co-workers, partners, ditch members and neighbors

  • Safety conscience with good record of safety practices and willingness to use PPE and follow safety protocols as required

  • Resourceful and interested in new grazing and land management concepts and has a desire to learn new skills

  • Has honesty, integrity, intellect, work ethic, and passion for the work

  • Willingness to live on the ranch full time (conditional on employment) and have a flexible schedule for adapting the workweek

  • Clean driving record and legally able to work in the United States for any employer

Skills that an apprentice would expect to acquire:

  • Ditch flood irrigation

  • GIS mapping

  • Experience with regenerative grazing concepts & practices

  • Low-stress stockmanship

  • Forage calculations and grazing planning

  • Evaluation of grazing enterprises and financial decision-making with profitability in mind

  • Ecological concepts of disturbance regimes and managing for complexity & resilience

  • Ranch infrastructure maintenance and repair (permanent and temporary fencing, livestock water, building and structures, corrals)

  • Experience and instruction on safe and effective use for operating skid steer and implements (potential opportunities in the backhoe and mini-ex, dependant on time and skill)

  • Basic mechanical maintenance and repair experience

  • Experience using mapping apps in the field and in the office

Past Apprentices at Redwing Ranch

2024 - MK Wilcox

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Final Reflections from MK
November 2024

 "For me, the end of each season in agriculture tastes bittersweet, this one more so than others. Each day for the last few months, when I pull up my calendar to assess the myriad of tasks to accomplish — where we will move the cattle, and what whirlwind of frenzied activity I will be partaking in — I see the weeks of this apprenticeship winding down. And everyday, I find myself wondering where the time has gone and part of me believes that these eight months won’t actually end. It seems like I just got to Redwing Ranch, the snowy days of March mirroring the first snow of Autumn sloshing under the tires of the side by side as I check the cows. The steers have been replaced by cow-calf pairs, the irrigation ditches alternate between periods of muddy sludge and bone dry dirt, and the apple trees I pruned as one of my first tasks on the ranch are beginning to slow in their production of crisp, sweet fruit. Everything on the ranch has aged, morphed, and matured. The grass in the pasture has gradually turned to a light, honey brown that crunches underneath the cow’s hooves. The sandhill cranes that flew over during spring migration have passed by again, this time to their fall destination.

I came into this apprenticeship excited about the next eight months but unsure of the future. To me, the apprenticeship was the next step on my way into a hazy, undefined, and unrealistic daydream of my life in ag. Though I desperately loved working with the land and livestock, it was hard to see a way forward through the narratives of rising land prices, the harsh realities of rural ranching life, and the general pessimism I’d been inundated with about the plight of agriculturalists. As I leave Redwing, I leave unsure of the future, yes, but brimming with a wary optimism. 

This still delicate yet rapidly germinating optimism has shocked me more than anything else during this apprenticeship. I expected tedious yet rewarding days, the almost relentless stream of new skills and knowledge, the joy of new connections, and the harsh sting of my mistakes. Yet, I did not expect the people and the paradigms they would overturn. Each day, no matter how difficult the work or what curveballs were thrown our way, I went to bed exhausted but inspired. At Redwing, I had the unique opportunity to immerse myself in the work of beginning a profitable livestock operation. I learned and grew along with the ranch and I truly began to understand what it takes to start and keep a ranch going. My mentors included me in all aspects of the operation. I sat in on meetings about our PRF coverage, the cost per day of salt and mineral consumption, and grazing planning as Redwing decided on stocking density for the coming season. 

The longer I have been in ag, the more I’ve learned that people are really what make or break an experience. And the team of people make Redwing what it is. My mentor, Fiona, is passionate about profitability, about access, and about getting more people into agriculture and ranching. Her fiery commitment and no-nonsense attitude made the future seem possible as she preached daily on the opportunity present in custom grazing, the resources available for beginning agrarians, and the reasons why people could make it work (not the obstacles in their way). I am leaving Redwing now knowing that I will always have someone in my corner pushing me hard (sometimes to the point of discomfort) to be my best self, to continue to step outside my comfort zone, and to challenge me at every step. One of my most memorable moments came when, worrying about the job search and sending my resume out to nearly any ranch hiring, Fiona told me flat out that she would only be a reference for me if the next job was worth it  — something to challenge me and allow me to grow. She forced me to step into the discomfort of waiting for a productive, valuable fit that would help me reach my goals instead of rushing into a job for security’s sake.

Erin taught me patiently how to operate the skid steer, the backhoe, and how to perfect my chainsaw operation. Her communication skills and grace at my questions and my mistakes taught me more than anything how I hope to lead and inspire in the future. Christy’s non-traditional path to ranching and her conservation goals matched my ideals. The time spent for pasture monitoring, photo points, and other ecological assessments set a superb example for the duality of running a livestock operation while restoring and conserving the land. 

I am excited to start a new chapter in California at Paicines Ranch. Working at Redwing helped highlight my love for working with multiple classes of livestock and I am thrilled to work with not only cattle but also poultry, pigs, and sheep again on a larger scale. More than anything though, with a clearer vision of my goals, I hope to continue to develop my skills and better myself while building connections in the regenerative ag world. My time as a NAP apprentice pushed me to be a lifelong learner. Both in the workplace and outside of it, I will continue to learn about profitability, stockmanship, and land management. 

A lesson that I continue to learn year after year, season after season, is that working in ag is a marathon, not a sprint. There will always be more to do, more to learn, and more to experience. Finding the balance of pushing myself while conserving my energy was a struggle over the course of the apprenticeship but a valuable reminder that our ranches and farms can only function as well as we do. 

Though my eight months at Redwing have been a whirlwind, when I sit down to reflect, I am shocked by how much I have learned. I started the season overwhelmed and flustered by the idea of managing all the irrigation ditches, unsure how I could even find my way around the ranch. Now in November, although the water is off, I know the problem spots on each ditch, how to navigate the complicated dynamics of our ditch members, and how to get the best utilization in each field. I know each pasture, when the steers grazed and the capacity of the grass for next season. I have used more heavy machinery than I ever thought I would. And although I am leaving Redwing, I know I have formed a community that will last a lifetime. The neighbors didn’t have to welcome me, a temporary transplant and inexperienced outsider. Yet, I helped with brandings, cattle moves, attended musical gatherings, and rodeos. 

This community that made my apprenticeship so incredibly rewarding also makes it so difficult to leave. In a way, I only got a taste of this place. Eight months could never be enough to understand the dynamics of the land, the livestock, or the people. I know that the understanding and knowledge I have gained at Redwing will carry over to my next adventure, and I will forever be grateful for my time spent during the NAP apprenticeship."

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