Intern Spotlight - Tom Mann

Meet Tom Mann! This summer Tom is a feed sales intern located in Beatrice, NE.

Where are you from?
I am from Omaha, NE.

Where do you go to school and what are you studying?
I go to the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and am studying Agribusiness with a minor in Agronomy.

Why did you choose to be an intern with Farmers Cooperative?
The main reason why I chose to intern with Farmers Cooperative would be the Purina side of my internship, that's because my family owns a farm supply company. When I was looking for recommendations, they really like Purina and then Farmers Cooperative has a really good feed internship program with Purina.

What are some of your day-to-day activities?
Some of the things that I would do on a day-to-day basis is checking on the numerous trials that we have going on. These include mineral trials where I go out to pastures and check on minerals and take pictures of the cows to compare the differences between the trials and the animals week to week. These trials are regarding fly control. We also have protein tub trials that I check. Along with taking pasture samples to send off to labs to see the protein and mineral content. Then the main thing that I do is go around and talk to producers and see what's going on in their operations and see how we can help as a cooperative and Purina to better their herd and the success of their operations.

What is one thing that you've learned so far this summer?
One thing regarding being a good salesman is really getting out and putting yourself out there to try and talk to as many people as possible. Just by working at being a better communicator will help me become a better salesman. 

What has been your favorite part of your internship thus far?
I would say by far my favorite part is going out every day and talking to producers. Just seeing the smiles on their faces or the enjoyment that they get from any task that I can help them with that helps their day-to-day lives is what I get the most enjoyment from.

What is a fun fact about yourself?
I've been interviewed on TV after a Nebraska basketball game.

What would be your dream job, or what is a job you plan on pursuing post-graduation.
A dream job would be to be on the PGA tour, but that's not going to happen. So, I would say that a realistic goal for a job that I would have is some sort of ag sales position. I just really enjoy sales and talking to people within the industry.