Dear Ogallala friends, before I get to my first experiences from working for Todd Agricultural Consulting LLC; I am going to tell all of you about my first thoughts. When our intern supervisor, James Todd, began explaining to my fellow interns and myself on how to calculate the amount of thrips per acre, how many crops will yield per acre, how to identify weeds, test soil moisture, look for signs of stress on the crops, and the proper distance it requires in order to properly scout a field: I quickly began to wonder to myself, “What have I gotten myself into?” It was very intimidating stepping or even better diving into a pool of darkness. However, I shortly reminded myself that was why I decided to apply for this internship, to broaden my view of the agricultural world. So post first thoughts came my first experiences. I distinctly remember scouting my second field making sure I walked 3 pivot towers into the farm made a circle and documented all the necessities such as crop height, stand count, thrips and their damage, weeds, and soil moisture before returning to the pick up. Probably my favorite first experience was my first run in with moisture blocks. Moisture blocks are these little one inch cylinders driven into the ground that shoot an electricity charge through two pieces of wire gauze. To install these little low tech tools you use a modified t-post driver, a guide rod, water, and dirt. You drive a hole in the ground at 6″, 1′, 2′, and 3′. This experience stood out to me because I thoroughly enjoy physical activity as well as working.
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