Jacob Berglund: A Word From an MKC Intern

By Jacob Berglund, TMA intern

Growing up, I was always asked what do you want to be or do when you grow up. Until now, I have always struggled to answer that question. But I now know I want to be in agricultural sales.

I grew up on a farm in Louisburg, Kan., which is about 30 to 45 minutes south of downtown Kansas City. I am currently a junior at Kansas State University majoring in agricultural technology management with a minor in agronomy. My family farm relies mostly on cattle, and right now that’s treating us pretty well. Though the farm is a great place, I decided if I wanted to land my dream job of being a salesperson I was going to need to know how to do more than fix fence and drive a tractor. Luckily, MKC and TMA were generous enough to offer me an internship with them this summer.

So far, this summer has been an interesting one to say the least. I’ve had the opportunity to meet new people, visit many new places and experience many new things while working with TMA. Most days I visit the countryside with field marketers who teach me the ins and outs about grain marketing. I’ve also learned a lot about what it takes to build trust with a customer and how important it is to have a rapport with your customers. As one of the field marketers told me, “Customers need to be able to trust you because you are dealing with their means of support.” Building customer relationships is what TMA and MKC strive to do every day and they will go out of their way to meet the needs of the producer.

As a summer intern we have the opportunity to work on a summer project. I chose to take samples of grain and test them for protein, test weight and moisture. The objective of my project is to gain a better understanding of what the cooperative has in our grain bins. The higher the protein the more money it is worth per bushel. With the help of my mentor Devin Schierling, TMA grain marketing manager, I have completed my testing and I am currently working to get my data on a spreadsheet to send to MKC location managers. So far it has been a great experience and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store for me.

Have a great Fourth of July,

Jacob Berglund