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Training Tomorrow’s Consultants
Crop Quest Internship Program Provides Hands-On Experience
by Ron O'Hanlon, President
Member, National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants, CPCC-I Certified
You many notice some new faces scouting fields this summer. This year, Crop Quest had the opportunity to employee 10, dedicated college students as interns. The students are from various colleges and universities within their surrounding areas. Not only will these students have the chance to experience a potential career firsthand, but many come back for more summers while finishing their studies. Some may even become full-time Crop Quest employees and pursue a career as an agronomist/consultant.
The Crop Quest internship program offers college students with at least one year of education under their belt to practice what they’ve been learning in school. The program consists of placing a student with one or more experienced agronomists who can teach and train the individual in what it takes to be a crop consultant.
The students have the opportunity to scout for various pests – weeds, insects and diseases – and what an economic threshold level means. The recommendation for treatment, or no treatment, may be the difference between success or failure of that particular crop and the profitability of that farmer. In addition, interns get firsthand lessons on environmental awareness and the impact cropping decisions may have toward contamination or pollution. The students also learn to pay attention to weather forecasts and how to plan various field operations to take advantage of weather breaks.
Crop Quest has a long tradition of providing internships that allow students to gain a working knowledge of agronomy. It’s one of the most important tools our company uses to ensure your farm is staffed with qualified, knowledgeable personnel at all times – now and in the future.
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