Internships are More than Fetching Coffee

Spring quarter is quickly coming to an end, which means that summer break is almost here! However, this does not mean that learning is going to come to a pause. In fact, many students will have the opportunity to continue growing and learning from industry experiences. Meet a few students from the College of Agriculture who have exciting plans for the summer!

Vander Horst Dairies of Texas – James Weber, Dairy Science Major
Stephenville, Texas

Company Background: Vander Horst Dairies of Texas is a sole proprietorship based out of Stephenville, Texas. The company consists of five dairies ranging in size from 400-4000 cows. They have a total of 10,000 Jersey and Jersey x Holstein crossbreeds. They eventually intend to move to purebred Jerseys.

Responsibilities: My internship is a 10-12 week job that involves going to a different dairy each week. I will essentially be replacing a manager or assistant manager for a week and giving them some vacation time. This will include responsibilities in many different areas of the large dairy operations, from working with veterinarians to buying commodities for the operation.

Most Intriguing Aspect: I personally enjoy experiencing the dairy industry in different areas. I have worked in the Mid-East, Northern California, Central California and at Cal Poly. I am excited to see another area of the U.S. and new ideas and techniques specific to the region. Several other aspects of this operation that excite me are crossbreeding systems, embryo transfer on a large scale and a large farm using a rotary parlor.

Advice for Younger Students: College lasts four years, five or six for special people. You should get an internship each summer or strive to work during the school year at a job that is relatable to your future career. It is understandable if you have to work at a grocery store to earn money for college, but you have to realize that a job like that may not benefit you as much as working for a vet clinic if you eventually want to enter into production medicine. To sum that up, get out there and get acquainted with your field. You will never regret it.

American AgCredit – Alayna Renner, Agricultural Education Major
Santa Rosa and Varying Branches, California

Company Background: American AgCredit is part of the nationwide Farm Credit System. They specialize in providing financial services to agriculture and rural customers throughout California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Kansas, and Oklahoma, as well as to capital markets customers in more that 30 states across the nation. They offer a broad range of agricultural loan and leasing services.

Responsibilities: I will be an appraisal intern for them. During the first three weeks, I will go through their basic credit and lending information classes. After that, I will be sent to a few of the different branches throughout California and help put together the current appraisal projects they have in progress. I will be assisting the appraisers with reports from start to finish, including area information and comparable sales analysis.

Most Intriguing Aspect: What I like about American AgCredit is that it focuses on and caters to agriculture producers. They understand the problems agriculturalists face and know how to work with them. One part I like about this internship is that I will have opportunities to go out to the customer’s business and interact with them. Also, having the opportunity to work directly with appraisers to find out if this is a path I want to take is very ideal for an internship.

Advice for Younger Students: Ask your friends and family members what internships they did and see if any of them spark your interest. Go to career fairs and hand out your resume, even if you are only slightly interested in the internship.

Hilmar Cheese Company – Alexa Cabral, Dairy Science Major
Hilmar, CA

Company Background: They are a cheese processing company that specializes in manufacturing cheddar and American cheese. Their products are marketed as both private label and through national brand and foodservice companies throughout the nation. They were founded in Hilmar in 1984, but they have expanded in recent years to include a facility in Dalhart, Texas. They annually produce more cheese from the facility in Hilmar than any other single site manufacturer in the world. They receive about 21 million pounds of milk from more than 230 dairies daily.

Responsibilities: I will be working with quality systems in the Hilmar office. It is an eight-week internship that will give me the opportunity to learn more about the company and industry as a whole. I will be involved in assisting with the sustainable production of quality cheese products.

Most Intriguing Aspect: I love that they are small scale and family focused. They have very strong ties with their producers. Also, I appreciate that they are growing with their new plant in Texas.

Advice for Younger Students: If you are interested in expanding your knowledge in a field, do an internship! I wish that I would have taken more opportunities while I was here at Cal Poly and done an internship sooner than my final summer in college.

Syngenta – Zack Weimortz, Agricultural and Environmental Plant Sciences Major
Northern California

Company Background: Syngenta is one of the world’s leading companies with more than 27,000 employees. They have a presence in approximately 90 countries. They are dedicated to the purpose of “bringing plant potential to life.” Their goal is to develop innovative products that help farmers grow more from less. The company headquarters are in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Responsibilities: I will be working as Syngenta’s Northern California sales intern. My daily duties will consist of many varying responsibilities, such as setting pest traps for our pest control product line, compiling company related data for publication and working with the regional sales reps in the field talking to growers and potential customers.

