ONE COMPANY, TWO UNIQUE AG TECH internshipS
Both Coy Field (Pictured above; Agribusiness Management; Keawana, IN) and Justin Stafford (Agribusiness Management; Hope, IN) saw the value in getting a summer internship to develop their knowledge of the ag tech industry through hands on experiences. Each was drawn to an internship with Trimble Agriculture.
Coy’s connection with Trimble started on his family farm where they use Trimble auto guidance on their tractors, combine, and sprayer. Precision agriculture really sparked his interests, so he visited Trimble at the College of Ag career fair and never looked back. Justin was also looking for a role within an ag tech company, since his top interests are agriculture and technology. As he researched potential companies, Justin found Trimble and made sure to visit them at the College of Ag career fair. Both went through the intensive interview process and were accepted into Trimble’s internship program.
Justin (pictured above) worked as a Product Management Intern within the Water Management division in Westminster, Colorado. In this role, he was able to assist in the development of new and existing software programs within water management. He spent much of his time working with his team on a large restructuring of their flagships software system.
Coy was also located in Westminster, Colorado but took a role as an Agriculture Market Intelligence Analyst Intern within the Advanced Positioning department of Autonomy. There he completed competitive threat analysis comparisons, tested different high accuracy correction signals, created ag customer personas, reviewed reseller and dealer websites, and built calculator spreadsheets that modeled profit margins for different bundles of products.
For both Justin and Coy, this experience confirmed that agriculture was the correct industry for them to be in. When asked about their summer experiences at Trimble, each had valuable takeaways.
“The way that Trimble operates is very different from your typical company that does similar work,” said Justin. “The environment is very inclusive and allows for an intern to have a true impact on what is happening and constantly challenge their knowledge and skills.” He hopes to transition into a full-time role with the company post-graduation.
“One valuable take away is that company culture and the environment you work in should be a key component of what influences you taking a job or internship,” said Coy. “I loved coming to work each day and having a sense of importance in what I was doing.” Coy has stayed on with the company working on a Whitepaper/research project that looks at switching different farmer demographics to their higher correction services.
They each also had valuable advice for other students. Justin noted it is extremely important for students within the industry to pursue diverse experiences because the best way to find what you love to do is to dip your feet into as many different areas in the industry as possible. Coy encourages other students to broaden their horizons with the types of internships they think they want to pursue.
“Take the time a few days before the career fair and really look into all of the companies that are going to be there, not just the big names, and see what they have to offer,” said Coy. “Most of the time they will offer you the same or an even better experience than the big names can.”