For many college students pursuing a degree in an agriculture related field, hands on experience is a requirement to graduate. This experience will help them navigate their way through the industry and find what they are truly passionate about. To help these students gain experience, the GROWMARK/FS System welcomed 85 interns from across North America into its internship program.
GROWMARK made it a point to continue its internship program last year through the pandemic by adapting to a virtual format with socially distant hands-on experience in the field. This year, GROWMARK is building upon that hybrid model with even more opportunities for its interns.
“We found the hybrid model helps our interns by bringing together the whole class on a more regular and efficient basis, especially since they are working at GROWMARK retail and subsidiaries and FS member cooperatives throughout North America,” said Kayla Tobias, GROWMARK Member & Student Recruiting Manager. “Students will be able to engage with industry professionals in-person on important projects and have the opportunity to clarify career goals, while we get exposed to some of the most talented students. These programs continue to be a key component in identifying and retaining top talent for the System.”
There are two tracks: the GROWMARK Interns are exposed to sales, accounting, marketing, and product, and service-related activities. Each intern will complete a business-related project and deliver a presentation on their project at the conclusion of their internships, all while building professional relationships with FS locations and customers while learning the different products and services the GROWMARK System provides.
Secondly, interns in the Exploring Agriculture program will be focused on agronomy, energy and grain operations, equipment & technology for crop scouting, assisting with facility and equipment maintenance & repair, and building professional relationships with FS locations and customers while learning the different products and services the GROWMARK System provides.
The GROWMARK program interns, serving GROWMARK, FS, and Southern States Cooperative companies come from:
Fort Hays State University, KS
• Ryan St. Peters, St. Clair Service Company
Highland Community College, IL
• Charleese Faulkner, Carroll Service Company
Illinois College, IL
• Andrew Phillips, Prairieland FS
• Will Boyd, Western Grain Marketing
Illinois State University, IL
• Isaac Brockman, FS Grain
• Jacob Read, Ag-Land FS
• Kent Girard, Christian County FS
• Lia Lohnes, GROWMARK Inc.
Iowa State University, IA
• Domanique Richardson, Illini FS
• Gage Blythe, New Century FS
• Griffen Jodlowski, Ag-Land FS
• Kyle Lois, Conserv FS
• Nicholas Banser, GRAINCO FS
Ivy Tech Community College
• Colleen Jones, Heritage FS
Murray State University, KY
• Mason Welden, Southern FS
• Kyle Morrow, Southern States Cooperative
North Carolina State University, NC
• Nathan Barrow, Southern States Cooperative
• Natalie Rouse, Southern States Cooperative
• Elliot Frasier, Southern States Cooperative
Northwest Missouri State University, MO
• Tori Speer, West Central FS
Penn State University, PA
• Gabrielle Henrichs, GROWMARK FS Mid-Atlantic
South Dakota State University, SD
• Riley Zimmerman, GROWMARK FS Midwest
Southeast Missouri State University, MO
• Taylor Lohmann, Gateway FS
Southern Illinois University — Carbondale, IL
• Addie Hemrich, Wabash Valley Service Company
• Noah Kopplin, Total Grain Marketing
The Ohio State University, OH
• Cole Weickert, Legacy Farmers Cooperative
Truman State University, MO
• Jack Hunziker, Prairieland FS
University of Guelph, Ontario, CA
• Megan McGrail, Wanstead Farmers Cooperative
• Sadie Scott, Lucknow Cooperative
University of Illinois Champaign — Urbana, IL
• John Rahn, Carroll Service Company
• Sophie Wood, Illini FS
University of Kentucky, KY
• Meghan Matlock, GROWMARK Inc.
University of Mount Olive, NC
• Colby Bass, Southern States Cooperative
University of Wisconsin — River Falls, WI
• Owen Zakrzewski, Insight FS
University of Wisconsin — Platteville, WI
• Andrew Mitzelfelt, Insight FS
• Colleen Johnson, Insight FS
• Jacob Mathias, Insight FS
• Jess Bishop, Insight FS
• Joseph Erickson, Stephenson Service Company
• Kilynn Perdue, Stephenson Service Company
Virginia Tech, VA
• Ryan Wheatley, GROWMARK FS Mid-Atlantic
• Mindi Freed, Southern States Cooperative
Western Illinois University, IL
• Brian Bohannon, Conserv FS
• Drew Stayton, M&M Service Company
• Hannah Carlock, Sunrise FS
Western Kentucky University, KY
• Logan Elder, Southern States Cooperative
The Exploring Agriculture interns, serving FS companies come from:
Blackhawk Technical College, WI
• Ryan Stilen, Insight FS
• Trevor Bausch, Insight FS
Des Moines Area Community College, IA
• Carson Scheidegger, New Century FS
Fox Valley Technical College, WI
• Ryan Lindblom, Insight FS
Hawkeye Community College, IA
• Brandon Reiher, AgVantage FS
• Eryn Lindell, AgVantage FS
• Roland ten Hoeve, AgVantage FS
Heartland Community College, IL
• Joshua Hardman, Evergreen FS
Highland Community College, IL
• Addison Keltner, Stephenson Service Company
Illinois Central College, IL
• Maddy Forney, Evergreen FS
Illinois College, IL
• Katie Elmore, Prairieland FS
Illinois State University, IL
• Brody Ulrey, Evergreen FS
• Ryan Held, Christian County FS
Iowa State University, IA
• Garhett Allen, Ag-Land FS
• Anthony Pasquesi, Conserv FS
• Burton Hess, GRAINCO FS
• Jace Wiemers, GROWMARK FS Midwest
John A Logan College, IL
• Jessie Lewis, Southern FS
Lake Land College, IL
• Dawson Phillips, Wabash Valley Service Company
Murray State University, KY
• Brady Gaddis, Illini FS
Northeast Community College, NE
• Mason Schaefer, GROWMARK FS Midwest
• Nolan Klug, GROWMARK FS Midwest
Northwest Missouri State University, MO
• Jayleigh Peuster, West Central FS
The Ohio State University, OH
• Jacob Keller, Legacy Farmers Cooperative
• Maddie Heuerman, Legacy Farmers Cooperative
• Matthew Roth, Legacy Farmers Cooperative
Parkland Community College, IL
• Levi Zimmerman, Evergreen FS
Truman State University, MO
• Gus Williams, Prairieland FS
University of Guelph, Ontario, CA
• Jenna Delaey, AGRIS Cooperative
• Aaron Canfield, FS PARTNERS
University of Illinois Champaign — Urbana, IL
• Megan Wiesbrock, Ag-Land FS
• Jacob Wiesbrock, GRAINCO FS
• Reagan Kulenkamp, M&M Service Company
University of Wisconsin — River Falls, WI
• Ethan Gredan, Insight FS
University of Wisconsin — Platteville
• Karl Durrant, Insight FS
• Kyle Haldiman, Insight FS
• Zachary Bednar, Insight FS
Wabash Valley College, IL
• Alec Fewkes, Wabash Valley Service Company
• Eric Williams, Wabash Valley Service Company
