Hannah Roebke – National Corn Growers Association – St. Louis

Intern Updates

Final Thoughts 2023

When I applied for an internship with Nebraska Corn and NCGA last Fall I honestly just wanted to give communications for a company a try. My previous internships have been at news stations working in broadcast news as well as with Husker athletics working with content creation and livestream video work, so I wanted to try corporate communications and see what that realm was like. Now as I sit in the NCGA office one last time, I can say that I am glad I gave corporate communications a chance. This past summer has been an amazing experience and has taught me so much. This internship was truly eye-opening and has allowed me to see what other career opportunities lie within ag communications. It has been nice to get exposure to social media content creation and management, farm video shoots, Corn Congress, and everything in between. However, I would say that my favorite part has been having the chance to continue to tell the story of agriculture through the lens of NCGA as well as advocate for farmers across the country.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the passionate group of people I got work with. Everyone here was so supportive and so open to answering my questions as well as explaining the work they do at NCGA. The people truly helped make my internship great and were a big inspiration for me. As I get ready to leave NCGA and St. Louis, I leave with a grateful heart. Grateful for the people I got to meet, the experiences I had, and for this opportunity. While I am unsure of what lies ahead, I am sure of one thing. I leave with the motivation to continue to advocate for farmers and share the story of agriculture with consumers.

July 2023 Update

The past few weeks of my internship at NCGA have been some of the busiest but also some of the most exciting. The second week of July I had the privilege of attending the CommonGround video shoot at farms in Texas and Kansas. We flew out of St. Louis to Amarillo, Texas from which we drove to a farm in the Texas panhandle. It was so great to connect with women in ag and learn about each farm and how they contribute to CommonGround as an organization. The salsa and guacamole that was made at the Spurlock family farm was amazing. We all left sufficiently satisfied. From there we drove another farm in the Texas panhandle. It was interesting to hear from Cari Beauchamp about how all the rain Texas has been receiving is impacting day to day operations at her farm.

After this video shoot, we made our way to Kansas for a stop at Katie Caruthers’ farm. It was interesting to hear about the shop that Katie runs as the Caruthers family has turned to alternative industries in addition to ag for income. It was also cool to see how she packages meat and other goods to be sent around the U.S. From there we made our way to the Hildebrand Dairy Farm to experience what dairy farming is like. The ice cream they make from their milk was amazing and being able to see the milking process up close was an invaluable experience. It was nice to be able to experience this as my family are not dairy farmers. Our last stop was at Wrenn Pachenco’s farm in Alma, Kan. Her store was also cool to look at, but the coolest part was going out to the pasture and seeing them check cattle on their horses. The video shots turned out cool and seeing the family ride together was sweet.

Overall, the CommonGround video shoot was an awesome experience and learning some video techniques from the videographer, Adnan, was invaluable. His video skills are amazing, and I can’t wait to see how the videos turn out. I think that these videos will be a great marketing tool for CommonGround to use in the future.

48 hours after returning from the CommonGround video shoot I hopped on a plane to Washington, D.C. for the 2023 July Corn Congress. Overall, I thought Corn Congress was a cool experience. I enjoyed connecting with growers from all over the country and sitting in on the Member and Consumer Engagement Action Team meetings. It was interesting to learn more about what the action teams do and all the pieces of the Farm Bill. After learning more about these things, it was then cool to apply what I learned on Capitol Hill when lobbying with senators. Then, seeing Corn Congress commence on Thursday was interesting. I have been in similar business meetings, but it was cool to see how NCGA conducted business and it was cool to witness how voting was done by the delegate body. Overall, this week was eye-opening and being able to advocate on Capitol Hill on behalf of corn growers gave me new hope for Farm Bill passage. I really enjoyed my time at Corn Congress and am grateful for the opportunity to attend.

With just two weeks left in my internship I am excited to finish strong and continue to make the most of the time I have left at NCGA.

June 2023 Update

It is hard believe that my internship with NCGA is over half done. My time here has been wonderful, and I am so glad to have this opportunity. I have been able to work on projects centered around social media and communications. It has been nice to get exposure to marketing NCGA’s brand through social media graphics, newsletters, and videos. I got to attend the CommonGround strategic planning session. It was so interesting to watch an organization rebrand and see how a company comes up with a strategic plan. Getting exposure to that now will help me if I ever have to go through another rebrand. Attending the third annual Women and Mentor’s Retreat has been one of my favorite parts of the internship. Networking with other women in ag gave me great exposure and hearing from the keynote speakers gave me a new perspective on life.

Looking forward to the last half of my internship, I am excited to go on the CommonGround video shoot where I will get to help video different farms in Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. I also look forward to attending Corn Congress. Seeing the work the NCGA offices have been working on, pay off, will be such a rewarding experience. Connecting with growers from across the country and learning about farms around the U.S. will be such an interesting experience. Overall, as I look back on my first half of my internship, I am forever thankful for this opportunity and look forward to what’s to come in my last half.