Most Intriguing Aspect: I am intrigued by the seeds sales spectrum, with everything from breeding to producing and marketing. I am interested in the technology that is developed to produce a plant with qualities and traits in an efferent manner – the benefit to the grower is astounding.

Advice for Younger Students: Experience is a must in this industry. My advice is to start internships or summer work that is related to your interests or area of study early. Also, never assume you will get a job just because of your resume – network, network, network! You should research any company you are interested and not be afraid to introduce yourself. Take advantage of the opportunity to talk with people at career fairs and meet and greet dinners; get to know representatives.

United States Congress – Nicole Billington, Agricultural Business Major
Washington, D.C.

Company Background: I’m not allowed to publicly affiliate myself with the Congressman before I begin my internship and am trained, but I will be working with a United States Congressman. He sits on the House Committee on Agriculture and represents his constituents on a number of other issues.

Responsibilities: As an intern, I will be attending hearings and authoring briefs for legislative staff, assisting with constituent correspondence, conducting tours of the U.S. Capitol and conducting policy research.

Most Intriguing Aspect: The agriculture policy issues on which I will be working intrigue me most.

Advice for Younger Students: Utilize your network. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people; they want to help you.

Schilling Robotics – Alex Paris, BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Major
Davis, CA

Company Background: Shilling Robotics manufactures remotely operated subsea vehicles and manipulator arms. Their products are used extensively in the oil and gas industry and operate in the most remote and extreme conditions on earth.

Responsibilities: I was hired as a Mechanical Design Intern and will be working in product development.

Most Intriguing Aspect: I am most interested in the technologies that are used and developed on a day to day basis, as well as the level of expertise of the engineers that I will be working under.

Advice for Younger Students: Get involved now! So many great clubs and extracurricular activities are at your fingertips here at Cal Poly. There is nothing that can replace the experience you gain from working with other students and faculty outside of class. These experiences will help you develop the skills that prospective employers are looking for. They will also help you build the confidence you need to go out and get that summer internship.

Latest “Editions”: New Team Brock Members 2013-14

No, ladies and gents, we did not forget how to spell. Team Brock has two new faces, additions that are sure to produce fantastic editions next year. We are excited to share that Alex Beeler and Jordan Dunn will be joining Team Brock as Associate Editors of Ag Circle for the 2013-14 school year. We thought the best way to introduce this dynamic duo would be for them to share their vision for next year, what they love about agriculture and a snapshot of their personalities.

Alex Beeler

1) What do you want to accomplish as a Brock Center Associate next year?

I am beyond excited to serve as a Brock Center Associate next year because I think our team will accomplish so much!  I want to contribute my graphic design skills to help in maintaining the professional look of the Ag Circle magazine. I also want to teach other ag communicators about photography and design by having the Brock Center host workshops that are open to CAFES students. Finally, I hope to reach out to a larger audience of reader’s to continue spreading the good news of agriculture!

2) What is your favorite part about the people in the ag industry?

We are very fortunate to be a part of the tradition of agriculture and it is the people within the industry that make it such a joy to work in ag.  Agriculturalists know what it means to work together as a team.  For this reason, the people are always very inviting and encouraging to one another.  There is an irreplaceable sense of camaraderie when everyone is working towards a common goal.

3) What ag issues/topics would you like to blog about next year?

As ag communicators, we are lucky to have the task of reaching both aggies and non-aggies alike, by spreading agriculture’s message in a positive way. I would like to blog about different ag topics including: effective management practices, agriculture in politics, the bee industry/Cal Poly’s enterprise project, food safety and sustainability (just to name a few!).

4) What is your least favorite word and why?

There aren’t very many words that I don’t like, but if I had to choose one I would have to say “dull”. First, I really don’t like the sound of the word.  Another reason is because I have never heard “dull” being used to describe something in a positive way. I think if anything is considered “dull” there is probably a way to turn it around and liven it up!

 5) If you could have any super power, what would it be and why?

If I could have any superpower, I would choose Element Manipulation.  If you control the elements, the possibilities are endless! You could walk on water, move mountains or even control the air to make you fly!

 6) What three items would you take with you on a deserted island and why?

Three things on a deserted island: my camera, my dad and a surfboard. I would bring my camera because I love taking pictures and it would be a great way to document my time on the island!  Also, my dad because he is the handiest of handymen. He could probably make a shelter with some twigs and a shoelace. It would also be nice to have some company.  And lastly, I would bring a surfboard.  I don’t know how to surf, but it would probably be a good time to learn.

