What makes a great ranch employee, and how do you actually find and hire them?

Cracking the Code to the Ideal Ranch Employee

Finding and hiring the right people can be one of the most frustrating, and most rewarding, parts of ranch management.

In this episode of the Ranch Workforce Project, host Haylie Shipp of the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance and co-host Rachel Frost of the Dan Scott Ranch Management Program at Montana State University are joined by Dr. Trey Patterson, CEO of Padlock Ranch.

Together they discuss what it takes to recruit, interview, and hire great employees in today’s ranch workforce.

Dr. Patterson shares how Padlock Ranch approaches hiring, from writing clear job descriptions to conducting structured interviews that reveal more than what appears on a resume. Frost adds perspective from working with students preparing to enter the industry and explains why attitude, humility, and a willingness to learn often matter as much as technical skills.

The conversation also tackles an important question for ranch managers today. Are we creating the kinds of jobs people actually want, or are we simply frustrated that fewer people want the jobs we have always offered?

Topics discussed in this episode include:

• Why ranch labor challenges are not only about the work, but also about changing workforce expectations
• The importance of attitude, humility, and motivation when evaluating candidates
• How structured interviews can help reveal character and problem solving ability
• Why honesty about remote locations and job realities helps prevent hiring mismatches
• How intentional recruiting can help ranches build a stronger applicant pool

Resources and Links

Dan Scott Ranch Management Program
https://animalrange.montana.edu/danscott/

Padlock Ranch
https://padlockranch.com/

Dr. Trey Patterson on the Ranching Returns Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/176-dr-trey-patterson-padlock-ranch/id1555361402?i=1000658419243

Support the show

The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA) is a rancher-led, grassroots organization, dedicated to improving the quality of life for rural communities throughout the Northern Great Plains. Through collaborative conservation projects, rancher education events, and local community outreach, RSA works to strengthen our rural community, economy, and culture for generations to come.

For more on the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, head to www.RanchStewards.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Your feedback is always welcome. Email info@ranchstewards.org. Want to support our mission? Visit www.ranchstewards.org/support.

What can a drone actually do on a working ranch, and is it worth the cost?

In this episode, Haylie Shipp sits down with rancher Kari Koss, The Nature Conservancy’s Jason Hanlon, and Ranchers Stewardship Alliance Mapping Specialist Maida Knapton to talk about the real world uses of drones in agriculture. From checking water and locating cattle to mapping prairie dog towns and monitoring vegetation, this conversation focuses on practical applications for producers in large, remote landscapes like northern Montana.

The group shares honest experiences about learning curves, price points, wind limitations, regulations, and how drones can shift from being seen as a toy to becoming a valuable management tool. Whether you are looking to save time, reduce miles on equipment, or gain a new perspective on your operation, this episode offers a practical look at how drones are being used on working ranches today.

Topics Covered in This Episode
• Using drones to check water, cattle, and remote pastures
• Drone costs
• Wind, battery life, and real world limitations
• FAA rules, airspace, and line of sight requirements
• Drone use in conservation and mapping
• Autonomous flight paths
• Opportunity cost and time savings on a ranch

Real Ranch Applications Discussed
• Checking water sources in hard to access areas
• Locating cattle before a gather
• Counting hay bales from above
• Monitoring infrastructure and flood irrigation
• Year to year photo monitoring of rangeland
• Mapping prairie dog towns and vegetation health

Key Considerations for Producers
• Most consumer drones have built in safety features and are easier to fly than many expect
• Wind and battery are often the biggest limiting factors on the Northern Plains
• Entry level drones can cost a few hundred dollars while advanced mapping drones can cost several thousand
• Current FAA regulations require pilots to keep drones within visual line of sight and under 400 feet
• Airspace restrictions may apply near airports, military activity, or certain federal lands

Resources Mentioned
• FAA Before You Fly app for checking airspace restrictions: https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/b4ufly
• Blue UAS Cleared List and transition information: https://www.diu.mil/latest/dius-blue-uas-list-to-transition-to-dcma
• Ranchers Stewardship Alliance YouTube channel webinar on drone seeding with Steve Kenyon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3w7pqhGqCI

This episode is especially helpful for producers, land managers, and conservation partners who are exploring practical technology that can save time, reduce labor, and provide better insight into large grazing ope

Support the show

The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA) is a rancher-led, grassroots organization, dedicated to improving the quality of life for rural communities throughout the Northern Great Plains. Through collaborative conservation projects, rancher education events, and local community outreach, RSA works to strengthen our rural community, economy, and culture for generations to come.

