Take 5: Meet Our Fall Intern

Originally published in the Sept. 17, 2014, issue

 

Mohler bottle-feeding a calf at the University of Georgia
Teaching Dairy in Athens, Ga.

1. Tell us a little about your agricultural background.

 

I was blessed to have a middle school ag teacher who got me really excited about agriculture. He actually helped get me into raising and showing hogs, and taught me how much hard work and dedication goes into growing crops, raising livestock and running a farm. I also benefitted from more than 10 years involvement with the National FFA Organization, which helped me build a foundation in the agribusiness world. 

 

2. Why did you want to intern with the Department and the Market Bulletin?

 

Aside from the fact that it’s an amazing opportunity to use all of the skills that I have been developing for the past four years as an agricultural communication student at the University of Georgia, I am super interested in the way that consumers form their opinions about farm commodities and the marketing practices that farms employ. I felt like this internship would give me a real glimpse into some of the practices that Georgia farmers are able to employ. 

 

3. What part of the internship are you most excited about?

 

The entire experience excites me, but if I had to nail down one thing it’s just being in the office and getting to actually write and edit things for the Market Bulletin. I don’t have as much newswriting experience as I do magazine work, but this feels like a great way for me to get some! 

 

4. Many of your extracurricular activities in college revolve around agriculture. Which of these experiences stands out most in your mind and why?

 

There are two in particular that made the biggest impact on me: my involvement with Sigma Alpha, the professional agricultural sorority, and my job at the UGA Dairy. Through Sigma Alpha I found some of my best friends, and it’s wonderful to have a strong support base that feels as strongly about agriculture as I do. Work at the dairy is some of the dirtiest I have ever done, but it’s also the most rewarding. Helping take care of baby cows, and even assisting in delivering calves is not something that I would ever have imagined doing, but it really is a labor of love and I know after graduation it’s going to break my heart to leave my babies behind. 

 

5. If you could design your last meal using only Georgia-grown commodities, what would you like to eat?

 

Since it’s my last meal I’m going all out! A fresh chicken and blueberry salad with strawberry vinaigrette and fresh produce, all from my beloved south Georgia sounds the best. And since I have the world’s biggest sweet tooth, I would end it with ice cream, made from Georgia produced milk of course, and my Granny B’s brandied peaches. 

 

Beth Mohler is the fall 2014 intern for the Market Bulletin and the Department communications team. She is an agricultural communications major at UGA with a minor in food and fiber marketing and a leadership in service certificate. Mohler plans to graduate in May 2015.