Jordan Dunn

1) What do you want to accomplish as a Brock Center Associate next year?

Next year, I’d really like to increase the public awareness of this very blog. With social media becoming such a vital part of today’s culture,this incredible blog should be known by everyone in the agriculture industry. I believe that blogging is becoming more and more popular and that the Brock Center Blog has the potential to become an online source of information for the entire industry.

2) What is your favorite part about the people in the ag industry?

My favorite part about the people in the ag industry is the passion that everyone shares for the future of agriculture. Everyone feels so strongly for what they do and it shows through in every aspect of the industry. Without this inner drive, agriculturists wouldn’t be able to provide for the soon to be 8 billion people on earth.

3) What ag issues/topics would you like to blog about next year?

I am interested in blogging about the issue of negative press in the ag industry and the importance of making sure people (especially children) know where their food comes from.

4) What is your least favorite word and why?

My least favorite word is “Food-Baby”. In case you don’t know the context, here is an example of how it’s used: “Oh wow! I ate so much food and now I have a huge food-baby!” Whenever I hear someone use this word, it upsets me because it is so off-putting…well, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it still grosses me out.

5) If you could have any super power, what would it be and why?

I would have to say that, although super cliche, I would want flying to be my super power. It would be awesome to be able to have a bird’s-eye view on everything. Not to mention I could get some awesome pictures from up there!

6) What three items would you take with you on a deserted island and why?

This was actually a fairly hard question for me to answer, but I finally decided on what I would bring:

     - My Snow Cone Machine (with unlimited ice and grape flavored syrup). The ice and syrup might be a stretch, but living without my daily snow cone might have a negative effect on my ability to survive.

     - My Purple Snuggie. In case you have been living under a rock, a Snuggie is the infamous blanket with sleeves! “It can keep [me] warm from head to toe, while allowing the complete freedom of movement,” as stated by the official Snuggie website. Not only would it keep me warm on cold nights, but I could string it up and use it as a hammock if I wanted!

     - My Canon DSLR Camera (with unlimited memory and battery life). To keep busy, I would entertain myself by taking all kinds of fun pictures of waterfalls and birds! Facebook sharing capabilities would be greatly appreciated.

Cal Poly State FFA Finals

Written By: Amanda Meneses, Associate Editor

My first encounter with Cal Poly was in a blue and gold jacket. My adviser, Mr. Mederos, a Cal Poly alumnus, wanted our Cooperative marketing team to experience Cal Poly’s campus for ourselves. This past Saturday, May 4, 2013, over 1,800 students also experienced Cal Poly while competing in a statewide competition.

The FFA State Finals has been a tradition at Cal Poly for 80 years. This year, California FFA members competed in 21 Career Development Events for the title of State Champions. Students have practiced and refined their skills for months with the guidance of their agriculture advisers and coaches.

Not all of the 21 events that took place at Cal Poly have a national level contest. However, for those that do, the winning teams will represent California at the National FFA Convention in Louisville, Kentucky October 30th – November 2, 2013.

Each year presents new experiences and challenges new learning growth for State Finals participants. This year, the meats judging contest returned to the Cal Poly contest, utilizing the new state of the art Meats Processing Center.

For some, lunchtime is a highlight of the long and exciting day. This year over 3,000 tri-tip sandwich meals were served to students, advisers and volunteers. The Cal Poly State FFA Judging Finals Committee dedicated the 2013 competition in honor of “The Three J’s.”

For 30 years, Jack Dewar of J.B.Dewar, Jim Brabeck of Farm Supply Company and John Boyes of Farm Credit West have completely funded the lunch served. From purchasing materials to preparing the meal, these three men have fed over 75,000 FFA members, advisers, faculty, staff and friends. Their incredible generosity is not only greatly appreciated, but they are strongly respected for the lasting support they have continued to give over the years.

The day concluded with a packed crowd in the Cal Poly gymnasium anxiously awaiting recognition for their hard work and dedication towards competing in the 2013 California State FFA Finals.

It is my pleasure to introduce to you the winners:

Cal Poly Soil Judging Team Competes at Nationals

Story by Joshua Fridlund

Last week, six Cal Poly students and one faculty left the warmth and sunshine of California to compete at the National Collegiate Soils Competition in Wisconson. The contest is sponsored by the Soil Science Society of America and was hosted this year by the University of Wisconsin Platteville. This year, 23 teams from across the nation came together to compete for the title of National Collegiate Soils Champions.

