Internship Experiences

Du Pont Pioneer Zach Otott • Manhattan, KS Junior in Agribusiness Zach Otott had a research based internship with Du Pont Pioneer in Garden City. He worked with corn, soybeans, and wheat, taking agronomic notes at different growth stages. He helped harvest, thresh, clean and weigh new hi-bred wheat plots, all by hand. Otott also lead a team hand pollinating a corn block.
John Deere Katie O’Brien • Matfield Green, KS Senior in Agribusiness Katie O’Brien was involved with the marketing division of John Deere and benefited from an internship position in one of the largest agricultural companies. She enjoyed dealing with the newest technology, and fielding the equipment for the first time.
Consolidated Grain and Barge Grady Kay • Boonville, MO Senior in Agricultural Economics Grady Kay assisted operations in services for producers and logistics for customers on a global scale. He worked with merchandising commodities, and engaged with industry leaders to find solutions in today’s dynamic agricultural markets.
Lansing Trade Group Coleman Forst • Marysville, KS Senior Agricultural Economics Coleman Forst worked closely with traders in Overland Park, KS. He learned firsthand about the various trade flows in the wheat middlings market. Forst helped coordinate logistics routes to facilitate Landsings cross country trading desk. He also worked on sourcing new end users in the upper Midwest area.
Farm Credit East Chelsea Kegler • Mansfield Center, CT Senior in Agricultural Economics Chelsea Kegler was a credit intern at Farm Credit East in Hornell, New York. The information she imput into balance sheets and income statements was used by loan officers and credit analysts to put together loan packages. Kegler also worked with their legal department on better vendor management to make Farm Credit East more efficient.

Employer's Prospective

Derek Betcher, Marketing Manager, John Deere —

Tasks "During the summer of 2013 we assigned Taylor [Peterson] a variety of projects designed to help build John Deere brand awareness with key accounts and increase sales to independent rental companies. Her work had a special focus on large local and regional rental businesses with strong purchasing power but limited John Deere presence in their rental fleets."

Growth "We gave Taylor work that included a lot of customer contact, and it introduced her to the opportunities and complexities of doing business in a broad, multi-functional company... Your ability to create customer value and present John Deere as a partner and a solutions provider depends in part on how well you can work behind the scenes to do things like build business case, plan and budget, align with strategy, get support from stakeholders, and then execute the project plan. Taylor grew successfully at all these things. Analytical skills and Excel proficiency are two areas I think she grew the most."

Internship Benefits "It’s good to see interns cement their maturity, grow their business skills and their professionalism, improve their adaptability and resourcefulness. It’s really rewarding to see them build their ideas of what they want to do with their careers. Our intern program gives students exposure to our company so they can make well-informed decisions about whether to pursue full time employment in our company and our industries."

Expectations "Interns are expected to complete projects of moderate complexity and impact that can help us achieve our business goals. The people side of the business is equally, if not more, important... We can see in practice the candidate’s flexibility, maturity, work habits and demeanor, many things that go beyond just a resume."

Derek supervised Taylor during her Summer 2013 Internship in John Deere's Rental Marketing department