Regan Fueurhelm – Ardent Mills

During my first few weeks here at Ardent Mills, my daily schedule was anything but routine. During my first few weeks I spent very little time in the lab and spent a lot of my days either doing safety training or following millers and packers around learning the ins and outs of the flour milling process. As the weeks progressed I slowly started to transition my way into the lab. After about a month, my tasks staid pretty constant throughout the week. For the most part, I was working on my end of the year project. Currently if the Albany, NY, plant has to ship any flour samples out to be tested on its baking quality, it has to be sent to a specialized bake lab which could take days or longer before the plant gets results. My end goal for this project is to develop baking standards for the different flour grades that the plant produces so they can test these samples in the lab. Originally my project started out as a reactive approach, if a customer was to call into the plant with a complaint, the lab could take a sample of the particular flour and see if there is any way to help the company make a small adjustment to their recipe based on the finding the lab found for a pup loaf test. As the summer progressed, my manager was curious to see if there was a more proactive approach that the lab could use a pup loaf test. The original recipe that is used for pup loaf testing takes approximately 7 hours to make a single batch. Although it took a few weeks, I believe that I have come up with a recipe that still allows the pup loaf to bake close to the same results as the original recipe and bakes in 4-5 hours. I was also able to increase the amount of sample that could be run in a day. This way the plant can test multiple samples each week and predict how the flour may bake and make suggestions to customers on how to tweak their own recipes to make a better product.  Included with this standards is a guide for trouble shoot problems that any baker may have.

Although the project keeps me pretty busy, I also have to keep up with a few responsibilities in the lab such as grabbing flour and wheat samples, running farinographs to test the flours stability, running mixograph to test wheat strength, and measure the amount of protein, moisture and ash using near infrared spectroscopy.

My last few weeks at Ardent Mills, I have added an additional project and I will be testing new mixed blends. Without going into too much detail, if these new blends bake as well as the previous blends, then this could help the company save thousands of dollars each year.

Caleb Davis – Ross Seed Co.

As a day to day perspective there are many different roles I play. This internship has taught me many valuable lessons and skills that I will be able to use in any career field. Going into this internship I knew the duties and responsibilities. After serving in this position it has taught me how to look at everything from different views and critically think on what I can do that will work the best. My daily responsibility is to ensure everything is running the best it can. I was heavily involved in purchasing of all parts. Getting an order together from current inventory levels and placing the order was a big point. After the order has been turned in, I scheduled transportation for that order weather it was our in company trucks or common carrier truck lines. We have another location that I worked very close with on purchasing, delivery, and inventory control. Not only can I name certain highlights for my experience but overall it was a job well worth it. I gained not only experience but skills that I can take with me to any career. Not knowing exactly how to feel once the internship started but over time how my opinion changed to a great outlook. It has also helped me in my personal life but communication and social skills. The personal and business skills I have achieved during my time is something that cannot be gained by anything but serving in an internship like I served in. As a summary of my time served it has been an absolute success in many aspects preparing me for any career I step into.

Kelly Risesell – Neel Vet Hospital

In the past weeks I have experienced many different things I had never been part of before. I learned how to draw blood and set catheters, also I have learned how to hospitalize patients. Daily routines include taking appointments. I would assess the dog/ cat and ask a series of questions based on what the animal has come to us for. I would then report back to my doctor and help her in the room. I have been part of countless ultrasounds and x-rays, working with over 10 different doctors during my time here. The work I have done has helped save many animals and bring smiles to families faces.

One of my favorite activities I took part in was laser therapy on a patient who is down in the back. He is an over 100lbs Great Pyrenees mix who has been hospitalized for over 2 months. I was able to shave the area, wipe it clean, then assist with the laser (pictured below). I also helped with his underwater treadmill therapy which allowed him to help move his back legs with ease. I have assisted in drain removals and helped with cancerous or diseased patients. Regardless of the predicaments I was able to handle my job with excellence. I truly believe I have learned an immense amount, however I acknowledge I still have quite a ways to go.

As I am approaching the end of the summer and my internship at Neel Veterinary Hospital, I am very saddened. I have truly enjoyed my time working here and I’m excited to extend my position as a Veterinary Assistant to weekends during the school year. I have learned so much in these two short months. The experience I have had is invaluable, Neel Vet bestowed a large amount of trust and duties on me which I graciously accepted. Working 44 hours a week has taught me that I am strong enough to become a vet and handle this lifestyle.  I have made connections with doctors, assistants, technicians, patients, and clients that will impact me and last a lifetime.

