Hi Friends,

I am writing you this blog from the good ole' Stephenville, TX! I arrived home late Sunday night and am absolutely loving being home with my family and friends.

Last week was my final week of my internship with Dow AgroSciences... and also the week I interviewed for a full-time position with the company. The interview process was rather long and included a dinner interview Thursday night, and interviews from 7:30 am-4pm on Friday. There were 10 other interns who received an interview and each of us were required to present a 10 minute presentation first thing Friday morning detailing our summer projects and accomplishments. Going in to the process I was somewhat nervous just because that is a lot of interviews for one day! After completing the day, I could not help but to be extremely excited about the potential opportunity to start my career with such a wonderful company! They told us we should be expecting a phone call sometime this week to inform us one way or the other.


Yesterday.... I received the much awaited phone call and was so excited to have RECEIVED A JOB OFFER! God is so so good and I truly could not be any more excited! I do not know where I will be located yet, but I'm sure wherever it is, I will love just as much as I loved Indianapolis.

In addition, I turned in all of my project work that I worked out throughout the entire summer. I felt very accomplished with the work I completed and had great feedback from everyone that I worked with. It's crazy to think that I of all people, would have loved my job as much as I did. In all honesty, it was originally hard for me to picture myself walking through corn and soybean fields all day, but it was such a wonderful experience! I learned SO MUCH, and I also learned SO much about myself as a person. I feel like I grew and mature in ways I never thought possible. As for now, I am excited to return to College Station to finish my Senior year of college at Texas A&M University.

Blessings,
Macy

ONE MORE WEEK!

One more week, one more week! While I am extremely excited and anxious to return back to Texas to be amongst my friends and family, I am also sad to be leaving Indiana. It is hard for me to find the appropriate words to adequately describe the absolutely wonderful summer that I have had thus far. From an awesome job, to making new friends and working with wonderful people, to learning and experiencing new Agriculture every single day, I would not trade the past 14 weeks for anything.

Before moving to Indiana, I was completely soooooo excited to be here and never even thought of any challenges that I could potentially face. After making my final intern presentation last week, I began to reflect on the summer that I have had. I moved here not knowing one single person, I had never been in a corn or soybean field in my life, and I was moving 1,024 miles away from home. I would be living in a hotel from exactly 100 nights in a city with over 1 million people. Add all of those things up together, and let’s just say I was ready to conquer the world in front of me! I even often wonder what in the world made me decide to make such a huge move such as this one. Am I glad I did it? ABSOLUTELY! I have never learned so much in my whole entire life, and I had a blast doing so!

Last week, I had the opportunity to present my final intern presentation at our National Sales Kickoff meeting in Downtown Indianapolis. With that said, I am confident that this one presentation consumed more of my time and efforts than any other college presentation I have ever given. Not only would I be presenting to a decent size group of people, I also was to create a sales-type booklet to give to everyone in my district that could be given to customers. Needless to say, I was pretty pleased with the end result, especially considering the amount of time I put into these two documents. In addition, I am also pleased to announce that I have been given the opportunity to interview with Dow AgroSciences for a full time position this coming Thursday and Friday! I could not be more excited or honored to have the opportunity to interview with this company that I have grown to love so much.

Not only have I learned a tremendous amount about myself and agriculture this summer, I have also gained some valuable hands-on sales experiences that I know will be of great benefit to me when I start my sales career following college graduation. I have learned what it takes to be successful in the sales field, and I no doubt have a greater appreciation for American farmers.

I am writing this post with exactly 7 days left in Indianapolis. This upcoming week is going to be an extremely packed week for me as I wrap up my internship, but this time next week and my feet will be back on Texas soil!

Blessings,
Macy

Time Flies When You Are Having Fun! ;)

Whoever came up with the famous saying “Time flies when you are having fun” is what I like to consider a genius! It was not until this summer until I truly realized just how true these seven words really are. When I arrived in Indianapolis on May 13^th, I never imagined the time would go by SO quickly!! I have just two more weeks before I fly back to Texas.

