Form-A-Feed Internship a Great Learning Experience
Posted: September 17, 2015 | Written By: Allison VanDerWal, 2015 Form-A-Feed Summer Beef Intern
As the new school year begins, my time at Form-A-Feed has come to an end. For those of you I never got the chance to meet, my name is Allison VanDerWal. This summer, I served as the Form-A-Feed 2015 Beef Intern. Most of you might recognize me from either riding along with the beef, swine or dairy team, State Cattlemen’s Tour or Dakota Fest.
During my time with Form-A-Feed, I was fortunate enough to be a part of many projects. One of the first projects I was assigned was signing producers up for the Hydro-Lac app. I not only informed producers about the product but also how the app worked and how it could be beneficial to their operation. This project not only allowed me to become more familiar with Form-A-Feed’s Hydro-Lac product, but also with some of Form-A-Feed’s producers. Most of you may recognize me from one of my later projects, collecting testimonials about Form-A Feed’s sales team and T.E.N products. While I learned from each project I was assigned, my favorite project I worked on was promoting and informing producers and joint ventures about Hydro-Flexx.
I enjoyed learning and informing different producers about this product because of the science behind Hydro-Flexx. Between my internship with Form-A-Feed and knowledge I have gained from college, I have learned that you cannot argue with credible science and that is what Form-A-Feed brings to producers. I have always enjoyed and performed better in science and have never seen myself as a sales or marketing type person. However, I enjoyed this project because I did not look at it as forcing this product at producers but more as informing them about Hydro-FLexx, how it works, and how it could help their operation. The people at Form-A-Feed know that no operation is run the same and because of that, some products aid producers differently. Their species specialists, management team, and the Nelson family are there to help their customers so their operation can be successful. They truly do care about not only their producers but their animals and the operations they run. Form-A-Feed views your operations as their own.
Coming into this internship with Form-A-Feed I was excited and wanted to learn more about ruminant nutrition. Now as I have finished my internship I have left with more knowledge about not only nutrition, but about management, marketing, business planning, Form-A-Feed and so much more. I have always been told that internships are an amazing opportunity and I never fully understood that until this summer.
So with this I would not only like to thank my mentor Heidi Doering-Resch and the Beef Team, but everyone at Form-A-Feed for this amazing opportunity. The connections, knowledge and experience I gained this summer was incredible and I will use that as I begin to plan for my future career. Lastly, I would like to thank the producers and Joint Ventures. Thank you for taking time out of your busy summer to introduce yourself and teach me. Growing up on a farm myself I know how inconvenient it can be to talk when someone stops by the farm.
The knowledge and experiences you all shared with me will be useful as I continue my college career and start the next stage of my life.
Form-A-Feed would like to thank Allison for her time with our company and wish her all the best in the upcoming school year!
