32 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN September 2024 Blackford remains involved with the Timmerman program by hosting interns at Craig Cattle LLC. He is impressed with the quality of interns he employs. The pre-internship seminar involves coursework that prepares students to be educated with relevant information when they arrive at the feedyard, which he says is beneficial. Each intern has an individualized experience, and Blackford is happy to show interns the ropes around the feedlot, no matter their prior experience. “I don’t care what you know, I just want to know that you care,” Blackford says. He appreciates that the program allows interns to get the full feedyard experience, not just driving a feed truck. When Timmerman Feedyard Management interns arrive, they know what to expect at the operation and what questions to ask. Interns get to see every function of the feedlot, and Blackford finds it important to cross train feedlot employees. He says employing interns brings enthusiasm to his employees. Mitch Zobel, Zobel Family Farms Mitch Zobel works for his family’s operation, Zobel Family Farms, where he specializes in farming and agronomy, and assists with livestock operations. Being involved with day-today cattle management, Zobel enjoys working with cattle. He believes his experience as an intern supported his career path, and he was impressed with the internship’s focus on relationship building. “It is easy to learn how to manage cattle, but it is difficult to learn how to manage a business,” Zobel says. “Managing people requires a lot of skill. I really appreciated that aspect of the internship.” He enjoyed the layout and structure of the internship. He recalled the initial coursework at the Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center that included daily feedlot tasks, as well as classroom sessions with professors. He remembers practicing diet formulation and testing different diets for comparison. He implemented the skills he gained from the classroom while working at his assigned feedlot, Mid-America Feed Yard, noting that he spent four to six weeks in each department at the operation. He also followed a pen of cattle while working at the feedlot to track cattle data and closeouts to see progress from beginning to end. Zobel is very grateful to the internship program for providing a great experience. He commended the program for developing agricultural operation managers. “The internship works for people wanting to learn all aspects of a feedlot operation and those who want to learn how to run a business and manage a team,” Zobel says. Jeff Rudolph, Hi-Gain Feedlot Hi-Gain Feedlot President and General Manager Jeff Rudolph attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and completed a summer internship at a feedlot in Schuyler in 1984, before the Timmerman Feedyard Management Internship was formalized. Through his summer internship, he learned hands-on, daily feedlot tasks that he did not learn while growing up. He translated these skills to his first job and still finds relevancy in the experience today. Hi-Gain Feedlot has accepted interns from the Timmerman Feedyard Management Internship, and Rudolph says the interns are reliable, good workers who learn rapidly. “I enjoy the optimism and energy that interns bring, as well as their curiosity,” Rudolph says. “Curiosity is not a common trait for everyone, and it helps students to be interested in everything that they see at the operation.” Rudolph says the program supports various beef industry careers. “The internship program is designed to prepare students for careers in feedlot management roles or supervisory roles, but it also provides students with experience to pursue roles as feedlot consultants and nutritionists,” Rudolph says. ~NC~ The Timmerman Feedyard Management Internship is led by three University of Nebraska-Lincoln professors: Galen Erickson, Ph.D., Jim MacDonald, Ph.D., and Jessica Sperber, Ph.D. To learn more about the internship program, or to apply, please visit https://animalscience. unl.edu/unl-feedyard-management-internship. Applications are due in March of every year and include three letters of recommendation and the completion of an online application “The internship began with Terry Klopfenstein’s vision: that there were young people entering the cattle industry who needed skill development. He had a drive and interest in helping students, and the internship can be an impactful and lifechanging experience,” Erickson says. “I enjoy seeing students change from the initial course work to the last two weeks of the internship by seeing their growth and confidence gained.” How to Apply WHERE ARE THEY NOW? CONTINUED FROM PAGE 30
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