This past week was a very successful and busy week for me. I am giving my final presentation in just a few short days, so every evening last week I worked diligently on completing this large task. I will be presenting more than one time, to multiple people, and many consider it one of the most important parts of your entire internship. Knowing these things, I have tried to make sure that I will do a great job. Also, I spent the week in Southern Indiana, Kentucky, and even made a stop in Tennessee. In other words, that means a LOT of driving!

I visited all of my customers in Kentucky, and also made some cold calls. People think I’m crazy and I might agree sometimes, but I really enjoy doing prospect visits. I love the opportunity to get to stop at a location who does not do much business with Dow, meet everyone in the office, and tell them why and how Instinct can be of value to them and their growers. I think of it as a great chance to make a difference larger than simply walking fields all day.

Now I will be the first to admit that sometimes Cold Calls do not turn out as wonderful as I had hoped prior to the visit. Sometimes guys are unwilling to talk to you, and can even say things like they don’t have time for you!! But I will say this; I have definitely learned to have tough skin this summer. In sales, you can just go ahead and expect for people to turn you away. Despite this, you also have to remember that they are not necessarily rejecting you and you cannot take those instances personally.

On Friday, I was honored to be 1 of 5 students on a panel at the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities Summit (APLU) at IUPUI. I had the opportunity to tell about my college/internship experiences before the floor was opened for questions. Events like this often require me to reflect on my years spent in the college classroom, and allow my brain to remain challenged. It is also so neat to be a part of such a wonderful group like this one.

As for now, only 2 more posts before I will be back in Texas!!!!!!!! Let’s hope for some exciting news in the coming weeks! ;)

Blessings,
Macy

3 MORE WEEKS!

Hi Friends!

Its hard to believe that I only have 3 more weeks here in Indiana. I am getting super anxious and excited to see all my friends and family in Texas, but I know I will be really sad to leave here. Below was how I spent last week... Just another week walking fields! ;)

• Monday, July 25^th I traveled to Greensburg to meet the Dillsboro Helena Intern so he could help me locate their trial. This is a test between 7 different products so it will be good yield data to collect. We did yield estimates for each of the products in the field… Instinct had the highest numbers so hopefully it will yield that was as well. I enjoyed learning how to calculate these figures and I am excited to share some of the good pictures I was able to take. I then traveled to Rushville to scout my manure field and was pleased to again notice a difference in the treated corn. This is one of my very few manure plots, so this will also be great data to have. I had also planned to locate my trials with Harvest Land Rushville but when I got to the location, the Manager was unable to meet. I had already spoken with him on the phone and he said that week would be great, and then plans changed. Situations like this have really been great learning experiences for me throughout the summer.
• Tuesday, July 26^th I met with Nikki Hall for breakfast at Cracker Barrel to discuss my end of the year intern presentation. Following this, I traveled to the Fountain town area to meet with grower Craig Fout. He provided me the information for all four of his Instinct trials, as well as took me to locate all of the fields. After this, I went to Harvest Land so Manager Todd Overmyer could provide me with plot maps for each of the fields. I then went back to each of the fields to look for any visual differences. I also signed the fields that were on major roads. I noticed some differences in a couple of these fields, but the lack of rain made it difficult in a couple of the others.
• Wednesday, July 27^th I scouted fields in the Bainbridge/Rusellville/Roachdale area. With Russellville having more than 10 fields, I did not get to all of them. Also, Christy and I are working together on these, yet we are still lacking some information from a few of the growers. Despite the fact that we have located the fields, it does not do us much good until the farmer tells us the area that is stabilized, and the area that is not. I did not notice a lot of visual differences in a couple of my Bainbridge fields, but again, I think the no rain issue is playing a big part in this.
• Thursday, July 28^th, I traveled to Portland to meet with grower Greg Miller to collect his trial information. He has 4 different products in this field and is extremely organized, so I am excited to see the yield results we get from him. I scouted all three of the Harvest Land Bryant trials, the Ag Best Dunkirk trial, as well as got to scout my very first “service call” for soybeans. The last time I was in the area, this was the grower that agreed to try First Rate on his soybeans. He only used .3 oz and the Marestail were taller than the beans. He thought the product burned the weeds a little, but did not get rid of them in the higher ground areas in this field. Later that evening, I had the opportunity to judge the Supreme Showmanship for Dairy and Beef Cattle at the Jay County Fair.
• Friday, July 29^th I met with Grower Jeff Amos at his farm in Rush County to do a video testimonial. He has several hog barns and uses this manure for all the acres he farms. This is his second year to use Instinct and last year he said he saw anywhere from 10-20 bushel increase, and his corn is looking extremely good this year even with the little rain they have had. He hauls manure as well and told me that he tells every one of his customers that they need to use Instinct! I figured this would be the perfect opportunity for a great testimonial, especially being that he uses manure. I spent the rest of the day scouting my fields in this area. I have a couple of trials in the Greensburg area where noticeable differences were very apparent in both. One of the fields was showing great signs of being effected by no rain, hopefully this will change soon. With that said, you could easily tell where the Instinct was in the field, despite the fact that it too was showing evident signs of firing also.