Coby Wilson – Grant Co. Feeders

Center pivots and Cattle…Environmental to Feedlot Health. The last leg of the ride…

 

Summer is over and it feels as if it just began. Everything in life has a tremendous beginning, with the excitement of something new on the horizon. The moments leading up to that beginning are full of ideas and thoughts of what this opportunity will bring you. Then as if the beginning passes in the blink of an eye, you can see the end drawing near. As the end draws closer the feelings and memories of the summer start replaying in your mind and you relive the joy and excitement you longed for at the beginning.

The last leg of the ride has been a tremendous experience. My third rotation placed me in the Yard Maintenance Department where I was exposed to the Environmental issues that are faced by the feedyard. Water is the number one concern with the feedlot. Run off has to be contained to prevent pollution of other water sources and fresh water has to be available to keep the extraordinary number of cattle happy and healthy. The captured water is tested for the nutrient value and then pumped to center pivots on the crop circles. This allows the ability to get rid of the captured waste water as well as growing crops to use in the rations on the feedyard.

The next step in the excitement of the internship came from the Internship Seminar in Greeley, Colorado. Being able to spend four days in the Rocky Mountains is what some people have only dreamed of.

The seminar began with a tour of the JBS Packing Plant in Greeley. If the vastness of the feedyard has you mesmerized, when you step into the 850,000 square feet of the packing plant, you feel very minuet and as you travel through, you begin to wonder which was is up and how did I get here.

As the cattle travel through the plant you see just how much labor goes into this last leg of the beef industry and you see the packaging of the product you have spent long cold nights, hot summer days, laughed and cried and loved every minute of whatever aspect of the lifecycle your involved in. From the time that calf hits the ground to the product being placed on a consumer’s plate, you have the pride of knowing that you helped feed the world.

After the plant tour we were able to tour another one of the company’s feedyards and see just how different each yard, among the company, varies. The highlight of this tour was to have lunch and here the story of how you can grow and become anything you want, as long as you are devoted and willing to drive forward. These words from CEO Mike Thoren gave hope and helped you keep the willingness to continue to better yourself and the unknowingness of what is to come.

As the trip continued we journeyed into the Rocky Mountains for the discussion and business part of the seminar. COO John Foley conducted the meetings and discussions as we were able to discuss what we wanted to see from future employers and talk about what our generation faced going forward. Millennials are the next wave to enter the workforce and their ideas of success are ever changing from past generations.

We stepped into real world situations as we were given three sets of cattle to decide which group would make the most money. We had to figure what the break-even cost was and decide how much we wanted to bid on the group of cattle, while striving to win the bid against the other buyers. The final aspect of the seminar, we were given a management scenario of a problem with employees and how we would handle it. These real world situations gave us insight on some of the challenges faced each and every day.

Returning from Colorado marks the downhill slide of the internship. I spent the final days in the cattle department learning the health protocol of sick cattle and the importance of early detection to best minimize losses. Shipping and Receiving allowed me insight on what goes on in getting cattle to the feedyard and the methods of sorting and processing to insure maximum potential. I was given the ability to look at cattle that were getting close to being shipped, establish an estimate on how that set of cattle would perform and grade and finally see the data after harvest. The ability to compare the data and picturing the cattle helped hone your skills and see how different genetics affect performance.

As my time in Southwest Kansas draws to a close I look back on my time here and I am truly blessed beyond words. I have met some tremendous people who I will always remember as well as true friends that will be in touch with regardless of where life takes us. I am so thankful for this opportunity presented to me.

August marks my Senior Year at Oklahoma State University and this is going to be the best year yet, opportunities are endless and what the future holds is a great motivator to keep your head down and keep plowing, making a difference and proving yourself to everyone who says you can’t do it and the satisfaction of coming back from a downfall and pursuing an education.
Summer 2016 goes down as the best with tremendous life changing opportunities.

 

Thank You for this opportunity:

JBS FIVE RIVERS RANCH CATTLE FEEDING, LLC.

Mike Thoren & John Foley

Chad Gross & Chuck Holcomb

And everyone else in the Five Rivers Family for giving me this opportunity and investing in my education and giving me insight to allow me to achieve in my future endeavors.

Blake Tucker – Deseret

Hey everyone,

Wow has the last month flown by,  from finishing up branding, to shipping yearlings, fighting fire, and building new corrals the last third of my internship has been a whirlwind for sure.

