2020 SUMMER INTERNS: TJ Schroeder

My name is TJ Schroeder, and I am currently an Animal Nutrition intern at the St. Paul location. This fall I will be a senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, majoring in Animal Science. As an Aurora Cooperative intern, I have had the opportunity of seeing many aspects of the agriculture and livestock industry. Going into this internship, I wasn’t sure what to expect due to the ongoing pandemic, but I can pleasantly say this has been an eye-opening and educational experience. A few things I have done throughout this summer internship are engaging with livestock producers regarding their animal nutrition needs, making multiple feed deliveries to livestock farms/operations, and making phone calls to livestock producers. I really enjoyed getting to know producers and their animal nutrition needs. This internship has helped me build relationships with those livestock producers.

Throughout the month of July, we have traveled to and will continue to travel to many county fairs to support our livestock youth. A program I learned about was the Aurora Cooperative’s A-Show program. This show feed program rewards junior livestock showman for working hard with their livestock projects. One thing I have learned throughout this internship is the genuine employees who make up Aurora Coop. Everyone is compassionate and willing to help out when needed to meet the needs of the growing livestock industry. They truly care about the livestock and agricultural industry, and they work to keep up with daily changes.

I would like to thank Aurora Coop and the Animal Nutrition team for granting me this opportunity of being an intern at their St. Paul location as well as for all their support throughout my internship. As the livestock industry continues to change the needs of animal nutrition will too, therefore I am glad I chose a place that puts producers first.  I have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge about animal nutrition, and I’m excited to see what the last three weeks of this internship will hold.