IL Corn offers a summer intern program, Brianna Croft and Emily Bruch joined the small team by assisting the legislative, communications and marketing departments. Through real world experiences offered through these internships, IL Corn helps educate the next generation and develop the future of agriculture. Here’s what each intern learned over the past couple months.

Brianna Croft – Legislative Intern

• Locks and Dams
  • Locks and Dams are a huge priority for IL Corn, and she was able to see firsthand the impact our waterways have on farmers when exporting their corn. She visited two drained lock locations and had the opportunity to learn the importance of updating the infrastructure to be more reliable and efficient.
• Washington D.C.
  • As part of the legislative internship, Brianna helped to plan and attend Washington D.C. with ICGA. She coordinated meetings with 17 Congressional offices and both Senate offices for IL FFA State Officers and Section Presidents as well as ICGA and ICMB Directors to advocate for corn priorities.
• Ethanol
  • Ethanol is a major marketplace for corn. There are many pieces of legislation on the table regarding ethanol production. Brianna has aided the Legislative team by writing summary analysis papers that give an overview of priority legislation at both the State and Federal Level. She has also taken this knowledge learned from reading these pieces, to further be an advocate in Washington D.C.

"I didn’t know what to expect this summer and I quickly began learning all the ways in which we can use policy to help advocate on behalf of farmers,” said Brianna.  “I look forward to using my experiences in the future.”

Emily Bruch – Marketing & Communications Intern

• Ag in the Classroom
  • The education of agriculture and corn is important in developing the future of ag. This summer, Emily traveled across Illinois to deliver presentations to teachers regarding ways they can incorporate the various aspects of corn into their education.
• Farm Progress Show
  • The Farm Progress show is a widely attended event that displays the future of agriculture. Emily has helped plan and prepare for this year’s Farm Progress Show by organizing and ordering products that will be used on display.
• Precision Conservation Management Program (PCM)
  • PCM is a program that combines precision technology and data management with farm business and financials to help farmers. Emily has worked closely with them to create marketing materials for each individual specialist to bring attention to the opportunities this program provides to farmers in Illinois, Kentucky and Nebraska.

“Marketing and communications are very important with the way society is changing,” said Emily. “Being able to practice what I’ve been learning and applying it to the real world has helped me better understand what my future holds and where I want to take my career.”