As week three rolled around I worked alongside Cody (other intern) to tidy up the first landscape around the office building that we had originally designed and implemented, cleaned up excess gravel and soil and used it to level out several low spots within the vicinity. I then Spread out Bermuda Grass seed and laid compost over it within patches where grass was not growing and recently filled in holes. Throughout the week I helped Service new Sprayer tractor by replacing the old sprayer nozzles and adjusting each nozzle to spray uniform and horizontally, along with greasing pivot points and spraying oil where needed. Cody and I worked on the removal of dead brush within the bushes around the main office and removed a tree leaning over the fence close to the main entrance of the farm using a chainsaw.  We also trimmed several trees on the farm property close to the main barns, office and Farm Manager Residence. Used pole saws, clippers and hand saws, as well as the Nissan Frontier (Farm Vehicle) to haul over the branches to the brush pile to tidy up the main headquarters to get it ready for Field day which would be held on June 18^th. I discussed implementing a landscape around the main entrance sign to Stiles Farm to my Boss and was given a budget. Later in the week I was able to Visit with a good friend of Ryan Collett (Boss) who happened to be a Horticulture Consultant by the name of Aryn Buttler. Aryn gave me several types about her current job as a consultant and how she would go about the process of picking and choosing what variety of plants would do best with each other depending on what the person wants and ensure that the landscape will survive. Aryn and I visited at a local nursery in Austin where we talked about the identification of several forms of landscaping plants. I learned which plants would be best in the nursery to look for, how to tell when plants are lacking growth due to disease and much more. Aryn gave me several tips about budgeting for a landscape as well as her own ideas of what she thought would do best and look good around the landscape around the main sign of Stiles Farm. After being given a tour of the nursery in detail we then visited a job site in Austin that she was currently working on to get an idea of the tree spacing of the soon to be 20 palm trees were to be implemented, a few burr oaks and several more. Aryn has taught me a lot about being a consultant in this field and what it entails.

Week 3  blog

Parker Benavides  Summer Horticulture-Farm Intern

 

Stiles Farm Field Day Pictures

I had the opportunity to haul and operate the nurse trailer to refill the water tanks on the tractor in the field, so that we could continue to put out a fungicide called Topguard Terra, to safeguard against cotton root rot, as we planted seed. By the end of week one, we had most of the cotton fields and research test plots wrapped up, so we were then able to move on to planting sesame.

Week two marked the beginning of our first intern project. Parker and I were given access to notes and plans composed by one of the previous interns to improve the landscaping around the office and headquarters entryway. We broke ground in front of the office on Tuesday and finished mulching the beds towards the end of the week. Now all we have left to do to complete the project before field day is put in a raised bed around the sign by the entrance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In between planting and making progress on our landscaping project, we’ve had a few opportunities to work on smaller side projects and do some of the daily intern activities around the farm. My favorite of these is checking up on each of the Brangus herds every few days, even if it’s just to put out mineral and molasses. So far, I am grateful to be surrounded by a team of such great people. I enjoy working with my fellow interns as well as the full-time Stiles Farm staff. I’ve learned quite a lot as it is, just in the last 14 days, from the likes of Ryan, Bobby, and Jimmy.”

 

Cody Garcia Farm Summer Intern

Week 1 and 2

Taking on this internship at Stiles Farm is one of the best decisions I have made towards making connections and gaining experience in my field of study. The first week I was given a tour of the 2,716 acres owned by The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension where I became familiar with the land, the crops and livestock that roamed across each section. I was given hands on experience with tractor controls, GPS systems and learned how to service planter tractors along with how to take apart seed tubs and replace specific parts to hold different seed. Throughout the week I conducted many duties including checking on cattle, herding cattle, feeding chickens, replaced an air filter an in a 4-wheeler, repaired barbed wire fences, assisted in irrigation damage and helped guild tractor planters out to designated fields. I was introduced to Top Guard Fungicide where my boss mixed into water tanks to the tractor and applied to Phyto Gen Cotton Seed while Planting. The Fertilizers I was also introduced to for corn, wheat and milo fields consisted of 11-37-0, 11% Nitrate, 37% P205 and 0% K20. On my downtime I was able to do research on certain projects that would benefit me in my own field of study which is Horticulture/ Business and landscape Design. I was given the opportunity to design my own landscape in front of the main office building. I researched climate zones for thrall to come up with a list of plants that would do well in this specific environment and drew out sketches for the office landscape  By the End of the first week I had come up with a budget, design and list of plants that I would implement into the landscape and proposed it to my Boss to gain approval.

When week two came around I knew it was time to get to work on my landscape project, I made finalized decisions as to what plants I was going to implement and where as well as exact measurements to determine the amount of trimming, topsoil, compost, plants and irrigation systems that I would be implementing. I started out by flagging out the area in which the landscape would cover. With the help of a few workers on Stiles farm I was able to learn about herbicides to kill weeds in the area the office landscape would be in which they mixed and sprayed for me. My next step was to purchase material that would be in the landscape bed including topsoil, compost, soaker hoses, Landscape Fabric and trimming. Luckily there was a large compost pile already on the farm. Once purchased I knew that the soil needed to be tilled and so luckily that was provided as well. Once tilled I added compost and then tilled over the soil again to mix up the nutrients. I then added on the Landscape fabric to prevent any weeds from seeking through. With the Help of another intern on the Farm (Cody) we made several trips to Landmark Nursery where we picked out the specific plants that I had planned to implement. We purchased plants as well as mulch for the finishing touch. All week we worked on this project to beautify the main office. We laid out the plants where we knew they would go, cut holes in the fabric and dug holes to insert the plants. After all the plants had been inserted into the ground, we applied the soaker hose looping around each plant to provide an even distribution of water and used landscape pins to keep them in place. We then Surrounded the flagged area with metal landscape trimming just outside of the fabric line. After all the soil, fabric, soaker hoses, metal pins and trimming were applied; it was time to add mulch for the finishing touch. Throughout the week there were also several other duties including checking up on the cattle, feeding chickens and picking up liquid molasses to feed to cattle as a primary source of protein. I was even given the opportunity to operate the Front loader Tractor to haul compost. Overall these past two weeks have been a blast and I cannot wait to learn more.

 

Parker Frampton Benavides Horticulture Intern

This week was another wet and rainy week at the farm. At the beginning of the week, I took advantage of the wet weather and spent some time hiking to search for reptiles and amphibians. On my hike, I came across a Texas blind snake, green frog, southern leopard frog, spiny softshell turtle, and Texas rat snake. During my hike, I also happened across a longnose gar that was hanging around a fast-flowing drainage in search of prey. This week I also finished up my bird surveys for the season. Over the past two weeks, I identified several new species that I hadn’t yet seen at the farm including a painted bunting, yellow-billed cuckoo, and eastern wood-pewee. At the end of this week, I set out and began running the last of my small mammal transects. So far, I have only caught this fulvous harvest mouse.

AnMarie Ulery Wildlife Intern

Click to see schedule of events

Stiles Farm Brochure 2019 (2)

These past few months have absolutely flown by, and so I find myself at the end of my internship here at Stiles Farm. It has proved to be a valuable experience, being able to put into practice knowledge I already had as well as learn new things, which is exactly how I hoped it would be. Since most of my previous agriculture and livestock experience has been on a small scale, this internship has provided a good platform for witnessing large-scale farming practices. My time here has also provided numerous new contacts within the farming community, which should be of benefit in my future pursuits. To any student wondering if they should apply for an internship, the answer is YES! Whether the internship is during your schooling or after, it can be so beneficial in helping refine your career pursuits and give you the experience employers are looking for.   Megan Finley Farm Intern