When given the opportunity to speak to students at UNL last month, CVA Feed Operations Manager, Morry Volquardsen, and myself eagerly accepted. The Senior Capstone course is taught by Professor Jim MacDonald in the Animal Science Division. During our discussions in class, careers existing within CVA and in the animal industry were brought to light. Morry and I shared our knowledge about being a part of a business that supports livestock nutrition. And for many of the students who have been learning about nutrition and management practices, it was nice to expose them to real life experiences.  

Discussions began with our internship program which includes feed positions in the mill, accounting, and sales. Students were able to gain insight on what those jobs entail on a daily basis. Next, each mill was individually discussed, as they are all different, as well our retail sites. We feel our HACCP certification and safety standards are unique and help CVA stand out from the competition so this was incorporated in the presentation as well. Next, operations and management decisions on product offerings, promotions, advertising, and thoughts behind expansion were a few of the questions we addressed.  A week prior, the students had had an in-class problem where they had to make decisions using a feedmill as a resource so it was perfect timing for our visit.

Lastly, we shared Central Valley Ag’s Mission and Vision statements and then had the students make up their own. The value of these statements was stressed to the group. We also explained what a CO-OP is, the importance of our core values, and how our board of directors play such an important role in the cooperative. When asked about our size, we shared this phrase: “We do not believe that bigger is better, we believe better is better” to help the students understand our growth direction.

Everyone has a unique career path and the steps on how we got to our positions today was fun to share with the groups. Hopefully it gave some confidence to those unsure of what direction to go after graduation.  It was refreshing to see such a bright group of individuals wanting to be a part of agriculture and the great things they plan to accomplish.