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The Power of 6 Month Internships – A reflection by Avery Pound

Our work at Cornell Ag Workforce Development is mainly with current farm employers and employees. Occasionally, however, we interact with the college students who will be the future of our industry. I asked Cornell senior, Avery Pound, to share his thoughts about his recent internship. Employers should pay special attention to his observations about successful internships and overall employee recruiting.

Richard Stup

In the ever-evolving landscape of higher education and career development, Avery Pound’s journey represents a bold deviation from the traditional path. For most students, the thought of taking a semester off to intern might seem daunting, but Avery’s decision to spend the spring semester of his junior year immersed in the dairy industry of the Texas Panhandle was anything but conventional. Utilizing spare credits and a winter term, Avery chose to embark on a six-month internship at a large, modern dairy farm, an opportunity that not only saved on tuition costs but also offered invaluable experience in agribusiness management. In this post, Avery delves into the unique insights gained from this extended internship, shedding light on the advantages of long-term internships and the multifaceted approaches to employee recruitment. From the hands-on experience of working within a booming dairy industry to the strategic benefits of extended internships, Avery’s reflections provide a compelling case for thinking outside the box in the pursuit of career and educational growth.

Avery reflected on his experience below:

 

Avery Pound
ajp299@cornell.edu

Avery is an Agricultural Sciences senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University.

 

 

Many people would argue that I have chosen a very non-traditional route to my senior year by utilizing spare credits accumulated in high school, a winter term, and throughout the semesters. I decided to take a leap from traditional studies and spend what would have been the spring semester of my junior year at Cornell interning in the Texas Panhandle for a large dairy farm. Six month internships are generally rare, with few college students opting for them due to the opportunity cost of missing out on a semester of college or losing the chance to study abroad.

For me, the decision was simple. Without adding any time to my four year undergraduate college experience, I could forego tuition costs for an entire semester, earn money, live in a unique area outside of rural New York or my home state of Illinois, and most importantly, gain a  unique perspective on agribusiness management. Texas recently passed New York as the 4th highest state in milk production in the nation, producing over 16.5 billion pounds in 2023. After performing two three-month internships with both my family’s farming operation and a corporate agricultural manufacturer, a six month internship at this large, modern dairy business provided a couple of unique takeaways regarding internships.

One major takeaway was the power of a six-month internship. These internships are beneficial because interns start to gain a clearer understanding of the entire operation after one or two months. During this time, they are being acquainted with different executives, managers, and employees, enabling them to communicate effectively within the organization. After discussing my projects and week-to-week responsibilities ahead of time, the first few weeks shed light on aspects I wished to learn more about. The latter months allowed me to delve deeper into specific projects and embed myself further into the company. For an employer, this type of internship allows them to identify and develop talent before the student graduates. In my case, I could now seek work with the company post-graduation and transition smoothly into many different roles due to my familiarity with the organization.

Another takeaway is the power of utilizing multiple forms of employee recruitment. The recruitment process begins in the community by prioritizing factors that make locals appreciate businesses, such as donations to charitable and public groups, on-time payments to vendors, and a positive presence by owners, managers, and employees. The next step includes utilizing tools like H2A labor, TN visas, and local ads for open positions. Finally, the use of interns still in college to perform a myriad of tasks generally centered around data collection, management, and analysis provides many opportunities to employers. Interns are exposed to all aspects of the business, with six-month interns being involved in a wider variety of tasks. Having multiple enterprises and managers/executives willing to provide resources for interns to learn, perform meaningful tasks, and ask questions creates a positive experience that is attractive to return to post-graduation.

Internships are often what students make of them and must be invested in by the supervisor for the employer to benefit. The primary reasons employers offer internships are to give back to aspiring students in their field, complete projects that might otherwise go unfinished, and recruit future talent. Both parties can prosper from a positive internship experience, providing significant utility to employers looking to recruit young talent.

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Permission granted to repost, quote, and reprint with author attribution.
The post The Power of 6 Month Internships – A reflection by Avery Pound appeared in The Ag Workforce Journal.

Hiring Asylees into Agriculture and Food Manufacturing Jobs: Webinar recording available

On April 5th, three Cornell programs (Small Farms, Ag Workforce Development, and Dairy Foods Extension) jointly hosted a webinar for employers who are interested in hiring asylees into agriculture and food manufacturing jobs. Find the webinar recording here.

Chris White, deputy commissioner for workforce development for the NY State Department of Labor was our first speaker. He shared the services that are available from various state agencies and a demographic profile of the asylum seekers, and some opportunities and barriers to employment. Many resources, including a form for interested employers to indicate their interest in asylum seekers can be found at the NYSDOL website.

