As the sun sets on a hard day’s work at the 11 Milliron Ranch in Sumner, Neb., Blake Long admires the new set of cattle on pasture. Occupying the driver’s seat of the pickup beside him is his host for the summer, Greg Ibach, who peers at the cattle he knows by heart but also takes in the sight of a hopeful cattleman, eager to learn.

“Wanting to see different large-scale operations in different regions of the world and in the states is really what led me to look into this internship,” Long explains. 

Originally from Adair, Okla., Long has grown up immersed in The Business Breed with involvement on his family’s mixed commercial and purebred cow-calf and backgrounding operation. 

“Since the age of eight when I started showing, I’ve competed at Angus Junior Nationals [National Junior Angus Show (NJAS)] as well as competed in all their junior contests,” he says. 

Prior to starting his junior year at Oklahoma State University in August, the animal science major is spending 12 weeks with the Ibach family as one of the Angus/Talon Youth Educational Interns. 

Due north

After enjoying a quick Mother’s Day lunch with his mom, Johnna, Long left the heat of Oklahoma behind and began his journey towards hilly Nebraska. Upon his arrival, he recalls the biggest thing that caught his attention was the darkness. 

“Let me tell you, around here with how small the towns are, when it gets dark — it gets dark,” Long describes. 

However, the warmth shed from the Ibach’s home was like a beacon. That first day of work, Long joined the Milliron crew as they loaded horses and prepared to gather cattle. As they rode in the pasture side by side, Long and Alec, Greg’s son and co-manager of the ranch, had a sense of déjà vu. 

It wasn’t until Long mentioned his involvement with collegiate livestock judging that Alec was able to recall their first introduction. 

“He mentions that he was an official at the Nebraska Cattlemen’s Classic, where we competed at,” Long says. “I actually gave my set of Hereford bulls to him.”

Alec couldn’t remember exactly what score he gave Long, but he was thankful that it wasn’t a poor one. 

“It was a good score, but I was like, man, that could have been a really bad first impression if I would’ve given him a bad score,” Alec says with a chuckle. 

At 32 years old, Alec now works alongside his parents and ranch crew to help manage their Nebraska operation, but he’s been in Long’s shoes before. 

“One of the most important things in an internship, just from my past experiences, were that you really wanted to feel valued,” Alec says. “You wanted to feel like you were there for the right reasons.” 

With this being their third year hosting an intern, they’ve discovered their ideal candidate is a self-starter, who’s motivated and eager to gain hands-on knowledge. 

“We learn a lot from our interns,” he adds. “It’s really cool to see how spread out the industry is.”

Long, for instance, came with an easy-going attitude and a familiarity with how to work cattle. He says, however, he’s gaining a newfound appreciation both for Greg and Alec’s management style and the state of Nebraska. 

One of the greatest things I’ve seen so far has just been the different ways they rotate their cattle through the pastures.” — Blake Long  

Besides management decisions when it comes to grazing, changes in temperature have affected his workload dramatically as well. 

“Where I’m from, it gets too hot throughout the day where we can’t work cattle all day,” he explains. “We worked cows from about seven o’clock [in the morning] to six o’clock last night, and that’s been something that I’ve never been able to do growing up.”

On the long but productive days, good conversation makes the time fly by. 

“One of my favorite things is when we’re hanging out is if there’s anything going on in Nebraska, they know about it,” Long says.