We trade help with the Padlock Ranch, and they came to five of our brandings, so we went to five of theirs, and the last one was the first day of July.  We had a visit from some of the higher executives from the company the second week of the month! That was so interesting, I got to pick the brains of 3 of the guys that are in charge of some of the largest ranches in the world.  We sat down with them and we talked about how Deseret Ranches has entered a deal with Cargill to create their own branded beef product called “Pasture Crafted” it’s the only branded beef product in the world that can be sourced to one company and one ranch.  I was so lucky to get to be a tiny part in the giant machine that is producing this awesome product.

 

I have been truly blessed to get to be part of such a great company, and learn so much from them.  The experience that I have gained has been incredible, and the doors that have been opened to me through this internship have been out standing.  I cant thank the great people here, or the great people at OSU enough for all the opportunities that I have been given.

 

GO POKES

 

Blake Tucker

Hannah Nelson – Cargill

Life in Schuyler, Nebraska, hasn’t changed much since I last wrote.  However, I have had some fun and found opportunities to be a volunteer hamburger contest judge for the local 4-H kids at their county fair.  The general manager of our facility, Jarrod Gillig (who is also an OSU alum), asked management employees if anyone wanted to volunteer for such an opportunity and somehow I was called on.  The interns for Cargill are also participating in the parade the county fair will hold on Sunday July 24 (pictures from both to follow later) by walking with the Cargill float we built and passing out candy to parade onlookers.  Both are sure to be a fun time!

One of my biggest projects this summer has been to prepare the employees and the facility for the BRC (British Retail Consortium) Audit.  This week, July 19-21, we had the auditor visit and give us our yearly rating.  Of course this was something I have fretted over the last few weeks.  All the fretting paid off though when we received the highest rank possible, an AA.  I will sleep soundly for the rest of the summer.

I do very much enjoy being in the facility on the fabrication floor.  Working with and getting to know the people has given me the motivation to get out of bed during my time here.  Having this tremendous opportunity to get to work with people at Cargill has been something I’ll cherish forever.

Chandler Steele – Cargill

As my final few weeks in Fort Worth wrap up, my fellow interns and I have been working hard on our presentations for Intern Farewell. We will be spending two days in Wichita, Kansas at Cargill Beef Headquarters presenting our project findings to the executive team and learning more about the culture of Cargill and what the company is doing today to, “help the world thrive”, as the slogan goes.

 

My projects at the plant are winding down and all of my research and trials are coming full circle. My major metal detector project is near complete and should solve some inconsistencies in the program and make the lives of all the stakeholders much easier when detection events occur. It has been rewarding to be challenged with solving a problem that is vital to the success of the facility and ensuring high levels of food safety.

 

My secondary project is complete and the thing I will take away most was working with the stakeholders and getting to interact with them on the production line. Many of them didn’t know what my purple hard hat stood for (all job descriptions wear color coded hard hats, interns wear purple) and when I told them I was an intern, their next question was always “Do you go to TCU?” I had to inform them that I was a product of the rival from the North but nevertheless they were very welcoming and accommodating to me asking questions, even if my Spanish was a little rusty.

 

The past few weeks have been spent doing a lot of networking with people from different departments within Cargill. One of the main objectives of the internship program is to connect students with mentors and industry contacts that can aid them in their future endeavors. I have had a great time getting to know different people in many different departments on the plant level and the corporate level as well.

 

I have really enjoyed my time in Fort Worth and hope everyone is cherishing their last few weeks before heading back to school! Go Pokes!

Jacob Green – J&J Cattle Co.

