Sabrina Becker is a fourth year agronomy and environmental science student from Stuart, Iowa. Over the summer, she gained valuable experience working as a Student Trainee Soil Conservationist for USDA-NRCS through the Pathways Internship Program. She was stationed in Ozark, Missouri with jurisdiction over five counties. As part of her duties, she met with landowners to develop conservation plans that fall under USDA-NRCS cost-share programs, especially with the Environmental Qualities Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). She also worked closely with Missouri USDA-NRCS partners, including the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Soil and Water Conservation District.
Becker said Southern Missouri is primarily rangeland cattle farmers, so she learned about grazing systems and how that relates to soils and water quality. “Within those grazing systems, I learned how to identify many native pasture plants and forage types and how to identify when those forage types can be over or under grazed. Both qualities affect the farmers’ operation and the ecological systems at play within the grazing system,” she said.
One of her biggest key takeaways from the experience was one of perspective. “When you are a rangeland cattle farmer, you are not simply a cattle farmer. You are a forage producer. You must have enough grass, forbs, clover, fescue, etc., on your land for your cattle. The way you manage that land is extremely important economically and ecologically. Like a corn/soy rotation, as you harvest your crop, you take outputs from your system that must be reintroduced. This can be through fertilizers. The same goes for a cattle operation. As your cattle take the forage off the landscape through heavy, intense grazing, inputs must be put back into that system to ensure your perennial or annual forage continues to thrive,” said Becker.
Her favorite part of working in Ozark, Missouri, was the diversity that the area had to offer and seeing the conservation efforts within the National Forests and beautiful rivers. She found her experience rewarding and highly recommends other students take the time to apply through USA Jobs for a pathways internship.
Photo at top: Agronomy student Sabrina Becker finds a parking sign humorous during her internship in Ozark, MO.
