Three months, 12 weeks, and 84 days – where did the time go? I can’t believe I am sitting here writing my final blog as the LG Seeds Marketing Intern. Even though I am wrapping up my time as an intern, I made sure to take in one more adventure through the corn belt.

 Earlier this summer, I traveled to Elmwood, Illinois, to meet Sales and Agronomy Intern, Savannah Bordner. I decided I wanted to go back to Elmwood so I could get a tour of the AgReliant Production Facility that is located there. I was intrigued by everything I saw within the production facility. Growing up on a farm, I understood there’s more of a process than just harvesting the seed corn in order to have seed for the next growing season, but I never saw it firsthand. I was amazed by all the machines and technology that is used to keep the production facility flowing. I saw a machine that bags the corn, dryers, bins to store corn during busy time of harvest, a high-tech machine that treats all the seed and lots of sorters that get rid of the non-optimal kernels and removed all waste. With it being summertime, there wasn’t lots of activity going on besides seed returns. Someday I hope to return during harvest to see the process in full swing.

For the rest of my time spent in Illinois, Savannah and I drove around and looked at fields that I visited when I was with her earlier. Most of the corn is now in the reproductive stage, which is when the corn plant is focused on developing the ear of corn. It was fun to catch up with Savannah and talk about all the things we learned throughout the summer.

On my way home, it started to sink in that this was my last long road trip. I made sure to listen to my favorite podcast and music, as I reflected on my summer and everything I learned. Here are my three main tips for the lucky person who gets to follow in my footsteps next summer:

1. Always make sure you have everything you need before leaving home. I learned this lesson when I traveled to southeast Iowa. I was meeting with a District Sales Manager and when I got out of my car to ride with him, I realized I forgot my camera. As a marketing intern, that is something you need. I felt odd without my camera all day, but I went with the flow and took videos and pictures on my phone.
2. With this internship, you get to travel a lot of the country. Don’t be afraid to stop to take in all beauty – even if it’s in your home state. Most of the pictures you will take will be of corn and soybeans. However, take pictures of the scenery around you, you will never regret having those cool pictures of the places you traveled to.
3. This tip is for any intern, in any position, at any company. Enjoy every moment you have as an intern. There will never be another time where people are more excited and willing to teach you about anything you ask. I never met a single person all summer who didn’t want to help me learn. With that being said, take the time to really get to know everyone you meet and form a meaningful relationship. Even though I wasn’t with the same people every day of my internship, I hope that one day I will be able to connect with all of them again. You never know when those connections will help you in the future as you look for a job or anything else in life.

Now, ten states (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota) and 8,000 miles later, I am proud to say I have grown so much personally and professionally. I can now say I know how to write blogs, send branded email communications, edit pictures with Photoshop, create social media posts and work through Microsoft Teams. I also learned much more about crop production through hands on experience out in the fields than I ever thought I would. This experience is something I will forever be thankful for and I cannot thank AgReliant Genetics and LG Seeds enough for taking me under their wings this summer.