Midwest Fertilizer hosts KDA career immersion event for local students, first for southeast Kansas

Local students recently had the opportunity to visit a local business to learn about agricultural careers and consider what skills they may enjoy using in a future career.

Through the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Workforce Development Program, in partnership with Mid Kansas Cooperative, a career immersion event was organized at Midwest Fertilizer in Chanute.

The morning began with a welcome from members of KDA’s Workforce Development Program and MKC.

“Our goal and our purpose with doing immersion events like this is for you guys to have a hands-on experience where you get to learn about businesses that maybe you drive by every day,” Rachel Hood, a KDA intern, said to students.

She asked students to raise their hands if they’ve ever driven by the facility, and several students did.

“So that’s a goal for today; learn what goes on in the different career opportunities that are available here and at other locations that are similar to this, so you can start mapping out plans for your future,” Hood said.

Next, students heard from Hilary Worcester, coordinator of talent and industry partnerships at MKC, who described the various jobs that individuals could expect to see at Midwest Fertilizer and other agricultural businesses.

Worcester noted that as the internship program at MKC grew, she noticed that agriculture careers aren’t always visible, and began to look for ways to reach students prior to college.

“We started looking around and saying, ‘Where else can we build talent?’” Worcester said. “People are unaware of agriculture jobs unless we show them to them. What you see from the road is not actually what’s available careerwise. It’s just a small sliver.”

Worcester said they have now expanded their programming to high school students, as well as developed programming for elementary students.

“I think we have an opportunity to help them understand you don’t have to think of a role, you just have to think of things you enjoy doing, because a job that puts those things together is out there.”

Worcester said it’s also about developing transferable skills, and intangible skills such as communication skills and the ability to work in a team.

“It’s not just one role or one career that you’re going to be built for. You’re going to be built for multiple things.

Zachary Callaghan, a Chanute ag educator, and Makayla LeBlanc, an Erie ag educator, both brought students to the event. Callaghan brought students from multiple grades and classes.

“I think it’s really cool for them to hear from people who are actually doing this every day for a living,” Callaghan said. “Introducing them to these unfamiliar careers as a way to help them find out what they do or do not want to do in the future is equally important.”

LeBlanc said she brought her horticulture class, her floriculture class, and her freshman students.

“I wanted them to see some of what I’m teaching in horticulture and floriculture and how that is real life, you know, it applies to this industry,” LeBlanc said. “For my freshmen, I wanted them to just be exposed to different careers and something that is right here in our backyard, so they could see the importance of being local and how this supports the people in our communities as well.”

LeBlanc and Callaghan said that events like this also reinforce what is taught in the classroom and show students the broader application of what they are learning.

During the day, students visited various stations, learning about grain grading, transportation, how to create farm plans, why water pressure and droplet size matter, and the use of drones in agriculture.

According to Workforce Development Coordinator Dana Ladner, this is the first career immersion event they have held in southeast Kansas. Ladner said the state has been building this program over the last four years.

“We have done everything from horticulture, landscape, to large-scale crop production and feedlot management. We try to make sure that we have the interest of a lot of different students,” Ladner said. “It’s a great opportunity for students to learn about careers in their local communities that they might not know about.

The KDA Workforce Development program also promotes internships, apprenticeships, and job shadow opportunities for students.

“We’re so excited to partner with ag businesses and Kansas communities,” Ladner said. “It’s a great partnership between ad educators, school districts, industry, and the Department of Agriculture.”