The Cal Poly team is composed of Jason DeMoss, Laurie Fraiser, Katie Grosssmith, Yamina Pressler and Max Ross, along with graduate student Ariel Namm and advisor Dr. Karen Vaughan. The team spent six days in the area of Wisconsin known as the Driftless Region for its unique lack of glaciation during the last major ice age. The first four days were spent traveling to various official practice pits around the area to familiarize themselves with local soils, which are often radically different from the soil found on California’s Central Coast.

“I had never been exposed to a bright redish pink Lacustrine (lake) deposit parent material, loess plains, glacial outwash, or pedisediment,” Pressler said. “One soil even had buried metal wires that were classified as Human Transported Material. The diversity of the soils we were exposed to was beyond anything any of us expected.”

The last two days were dedicated to individual and team portions of the competition respectively. For the individual portion four members from each of the 23 schools were put into a rotation: one member to each of the three soil pits to be judged and one to the rest area. At each station students had one hour to describe and classify every aspect of the soil from texture to land use.

“We jump into a big hole and have 50 to 60 minutes to infer a whole bunch of characteristics about that particular soil,” Fraiser said. “Not only do we have to figure out things like texture and structure, we look at things that will tell us about land use. For example, redoximorphic features show us how high a water table would be (important for crops, septic tanks, etc.). Bedrock depth tells us what kind of buildings could be built and surface runoff rate helps us find how easily a soil would erode.”

The team portion of the contest, like the individual portion, offered different soils to be judged. This time each team tackled two different pits. Each school could have as many team members assist as they wanted, so every one could experience the judging process.

“The great part of the team portion is that no one gets left out,” Dr. Vaughan said. “One school had 13 team members in the soil pits at once.”

In the end, when all of the scores were totaled up, the Cal Poly team took tenth place out of the 23 teams. The team was pleased with this result because they had not spent much time with the contest material prior to competing. In the end though the contest wasn’t about who took home the trophy, but about the valuable real life skills the students gained and the connections they made.

“Soil judging is such a unique collegiate experience because there is really nothing quite like it in the college world that I’ve seen,” Jason DeMoss said. “The good mix of education, socialization, exploration and realization is something that is unique to the NCSC experience. It is so amazing to think that at the banquet there truly is no other time in which you will find so many college-aged people that care, love, and know so much about soil. The people you meet at the NCSC truly are the foundation to “America’s (even the world’s) Future.”

Only in Atwater: Making Vodka From Sweet Potatoes

I spent the majority of my Spring Break just relaxing with friends and family in my quiet hometown of Atwater, Calif. However, I couldn’t help but take a tour of one of Atwater’s most innovative, unique and fun agricultural operations.

Story by Jennifer Ray, Photos provided by Christine Woodman and Sweet Potato Spirits

Only in Atwater Calif. will you find a sweet potato vodka distillery. That’s right. David Souza’s family has been growing sweet potatoes in the San Joaquin Valley for five generations and he believed there was more that could be done with the nutritious vegetable. After over one and a half years of experimenting, Souza created an award winning product, the world’s only sweet potato vodka.

Why is this the world’s only sweet potato vodka, you may ask?

“I wouldn’t be so passionate about it if it weren’t for the challenge,” Souza said.

Vodka is made from distilling fermented substances like grains and potatoes. However, making vodka from sweet potatoes is a little harder. It takes ten pounds of sweet potatoes to make one 750 ml bottle of vodka. Every sweet potato used is hand selected and cured for upwards of 16 months. Souza has developed his recipe, which includes eight varieties of sweet potatoes, all grown on his family farm. Sweet Potato Spirits currently hand bottles about 800 bottles per week, a process that requires five people.

Souza and his two employees, two business partners, family and supporters believe the end result is worth the cost and effort. The unique product is one of the smoothest spirits on the market. The 33 judges at the 2011 World Spirit Competition in San Francisco gave it the Double Gold Medal. Some enjoy the vodka served straight at room temperature, but for those who prefer it with a mixer, the vodka actually enhances the added flavors.

The sweet caramelized taste of sweet potatoes makes the vodka smoother than other spirits. “There’s not a hint of the earthiness you get in traditional potato vodka; ours is a much cleaner taste,” Souza said.

However, the product may not meet every taster’s expectations. Souza jokes that some tasters expect the sweet potato product to be sweeter. “It’s not going down like Gatorade if that’s what you’re thinking… It’s sweet for vodka, but its still vodka,” Souza said.