Until next week, Be Blessed!!
Macy

What a week!! This week was by far the warmest weather we have had in Indiana all summer. In fact, Thursday was the first day it has reached 100 degrees in many years… Crazy to think being from Texas right?!

So with the weather in mind, add about 10-15 degrees, no breeze, and lots of humidity…. That is how it feels when you are walking in a corn field. I try not to complain, but I’m not going to lie. It was HOT and made for somewhat of a long week!

When I have days where all I do is scout fields, it is easy to feel a little bummed. Why? Because Chances are that when I walk fields all day, I have very little interaction with retailers, growers, etc and it truly makes me wonder if I am really adding value? While of course I know that I am because I am collecting valuable information, my true passion is people. I love the days where I get to interact and meet new people, and offer them products that are going to benefit their crops. Also, I know that as a Sales Rep, I will not be collecting data like I am now, so I cannot let this discourage me at all.

With that in mind, I am really excited about the next 4 weeks ahead of me. It is so hard to believe that my summer is quickly coming to an end. I have learned more than I could have ever imagined, gained extremely valuable experience, and realized that sales is something I truly love. I have learned about myself, I have become very used to “solitude” time living alone, and I have realized how much I value my friends and family back home in Texas. I am excited about the next few weeks because I have a lot of opportunity to really prove myself to Dow. I have been asked to speak at a conference, and I have meetings lined up to talk about “what’s next…?”

In addition, as I realize I am coming to the end of my internship with Dow, I present my final presentation and have my exit interview in a little over 2 weeks! YIKES! I know that it is truly crunch time and I am constantly thinking of how I am going to distinguish myself and set myself apart from the others? I am trying to come up with new ideas and little things I can do to continue to add value to my internship project as well as the company in general.

One last thought…..This has been one of the best experiences of my life! :)

This week... could not have started out any better!!

You might be asking, WHY? Well you see, my mom and Aunt Kelly came to Indy this past weekend to see me! It has been so long since I have seen a familiar face that it was definitely the most wonderful weekend I have had all summer long! We did lots of shopping, went kayaking, did a little site seeing, etc. Needless to say, how can one have a bad week after such a wonderful weekend?

This week was extra busy for me and I considered it super productive. I learned SO MUCH! I know how much you all love my weekly report updates…. J so here it is!

