Meagan SheehanDairy Feed Sales Intern

GROWMARKMay 21st – August 10th

Earlville, IA

History of GROWMARK

• GROWMARK system began in 1920’s with the organization of local cooperatives by Farm Bureau members– 1927 Nine local cooperatives organized to

form Illinois Farm Supply Company– 1955 Illinois Farm Supply Co. adopted the

FS trademark• From there GROWMARK has expanded to be

the headquarters, where FS are member cooperatives

Three Rivers FS Services and Products

• Agri-Finance• Custom

Application• Livestock feed

and consulting• Lubricants &

Greases

• Markets• Power Fuels• Precision

Farming• Seed• Structures• Turf

Competitors

• Dairy Consulting Specialists– Very close consulting and nutrition to

what we do and very dedicated clients• Petersburg Mill

– Clients dedicated to their mill because of it being a local mill

• Vita Plus– Located in Cuba City, WI

• Other independent nutritionist

Business Environment

• Competitive and fast-paced• New technology and information

– Nutritionist very knowledgeable – Able to provide clients with many

different and progressive options for feeding

• Interested in the profit of the producer along with the company– Taught producers how to produce better

forages to lower feed bill

Internship Goals• Prospect

– New dairy clients to start building relationships with the farmers• Relay my information to the nutritionist so

they can help me continue to retain the attention of the farmer

• Use and understand Streets & Trips to teach it to feed truck drivers

Day to Day Activity• First three weeks:

– Drove around with the nutritionist to gain a feel for experience in the country, conversation topics, and sales experience

• June-Mid July– Prospected new clients in new territory

• Mid July-August– Did day to day activities on my own that

the nutritionist would do• Deliver rations, take forage samples, walk

through cows, find out how the producer is doing and what might need to be changed.

What I expected and what actually happened:

• Spend time working with the nutritionist

• Spend time prospecting on my own– Gaining sales and on farm experience

• Learning about the nutrition and consulting industry

• Gaining on farm experience

Educational Opportunities

• Sales experience– On farm experience with and without the

nutritionist• Networking • Nutrition experience• Feed types• Consulting experience

• Dale Hefel – Feed Department Manager– DHEFEL201@aol.com 563-590-3155– Supervise feed nutritionist and mill workers– Buy feed for the mill

Things I will always take with me:

• The experience of being out on the farm– Getting my foot in the industry door– Talking with the farmers – The consulting experience from seeing many different farms

• The relaxed and productive atmosphere– Increased my leadership skills by watching a different

leadership style

• Not all business is good business– Not everybody is going to be a customer that will work out

best for a company

How I found my job:• Contacted Ag Careers Services website:

– https://ecms.eng.iastate.edu• Found a job that interested me, applied online

and was shortly contacted by:

• Mike Mitchell• GROWMARK, Inc.

• University Relations & Member Employment Specialist• Office: 515.251.8543 x 105

• Fax: 515.251.8584• E-mail: mikemitchell@growmark.com

• Mobile: 641-425-6058• Web Site: www.growmark.com

Questions?Meagan Sheehan

sheehanm@iastate.edu

612-396-0245