Hey y’all! My name is Caitlin Kratochvil and I am an Ogallala Commons intern for the summer of 2014.
I grew up on a small farm in northeastern North Dakota. My dad took care of the crops and I took care of the livestock side of things. I love showing livestock and livestock judging. My summers have mostly been spent by working double shifts at the local drive-in restaurant, going home after work to wash hogs, goats, shearing sheep, loading the trailer, and hitting the road by about midnight to make it to a show clear across the state by 7am the next morning.
When I’m not working, showing, or judging livestock, I enjoy fishing, traveling, going to rodeos to support my friends, and working on the farm. I plan on attending Oklahoma State University (Go Pokes!) for Agribusiness – specifically, farm and ranch management. Long term, I plan on running my own ranch and raising rodeo stock, hopefully with time, for the PBR. This internship through Ogallala Commons would help to better instill my appreciation of the land that we so graciously have the privilege of farming and living from. I believe this internship can teach me so many new things since it will be an entirely new setting for me, as I am interning for Mary and Dan Howell in Frankfort, Kansas. Raising animals takes a lot of determination and patience. However, taking care of our land is also very important, and being educated about the land we live on is vital. Without the knowledge of the land, we know nothing. One of my favorite quotes from Margaret Atwood is, “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” I can’t wait to see what this internship has in store for me this summer, as well as for my future. If you have any questions about myself or my internship, please feel free to contact me. 🙂