For more on the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, head to www.RanchStewards.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Your feedback is always welcome. Email info@ranchstewards.org. Want to support our mission? Visit www.ranchstewards.org/support.

Labor continues to be one of the biggest pressure points in agriculture. But when you are not hiring a full-time, long-term employee, the real question becomes: What kind of help do you actually need?

In this episode of the Ranch Workforce Project, host Haylie Shipp and co-host Rachel Frost sit down with Taylre Sitz Zempel of Sitz Angus Ranch and Dan Leahy of the Foundation for Ranch Management to break down the practical differences between seasonal labor, internships, and apprenticeships.

This conversation goes beyond definitions. It dives into expectations, responsibility, logistics, mindset, and the long-term impact these roles can have on the ranch workforce pipeline.

What We Cover

Seasonal Labor
A largely transactional relationship. A defined timeframe, clear expectations, and productivity that directly impacts profitability. Often requires minimal training and the ability to step in and contribute quickly.

Internships
A shorter-term learning opportunity. Ranches may invest more time in training and mentorship while students gain exposure, experience, and foundational skills. Internships can play a significant role in shaping the next generation entering agriculture.

Apprenticeships
A longer-term, structured commitment with higher expectations on both sides. Focused not only on completing tasks but on developing thought processes, decision-making ability, and mastery. Apprenticeships often serve as a bridge into long-term careers and leadership roles.

Key Themes from the Conversation

• Words matter. Titles like intern and apprentice carry real expectations.
• Ranchers must be honest about how much time and training they can realistically provide.
• Soft skills such as communication, humility, reflection, and attitude are just as important as technical skills.
• Logistics matter. Housing, transportation, and basic living arrangements can make or break a placement.
• The workforce pipeline in agriculture is not empty. There are young people eager to enter the industry, but clarity and alignment are critical.
• Internships and apprenticeships do more than fill labor gaps. They help build the future of agriculture beyond a single ranch gate.

You will also hear powerful stories of growth, failure, perseverance, and the long-term impact of mentorship.

Learn More

Dan Scott Ranch Management Program
https://animalrange.montana.edu/danscott/

Sitz Angus Ranch
https://www.sitzangus.com/

If you are considering bringing on seasonal labor, an intern, or an apprentice, this episode offers practical guidance and encouragement to help you decide which structure best fits your operation and your long-term goals.

Support the show

The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA) is a rancher-led, grassroots organization, dedicated to improving the quality of life for rural communities throughout the Northern Great Plains. Through collaborative conservation projects, rancher education events, and local community outreach, RSA works to strengthen our rural community, economy, and culture for generations to come.

For more on the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, head to www.RanchStewards.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Your feedback is always welcome. Email info@ranchstewards.org. Want to support our mission? Visit www.ranchstewards.org/support.

Every working ranch tells two stories, the one behind us, and the one we are still trying to write.

This episode marks the beginning of a 10 episode limited series collaboration between Ranchers Stewardship Alliance and the Dan Scott Ranch Management Program. Together, the series focuses on one of the most pressing challenges facing agriculture today, labor.

In Episode 1, host Haylie Shipp is joined by co host Rachel Frost and guest Marty Ropp to explore why the traditional agricultural labor pipeline is no longer enough. The conversation centers on why the industry must look beyond familiar avenues, reach people we are not currently engaging, and rethink long held assumptions about who belongs in agriculture.

Marty Ropp brings decades of experience from the beef genetics industry and shares insights from launching New Acres, a nonprofit focused on connecting people with life changing careers in agriculture. Rachel Frost provides perspective from the collegiate level through her leadership of the Dan Scott Ranch Management Program, which blends academic instruction with hands on, on the ground ranch internships.

Together, they discuss:

• Why the agricultural labor shortage requires new ways of thinking
• The importance of looking outside traditional recruitment channels
• Challenges that arise when bringing new people into rural and agricultural spaces
• How ranchers, educators, and industry leaders must adapt their approach to training and mentorship
• Why changing how we think about labor is essential to the future of working lands and rural communities

This episode sets the foundation for a series of honest conversations about labor, leadership, and the future of agriculture.