• Monday, July 11^th I used the morning to get in contact and make my appointments for the week. My mom was in town for the weekend so I also had to take her to the airport to fly back to Texas. I met David Martin Monday afternoon to pick up some banners and Dow signs as requested by Jamie Boone to be delivered to John Hutzinger with Ag Chemical Solutions in Hancock County later that afternoon.
• Tuesday, July 12^th, I went to Ag Best in Dunkirk to locate the Instinct plot they agreed to put out. I also met the grower of this field and collected all the information I needed. This plot is on a major road so I also put up a field sign. I then traveled to Harvest Land in Bryant where I picked up field posts and signed two of the Instinct fields they have also on busy roads. Lastly, I visited Harvest Land in Fountaintown where I met with Manager Todd Overmeyer. He provided me the contact information for a grower at his location that is going to have an Instinct trial for me.
• Wednesday, July 13^th I picked up field posts at the HQ office. I then traveled to CPS in Franklin and met with the new Manager, Keegan Carmony. He was previously the manager at Greensburg and so we discussed the plot he had at this location, as well as I dropped off some sale sheets for First Rate. Keegan also requested that I leave some Instinct field signs there with him, which I did. I then traveled to Premier Ag in St. Paul where I met with Manager Stu Hirt. I collected the Instinct data sheets from Stu that I had left the last time I was there, as well as I signed one of my fields. I then traveled to Attica where I met with a the grower who has the large N-Serve field for the CPS Attica location. I was able to collect all of the information of this plot, locate the field, and also notice a visual difference. These were the pictures I shared last week. I then traveled to CPS in Roachdale and also met with the new Manager Patrick McDonald, there. I spent a little bit of time getting to know him as well as getting in contact with the grower who has the Instinct side by side in Roachdale. I was unable to meet the grower, but that is scheduled for the coming week. Patrick also requested some Sure Start and Durango field signs which I will deliver early next week.
• Thursday, July 14^th was a unique day for me yet one of the most beneficial days all summer. I spent the day riding around with Jeff Nagle, Agronomist for Ceres Solutions. We met in Lafayette, located the Instinct plot he has out, and also took Spad Readings (to determine chlorophyll count in the plant leaves). The average was 46 with the Instinct, and 44.8 without. The rest of the day I got to travel with him on service calls and other visits to learn what his role consists of. We scouted around 8-10 fields throughout the day all of which I learned something new. I had the opportunity to study many different types of weeds, pest issues in both corn and soybeans, as well as several other various issues.
• Friday, July 15^th, Christy Penner and I traveled to Co-Alliance in Russelville to locate each of the plots we have at this location. Manager Ted McGaughey was unable to go with us, so he sent one of his other employees (Carey) to travel with us to locate each field. We have more than 10 plots with them so having someone help us locate each N-Serve and Instinct field was extremely helpful. Following this morning, we traveled to Paris, IL to meet Zach Ferguson to provide him the field posts that Christy and I picked up at HQ. We also discussed any issues we have had thus far, and the progress each of us has made on our Instinct project. When we left here, Christy and I then traveled back to the Russelville area to locate our last two fields that Carey was unable to take us by due to our time constraint.

It’s hard to believe that I only have 5 weeks left here. I will be glad to come back to my friends and family in Texas, but I will be sad to leave Indy and the job I have grown to love so much. Almost weekly I get asked the question “What do you enjoy the most?” While that is an extremely hard question, right now I have come to the conclusion that I absolutely LOVE learning so many new things each and every day. For example, this week alone I got to experience Indiana wind turbines, I saw mint being gown (I also saw some wild marijuana growing on the side of the road of which the city usually treats… they just missed a few spots!), visit a turkey production barn, I got to see various corn diseases and several severe cases of pest infestation in the crops when I was riding around with the Agronomist. I also made my very first visit to Illinois this week! My current state visit for this summer alone is up to 8! Not many people can say they have the opportunity to experience so many different types of production Agriculture as I have got to experience this summer… I am so blessed.

As far as the internship goes, I am getting to the point where I am not afraid to be that persistent sales person and I am not afraid to ask for a sale. My nice side often comes out when I don’t want to make anyone mad by calling several times, stopping by without calling, or asking them to try a product… but I have realized that in my job, that is the KEY to success. They know you are a salesman, so might as well do your job, right?

Until next week,

Macy