From South Africa to Seacross: A Summer of Rangeland Management Experience
As we know here at Seacross, there is no greater teacher than firsthand experience. We were thrilled to welcome Aidan, a budding cattle rancher, to work with us this summer. Through the H-2A Agricultural Visa Program, Aidan came from his hometown of Johannesburg, South Africa in the beginning of July as a temporary worker and just wrapped up his stay with us!
Aidan has always loved working on farms, and spends much of his time back home helping his grandfather on his game ranch. As soon as he arrived here, it was clear he was a perfect fit for ranch life. He spent his days feeding the cows, chickens, and pigs, setting irrigation for the grasslands and pastures, monitoring wildlife, mending fences, and all the other odds and ends that a working ranch requires.
This was Aidan’s first time to the U.S., and he has spent nearly the entire time on the ranch. He grew up on a farm in South Africa and has had a passion for farming as long as he can remember. He studied game ranch management in college and did an internship at the Sondela Nature Reserve in the Limpopo Province. He worked with wild animals in hospitality and conservation programs.
His favorite part of being at Seacross was seeing all of the new wildlife, especially black bears, deer, beavers, and coyotes. He also enjoyed learning the different farming techniques noting, “We do it all by hand back home, but here they take a skid steer and other modern equipment and it’s all done much faster.” Aidan was impressed by the rotational grazing practices and the use of polywire to separate sections of pastures, whereas back home they graze the land till it’s consumed. “That is definitely a practice I’d like to adopt,” he said.
Other aspects of Seacross that were new and interesting to him was the way we manage large parcels of land, from the native grasses to wildlife habitat. He was impressed at the way we use horses to herd. “I stuck to using the quad,” he laughed. He enjoyed helping with vaccinations and processing as well. Aidan hopes to someday run his own farm in South Africa, including crops, cattle, goats, and even a few wild animals (his favorite being the rare black impalas and the hybrid zebra horse).
Perhaps one of the greatest lessons from Seacross was the gentle approach with the animals. “The way Mickey and her team handle the animals is very calm and relaxed. I was surprised that some of the breeder heifers would come eat a treat right out of my hand,” he commented. He plans on bringing all of his new knowledge, experience, and practices back to his grandfather’s ranch and someday to his own. We were so grateful to have his help this summer and wish him the best on his future endeavors!
