A Summer of Learning: CVA Intern August Scholting Expands His Knowledge

     It is only 9 in the morning, but the sun is already beating down, and the air is thick with humidity. The spreader is being filled up with fertilizer as CVA summer intern August Scholting settles in for another round. As June comes to a close and July begins, the heat starts to play a factor in the operators’ day to day work.

     “I am in the A/C today, so I can’t complain too much,” he laughs. He has already been at it for three hours and will stick with it for at least another ten.

     He is used to the long hours, though. Growing up on a farm in Wisner, Nebraska, he has been around farming and agriculture all his life. He is accustomed to working in acres, not hours. On the farm in Wisner, his family (mom, dad, one older sister, two younger sisters, and one little brother) grows corn and soybeans and raises broiler chickens.

     August spends the majority of his time working with the row crop, but he also has been helping out in the chicken barns since they were built in 2018.

     “I honestly didn’t mind [working in the chicken barns].” He says, smiling, " I do whatever I can to help and whatever needs to be done, but I have much more involvement on the crop side of our operation.”

     “I love being on the farm. I love working with my dad and my family, and there is nothing else that I would rather do.”

     August will be a sophomore this coming fall at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa, studying diversified agriculture. He chose diversified agriculture so that he could receive a well-rounded overview of agriculture in general. With his major, he eventually wants to return to the family farm, but only after gaining as much experience as possible.

     “I applied at CVA to get an experience outside of the family farm,” Scholting says, “to get another perspective on agriculture. I know I want to end up at the family farm, but probably not right after I graduate college. I want to see where life takes me and get a few more different experiences outside our farm.”

     Although we are only halfway through the summer, August is already gaining lots of experience and new knowledge. He received his CDL license and applied for his applicators permit just prior to our meeting, which was a goal for him coming into the internship this summer. He is also learning more about the dry-spreading operation and what it all entails.

     “I was never around dry spread on my own farm, so I didn’t know a whole lot,” says Scholting, “I have learned a lot about it here at CVA, like how the equipment and the process works and what products do what and go where.”

     Another skill that has grown for August is his customer service. He doesn’t have a lot of interaction with farmers individually, but if he sees the farmer while he is spreading or if he needs to call them for something, he doesn’t hesitate.

     “Just trying to keep the farmers happy,” he laughs.  “I enjoy talking to them, but for the most part, we just do what we do and do it fast while holding ourselves to a high standard.”

     With all the experiences August is getting, there are bound to be some struggles and learning curves that come along.

     “Driving cornrows at a higher rate of speed was a struggle to get used to. It was a big adjustment.”

     For a better understanding, when planting or harvesting in the spring or fall which is what August is used to, the average speed of a tractor or combine is roughly 5 mph. The average speed of a spreader or sprayer is 15 mph. The difference is very noticeable. The ride is much rougher with the speed.

     “It’s pretty bumpy,” says Scholting, “your back is sore by the end of the day sometimes. It is best when the field is flat. When the field isn’t tilled or there are no curves or side hills, I know I am golden.”

     August spreads in fields anywhere from North Bend to Rosalie to Blair. He sees all kinds of land.

     “I was up in Rosalie the other day, and it was very bumpy, made me miss being by North Bend, perfectly flat, just got to be worried about not getting stuck,” he laughs.

     Another skill that had to be learned was staying between the rows when spreading.

     “It is a lot easier when the corn isn’t so tall. Once the leaves start covering the rows, it gets a little trickier. That was also something that took some time getting used to.”

     But August looks at struggle as a good thing.

     “If you aren’t constantly learning and adapting, you aren’t going anywhere but backward.”

     After dry spreading is done for the season, August wants to get in a sprayer for a while and learn more about that operation, or potentially branching out and learning more about grain marketing. But for now, his goal is to finish dry spreading and continue learning as much as possible.