About the Series

The Ranch Workforce Project is a 10 episode limited series created in collaboration between Ranchers Stewardship Alliance and the Dan Scott Ranch Management Program at Montana State University. Each episode focuses on labor in agriculture, exploring practical challenges and real world solutions from multiple perspectives including ranchers, students, educators, and industry leaders.

Featured Organizations

Dan Scott Ranch Management Program (Montana State University)
https://www.montana.edu/ranchmanagement/
New Acres
https://www.newacresproject.org/

Support the show

The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA) is a rancher-led, grassroots organization, dedicated to improving the quality of life for rural communities throughout the Northern Great Plains. Through collaborative conservation projects, rancher education events, and local community outreach, RSA works to strengthen our rural community, economy, and culture for generations to come.

For more on the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, head to www.RanchStewards.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Your feedback is always welcome. Email info@ranchstewards.org. Want to support our mission? Visit www.ranchstewards.org/support.

This episode of the Ranch Stewards Podcast features the audio-only version of a Rural Resilience webinar, created for listeners who prefer to learn on the go. The full video presentation is available for those who would like to see visuals and demonstrations.

In this episode, ranchers share real-world examples of how technology is changing land and livestock management while supporting long-term stewardship.

Rancher Ryan Lankford explains how GPS ear tags help him monitor cattle across large landscapes and make better management decisions whether he is on the ranch or away.

Custom grazer Steve Kenyon discusses how fall frost seeding with drones can make forage establishment easier, faster, and more efficient within extended grazing systems.

This recording includes a 60-minute presentation followed by a 30-minute live question and answer discussion.

Speakers
Ryan Lankford grew up in a farm family on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and returned home after serving in the U.S. Army and earning a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering to continue his family’s agricultural legacy.

Steve Kenyon owns Greener Pastures Ranching Ltd. in Alberta, Canada and has more than 20 years of experience teaching sustainable grazing management.

Watch the full video version of this episode at https://youtu.be/D3w7pqhGqCI

Upcoming live webinars in the Rural Resilience series
Ranch Health: Cattle Vaccination Best Practices on February 5, 2026
Ranch Water: Low-Tech, High-Impact Restoration on February 19, 2026
Ranch Insights: Sheep Industry Takeaways for Beef on March 5, 2026

Cost: Free
Pre-registration required
Register at ranchstewards.org/events

Support the show

The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA) is a rancher-led, grassroots organization, dedicated to improving the quality of life for rural communities throughout the Northern Great Plains. Through collaborative conservation projects, rancher education events, and local community outreach, RSA works to strengthen our rural community, economy, and culture for generations to come.

For more on the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, head to www.RanchStewards.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Your feedback is always welcome. Email info@ranchstewards.org. Want to support our mission? Visit www.ranchstewards.org/support.

The Ranch Workforce Project is a limited series podcast collaboration between the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance and Montana State University’s Dan Scott Ranch Management Program. While the series is rooted in ranching, the conversations are relevant across all of agriculture, including farming, orchards, specialty crop operations, and diversified agricultural businesses facing workforce challenges.

In this preview episode, host Haylie Shipp is joined by Rachel Frost to introduce the purpose of the series and the shared labor issues affecting agricultural operations nationwide. From recruiting and training new employees to managing expectations, workplace culture, and long term career pathways, this series takes a practical look at how agriculture can better prepare, support, and retain its workforce.

Drawing on experience working directly with both producers and students, this episode sets the stage for honest conversations about what is working, what is not, and where opportunities exist to strengthen the agricultural labor pipeline, regardless of operation size or production type.

In This Episode, We Cover:

• Why workforce challenges are affecting every sector of agriculture
• The disconnect between interested young people and agricultural employment opportunities
• Managing expectations for both employers and employees
• The role of mentorship, communication, and workplace culture in employee retention
• What listeners can expect from the Ranch Workforce Project series

Support the show

The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA) is a rancher-led, grassroots organization, dedicated to improving the quality of life for rural communities throughout the Northern Great Plains. Through collaborative conservation projects, rancher education events, and local community outreach, RSA works to strengthen our rural community, economy, and culture for generations to come.

For more on the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, head to www.RanchStewards.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Your feedback is always welcome. Email info@ranchstewards.org. Want to support our mission? Visit www.ranchstewards.org/support.

Who wouldn’t want a deep massage? Turns out, your soil might be overdue for one. In this episode, host Haylie Shipp talks with Montana ranchers Todd Barkley (near Baker) and Casey Buffington (Chester) about bale grazing, a winter-feeding strategy that can build soil health, redistribute nutrients, reduce daily feeding chores, and add flexibility to ranch life.