The sweet potato vodka was first released under the label, High Roller Premium Vodka. This summer the company will release its new label, Corbin: California Estate Premium Vodka. The new label is named after David’s only son, Corbin Cash Souza. The product was originally marketed in Las Vegas, where Souza had previously worked in the restaurant and event promotions business for six years. Marketing a new label to nightclubs turned out to be more challenging than expected. High Roller is currently distributed to local liquor stores and across the nation.

Souza did not originally set out to make his own sweet potato vodka from scratch. After selling his businesses in Las Vegas, Souza developed his recipes and then presented it to manufacturers, hoping they would make the product. “Everybody said you’re crazy… That stuff’s way too hard to work with,” Souza said.

That’s why Souza set out and built his own distillery, right there on the family farm in Atwater. Souza brought his long-time employee, Sharon Ambrosia from Las Vegas, with him. Ambrosia enjoyed working for Souza and took a leap of faith in helping him get his new business established.

“The first trip I ever made to Atwater was in my U-Haul trailer,” Ambrosia said.

One of the most difficult tasks of daily operations at Sweet Potato Spirits is keeping up with both federal and state regulations for alcoholic beverages. All alcohol produced and sold must be carefully recorded and reported. New product launches must wait for federal label approvals. Souza is currently waiting for the approval of two new product labels, Corbin vodka and Corbin Cash sweet potato whiskey.

Souza has been aging whiskey for over two years now and is anxious to launch another product. There are other new products on the horizon, as the company plans to someday launch a 100 percent almond-based amaretto (from Souza’s own almond trees) and a sweet potato beer.

Souza will be showcasing his product this weekend at the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America 70^th Annual Convention and Exposition in Orlando, Fla.

The sweet potato vodka production is still very much tied to the Souza family’s deep agricultural roots and is environmentally friendly. Water from the processing is reused. Nutrients and vitamins in the skin are used as livestock feed and crop fertilizers. David Souza has found a way to give his family legacy in agriculture a little more kick!

The Importance of Passionate Agriculture Communicators

Story By Jordan Dunn, Agriculture Communications Freshman

What would you do for a dollar?

Would you watch a 4-minute video concerning animal cruelty?

Cal Poly students were given this opportunity last Thursday, April 11, as a group of individuals advocating animal rights visited campus. The group represented the Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM), and they were paying students one dollar to watch their promotional video! The organization encouraged students to watch the video and talk with one of their assessment members. Participants then received a dollar placed inside a farm animal abuse brochure.

FARM’s video viewing van, parked on Dexter Lawn at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Being an avid agriculturist, I fully support animal welfare. However, the video FARM shows to thousands of students – 79,669 students to date – portrays wildly inaccurate representations of the agriculture industries that support our country. The video was directed towards the poultry, dairy, beef and pork industries. 

Upon hearing about the van on campus, I felt obligated to speak to the people running it and try to effectively reason with them.

The first associate I talked with was fairly upset that I didn’t agree with her views on the matter. She then rudely dismissed me when I wouldn’t pledge to eat multiple meat-free meals throughout the week. The second person I talked with was much more reasonable, and we discussed the issue for about 15 minutes.

I made it clear to the man that I did not support their goal of ending animal agriculture, and that as an Agricultural Communications major, my goal is to represent agriculture in the positive light it deserves. With this, the man said, “I have talked to a lot of agriculture students like you, and 99 percent of them who watch this video feel strongly towards making a difference.” I walked away after about ten more minutes, simply because our conversation wasn’t gaining any ground. I couldn’t help but think of the movements being spread to represent agriculture positively, and how important they really are.

Movements such as I Love Farmers…They Feed My Soul strive to “…celebrate choice in the marketplace for our food and those who produce it.” Volunteers who advocate for American family farmers and ranchers run the organization. This type of exposure is what I, as an ag communicator, want to spread. I Love Farmers sets up displays on college campuses and talks with students about agriculture, making sure students come away with a sense of how the industry actually operates. College students are tomorrow’s leaders, and by accurately informing them on the ways of agriculture, we will be setting ourselves up for a promising future.

Situations like this are what remind me of why my peers and I have chosen to pursue a future in agricultural communications. I believe we can, and will, provide agriculture with the positive exposure it deserves.

As for my dollar bill, I plan on putting it towards a 100 percent pure-beef burger from In-N-Out!

INTRODUCING….

Ladies and gentleman the Brock Center is proud to announce that our website is officially LIVE…

Take some time today and check it out for yourself:

http://www.brockcenter.calpoly.edu/content/index