In addition to Chris White, we were also joined on the webinar by two employers who have current experience with refugees and asylum seekers: Jeannette Kreher Heberling is a 4th generation partner in Kreher Family Farms, and Allison Bolet Cafaro is the generational impact manager for Great Lakes Cheese. Jeanette and Allison shared their experiences working with employees from different cultures and language backgrounds, and the successes they have experienced with the new employees and supportive community groups. They also shared the real and practical challenges, such as local transportation, that come with hiring refugees or asylum seekers in rural communities.

I wanted to draw attention to another resource, Cornell Small Farms program developed a resource website for Asylum Seekers & New Americans in New York Agriculture.

By Richard Stup, Cornell University. Permission granted to repost, quote, and reprint with author attribution. The post Hiring Asylees into Agriculture and Food Manufacturing Jobs appeared in The Ag Workforce Journal.

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USDA Farm Labor Stabilization Program: $65 Million for Employers

USDA recently announced the Farm Labor Stabilization and Protection Pilot Program (FLSP), to distribute $65 million in the form of grants to employers to “improve the resiliency of the food and agricultural supply chain by addressing workforce challenges farmers and ranchers face.” FLSP touts three goals:

“Goal 1: Drive U.S. economic recovery and safeguard domestic food supply by addressing current labor shortages in agriculture;
Goal 2: Reduce irregular migration from Northern Central America through the expansion of regular pathways; and
Goal 3: Improve working conditions for all farmworkers.”

Important details of the program are available at the FLSP website, including  that eligible applicants include employers who have used or at least applied to use the H-2A program, and the application deadline is November 28, 2023. This program encourages employers to recruit H-2A workers from countries in northern Central America: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. For this grant application it is critical to read the notice of funding in detail. Don’t just rely on what you see on the website and press releases, download and read this 32-page document thoroughly!

Pages 8-11 of the notice of funding get into details of what will be expected of farm employers who successfully receive a grant. Baseline requirements for all successful awardees include: universal protections and benefits for all employees, not just those in H-2A; employer participation in research that includes access to employers’ full workforce by USDA and federal partners; and “know your rights and resources” training provided by “farmworker-trusted entities.” In addition to these baseline requirements, successful grant awardees will also need to make certain commitments about their employment practices in three areas:

  1. Responsible recruitment: efforts to recruit H-2A workers from northern Central America using government ministries.
  2. Pay, benefits, and working conditions: example can include overtime, bonus pay, paid sick leave, and collaborative employee-management working groups.
  3. Partnership agreements, such as: participation in a worker-driven social responsibility program, participation in a collective bargaining agreement (union), committing to neutrality, access, and voluntary recognition when employees indicate an interest in forming a union.

For some employers, these conditions and expectations of receiving between $25,000 and $2,000,000 in grant awards may be a good fit. For other employers, these conditions will be much too intrusive in exchange for any amount of money. Farm employers should read the notice of funding in detail and reflect carefully about how they wish to proceed with this program. But don’t reflect too long, applications are due November 28, 2023, it’s time to get working if you want to participate in this grant opportunity.

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Employers Can Register to Connect with Authorized Job Candidates

Asylum seekers continue to make their way to the U.S. southern border and eventually to places such as New York City. Many of these people want to find work in the U.S. but the process for them to gain proper work authorization was a roadblock. On September 20th, the Biden administration granted parole to about 472,000 Venezuelans who were already in the country, many in New York. Parolees, from Venezuela and other countries, in the U.S. can apply for work authorization online which can happen quickly and may provide authorization for up to 5 years. Read more about the parole process:

With these changes, many of the asylum seekers in New York will soon gain work authorization if they have not already. The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL), through its Workforce Development division, launched this portal for businesses to notify the State if they are interested in hiring newly-authorized individuals. Once the information is in NYSDOL’s system, Regional Business Engagement staff will contact businesses to gather information about the company and open positions as well as provide additional business support services. Find additional information from NYSDOL about this process at: Asylum Seeker Employment Efforts | Department of Labor (ny.gov)

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Transition to Supervisor…in Spanish!

Training for Your Spanish-speaking Leaders!

Do you have some great employees with all the qualities needed to take the next step as a supervisor, but just need a little training and encouragement towards leadership? Or do you have some established supervisors that have received minimal training on how to handle conflict and lead their teams? Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development is now offering “Transición a Supervisor” – Transition to Supervisor completely in Spanish for the Hispanic workforce. This course is a way to help employees shift their focus from primarily completing individual tasks to overseeing team accomplishments. After this course, employees will be able to move into or strengthen their supervisory roles by embracing the mindset of a leader, learning how to handle conflict, and how to build their team to create an excellent work environment. Four bilingual teachers come together to offer a wide range of knowledge and experience.

“Transición a Supervisor” – Transition to Supervisor is offered completely online and includes interaction and discussion with instructors and peer participants. Course materials will be available on October 18, 2023, and weekly Zoom sessions will take place every Tuesday from 1-2 PM ET from October 24 to November 21. Space is limited, sign up now!

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