While working at J&J, I have done many activities that I have enjoyed and some that I have not enjoyed. My overall experience has been very educational, from start to finish or correcting a mistake. I have done many tasks such as feed, vaccinate, break calves, haul cattle, livestock show care, and much more. I have also learned how to study cattle for desirable traits and what kind of cattle to select for breeding. As I write this, I begin to recall all of these activities and think about what I learned from them. But what I forget to think about sometimes is all of the hours in maintenance myself and Dr. Johnson spent to keep the ranch in operating condition. A large portion of ranching is fixing a problem or learning from a mistake, commonly referred to as trial and error. What I have noticed is, mother nature and the animals do not always cooperate with the ranch settings. I have spent countless hours repairing fence, fixing automatic waterers, mowing the grass, and picking up tree limbs. These might seem to be jobs that aren’t favorable, but they are the little jobs that keep the ranch going. It is critical to keep fence maintained to keep the cattle in a specific location for their benefits. J&J is a purebred operation as well as a show calf operation. The cattle must be cared for differently on the aspects of when they will get bred, what bull they will get bred to,  when they will calve, have they calved, and weaning. This is where fencing maintenance is critical. Keeping the cattle separated into groups of like features will make vaccinating, sorting, checking, and preparing easier and more efficient. Cattle, as well as humans, must have water, so it is important to check all water sources often to make sure everything is correct. At J&J we use Mara fount automatic water systems. These are extremely important to keep maintained because these are the only water source in the pens and if they do not work correctly than the cattle will not have an ample amount of water. Last but not least, mowing the grass. I have learned that mowing the grass and keeping the ranch looking nice is important. In the day and time, we often judge a book by its cover and keep that thought with us until we read the book or hear somebody else’s opinion. What would you think if you drive by a ranch that was well known but had a poor lawn care service? The ranch would have a frowning look if it was not cared for. Keeping the lawn and landscape up to par gives a sense of pride, or juts shows that this place is cared for from the quality of the cattle to the grass being mowed. My point in all of this, is that even though the cattle and the cattle program is what the ranch is about, the small things and maintenance are what keep it going. I have enjoyed my intern experience this summer at J&J and have learned a tremendous amount of information that I will carry with me into my future. In my high resolution photo, I am showing you a bull that I was able to purchase. After talking with Dr. Johnson and listening to what he said about how to choose breeding cattle, looking for desirable traits, finding how they will improve my heard, I was able to carefully find a bull to bring into my own herd that will have a large impact on quality and herd improvement.

Kyler Brumley – Cargill

As I am wrapping up my summer internship with Cargill, I am so thankful for the opportunity I have been presented with this summer. Cargill is a great company that has such a huge global brand. Not only do they represent agriculture well, they also have a great since of pride and respect for all their employees. It is often thought that companies that are as big as Cargill main focus is making a profit, but as I have spent this summer working for them I have realized safety is one of their top priorities.  This summer has been quite an experience. Growing up with a background in poultry I did not go in completely unaware of what I was getting myself into. Turkeys were definitely something new to me and outside my comfort zone. I have got to see all processes and sides that go into the Cargill turkey and cooked meats program. I have spent time in the growout, breeders, live haul, hatchery, feed mill, and plant. I was given a project at the start of my internship working with Darkling beetles. Darkling beetles are a bug that is often found in the brood barn at growout barns. They are not only a pest, but can do $2000 to $5000  worth of damage to insulation each year. They also create gaps under the foundation as well as are carriers for many bad bacteria and protozoa and have even been linked to transmitting Avian Influenza. It was put on me that this project holds a great deal of value to our company vet as well as pesticide suppliers. The cost of my testing was about 23,000 dollars. It was money that was very well spent in providing very useful data for or pesticide and beetle treatment program, as well as for Cargill. I got to sample three different locations for my testing California Missouri, Springdale Arkansas, and Buffalo Missouri. I owe a lot of people credit for the knowledge they have taught me this summer and the help I received in my project, probably to many people to be listed. This summer was not all work and no play. I had two fellow interns, one from Kansas State and the other from University of Illinois. We had our disagreement like usual interns do, but we had a lot of fun. One of the most interesting things we did this summer was go on a haunted night tour of the Missouri State Penitentiary. It opened its doors the same year the Alamo fell and has been on numerous paranormal investigation shows such as the Syfy series Ghost Hunters. It is nicknamed the bloodiest forty seven acres in America. It even was the place where the famous boxer Sunny Listen got his start. For those who don’t know who that is, have you ever seen the photo of Muhammad Ali standing over someone lying face down on the mat with him flexing, Sunny Listen is the guy on the mat. It has been a pleasure to work with the people I have this summer and as it comes to a close the next couple weeks it is kind of saddening. I have gotten extremely close to my coworkers and they have become like family to me. As I prepare for my presentation in Wichita I am very excited to present my hard work and research. I am thankful for this opportunity and am very much thinking about a future with Cargill.

Giovanna Facchini – Atwoods

Now that it is the end of my summer internship at Atwoods, I can say that I have learned quite a lot. I have learned the most through customers I’d have to say. Whether it be animals, equipment, or structures, there is always a trick-of-the-trade that makes day to day activities and work easier and more functional. I enjoyed working with all of the other employees as I learned things from them as well. My supervisor is to thank for allowing me to partake in this internship because without it, I wouldn’t have the knowledge that I do and have met the people that I did. This was a great learning experience and I would recommend it to whomever was seeking to partake in this program through OSU.