They also discuss how the “new sexy thing” in grazing, virtual fencing, is being used alongside bale grazing to control access, improve hay utilization, and keep cows where you want them, even during an oddball open winter.

What We Cover

• What bale grazing is and why it is more than “feeding hay”
• Placement of your bales
• The benefits of seven-day feedings, including labor, fuel, and equipment savings
• How cows often return later to clean up what they left behind
• Managing boss cows versus timid cows and thinking about access and space
• Setup strategies such as grid patterns, star or pie patterns, and bale spacing
• Bale orientation, including on end versus on side and when rolling out makes sense
• Calving considerations and why rolling out hay can reduce risks
• Weed pressure, soil response, and reframing weeds as forage
• Virtual fencing possibilities, including timed breaks to control daily access without moving wire

Practical Takeaways

• Try it once. Bale grazing is a technique that can be adjusted to fit your operation.
• Use it for flexibility when work or weather makes daily feeding difficult.
• Dial in the math by accounting for cow weight, bale weight, hay quality, and stockpiled forage.

Links and Resources

• Todd Barkley contact: https://barkleyshomegrown.com/contact/

Support the show

The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA) is a rancher-led, grassroots organization, dedicated to improving the quality of life for rural communities throughout the Northern Great Plains. Through collaborative conservation projects, rancher education events, and local community outreach, RSA works to strengthen our rural community, economy, and culture for generations to come.

For more on the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, head to www.RanchStewards.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Your feedback is always welcome. Email info@ranchstewards.org. Want to support our mission? Visit www.ranchstewards.org/support.

In this special, off-script episode of the Ranch Stewards Podcast, host Haylie Shipp flips the mic and interviews Megan Torgerson, founder and host of Reframing Rural, an award-winning documentary podcast that centers the voices and lived experiences of rural people and places. Now in its fourth season, Reframing Rural is focused on succession planning, an issue deeply important to ranching families and to the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance.

Haylie and Megan talk about how Reframing Rural got started, Megan’s background growing up on a farm in northeast Montana, and why rural stories are so often misunderstood or oversimplified in mainstream media. They also dig into the emotional realities of succession planning including family dynamics, communication, legacy, and the weight of passing the baton.

Following the conversation, listeners are invited to hear Episode 1 of Season 4 of Reframing Rural, an intimate and powerful story featuring Howie Hammond and his daughter Andrea Lien near Malta, Montana. The Hammond family are longtime supporters of the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, and their story is one we hold especially dear.

In This Episode You Will Hear:

• How Reframing Rural grew out of Megan’s academic work and lived experience
• What mainstream media often misses about agriculture and rural life
• The real statistics and realities around farm and ranch succession
• Why emotion, vulnerability, and storytelling are essential to succession conversations
• The diagnosis that accelerated the Hammond family’s succession planning
• The emotional weight of legal and financial meetings when time feels short
• A daughter's fear of being the generation that loses the ranch
• Why “equal is not always fair” and why the ranch has to come first

Guest Bios

Megan Torgerson
Megan is the founder and host of Reframing Rural, an award-winning documentary podcast sharing nuanced stories of rural people and places. She grew up on a farm and ranch near Dagmar, Montana, and began the podcast in 2019 to challenge oversimplified narratives about rural life. Reframing Rural is now in its fourth season.

Howie Hammond
Howie has farmed and ranched for more than 45 years in Montana’s Milk River Valley near Malta. Alongside his wife JoAnn, he built a family operation spanning thousands of acres of rangeland and cropland. Following a rare muscle disease diagnosis, Howie became a vocal advocate for early succession planning and mentors families across Montana.

Andrea Lien
Andrea manages Hammond Ranch with her husband Wyatt and her parents Howie and JoAnn. After earning a business degree from Rocky Mountain College and working in finance, she returned home to continue her family’s agricultural legacy.

Support the show

The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA) is a rancher-led, grassroots organization, dedicated to improving the quality of life for rural communities throughout the Northern Great Plains. Through collaborative conservation projects, rancher education events, and local community outreach, RSA works to strengthen our rural community, economy, and culture for generations to come.

For more on the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, head to www.RanchStewards.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Your feedback is always welcome. Email info@ranchstewards.org. Want to support our mission? Visit www.ranchstewards.org/support.