Agronomy Internship
Agronomy Interns gain experience by assisting in the following:
– Agronomic Experiences including treating seed, product delivery, interaction with producers, warehouse experience, etc.
– Managing & overseeing NEW’s test plot system
– Conduct field and learning plot research
– Grid soil sampling
– Crop Scouting
Learning more about NEW Cooperative Agronomy Internship!
2023 Agronomy Internship Information
Intern Testimonies
Noah Schank
Noah grew up in Arcadia, Wisconsin on a large dairy farm that sparked his passion for agriculture. This led him to attend Iowa State University to study Agriculture Business. Noah heard about the internship opportunities at NEW Cooperative through attending an ISU Career Fair. He was attracted to the large scale of the company and how broad the opportunities they offered were. A normal day for Noah is; reporting to Blairsburg location seed shed, where the first part of his day is spent helping around the shop, talking to customers, loading trucks, loading chemicals, ect. He then goes to crop scout fields taking population counts, along with checking for weeds, bugs, and any areas of concern while doing this he is taking reports of his findings to show customers.
Noah’s favorites part of his internship was “All of the people I have met, along with NEW Cooperative letting us go to DKU Days, where I can go learn from the seed representors about the different varieties in more detail. I also liked the industry tour and how our intern group is able to connect throughout the summer at different planned events, because at the end of the day we need to make connections with one another.”
Noah feels the biggest benefit of working with NEW Cooperative is “Learning from people in the industry, how they present themselves and work through the different obstacles in the day. I think it is going to be vital to my future career.”
Cooper Warner
Cooper is from Onawa, IA where he grew up on a family farm, which led him to attend Iowa State University where he studies Agriculture Business with a focus in Finance and minor in Agriculture Education. Cooper grew up seeing NEW Cooperative in his hometown and towns around him. “I felt like NEW Cooperative would give me a good opportunity to get my feet on the ground and just learn.” A normal day for Cooper would include: scouting fields, looking at the fields stage, weeds, bugs, and talking to farmers letting them know what he is seeing. He also helps to make sure sprayers are operating and transporting chemicals.
Cooper’s favorite part of his internship was “I like the people I work with. I think it’s a big aspect that makes it a good job. We are getting things done while having a good conversation.”
Cooper feels the biggest benefit of working with NEW Cooperative is “The ethic that you can build yourself from being in an internship like this. The biggest advantage since I am on my second internship with NEW Cooperative is they already know who I am. They know they can trust me to get the job done and they have given me more responsibilities.”
Carson Lambert
Carson grew up on a family farm located outside Fort Dodge, IA, where he raises cattle, hogs, and crops. Growing up on his family operation is where he cultivated his passion for agriculture. This passion led Carson to attend Iowa State University, where he majors in Agriculture Systems Technology. Carson learned about the internship opportunities by his family being long time partners with NEW Cooperative and through his sister who previously held an internship position here. “I knew it was a good local company that we were already partnered with. I also knew it was a good company that would give me opportunities to try different things and in the long run figure out what I want to do in the future.” A normal day for Carson included: working with seed and chemicals (delivering, and sorting), crop scouting, signing plots, and working with local farmers.
Carson’s favorite part of his internship was “Learning more about the crops and the different stages of growth that they go through, and what to look for at what stages they are in.” Along with the fact that “This internship is more catered towards what you would like learn and experience.”
Carson feels the biggest benefits of working with NEW Cooperative are “Learning how to better communicate with others. This internship has given me a lot of good practice talking to local farmers and the different styles of communication that goes along with it, along with getting the opportunity to talk to different representatives.” Carson also feels another big benefit of working with NEW Cooperative is “I wanted to still be able to stay around the farm and help. When I am not working for NEW Cooperative, I am on our own farm working”
David Wedemeyer
David grew up near Lake City, IA where he was a farmhand for different farmers. This experience led him Iowa State University where he majors in Agronomy. David was first introduced to NEW Cooperative through the different farmers he helped and through purchasing livestock feed. He became interested in the internship program through peers that had previously interned with NEW Cooperative. A normal day for David is: in the morning developing a game plan for the day with his supervisors, sorting seed totes, delivering or picking up chemicals, taking inventory, going to different locations, and communicating with customer.
David’s favorite part of his internship was getting to work with the other interns. “Seeing what all of my peers are doing for the summer”, along with “meeting new people who work or are customers of NEW Cooperative, and attending crop meetings.”
David feels the biggest benefits of working with NEW Cooperative are “Applying what I have learned in the classroom to real life scenarios.” Along with the fact of “It’s a well-rounded internship for example if you are there for an agronomy internship you are going to learn a lot more than just agronomy. It is an Agronomy internship and more…”
Jackson Vande Vorde – Precision Ag
Jackson grew up in Aurora, IA on a family farm. This led him to attend Iowa State University where he is majoring in Agriculture Systems Technology. Jackson heard about NEW Cooperative through the Iowa State job website. He became interested in NEW Cooperative after researching the company and viewing there mission and vision statements. “It just looked like a good place to work.” A normal day for Jackson is taking it day by day. “We take it day by day, anything from traveling out to sprayers or tractors, and collecting data from the monitors or troubleshooting for them.” When Jackson is not traveling he is doing work in soil maps setting boundaries for different fields.
Jackson’s favorite part of his internship has been “Learning about new technology out there for precision agriculture. Coming from a farming background that doesn’t use the technology it’s pretty eye opening.”
Jackson feels the biggest benefits of working with NEW Cooperative “Meeting all sorts of different people in different departments and asking them questions about what they do, along with asking them for career advice.” “The knowledge I gained from this experience will help me to get a job in the future”
Learn more about NEW Cooperative’s Precision Ag Internship
