Three Ways to Intern at JLC: Livestock, Crop Operations, and Agronomy
Jorgensen Land & Cattle ·
Three Ways to Intern at JLC: Livestock, Crop Operations, and Agronomy
For summer 2027, Jorgensen Land & Cattle is offering three internships: livestock, crop operations, and a brand-new agronomy position. Reagan Nielsen walked through each one on The Source, with help from Jamie Wolf.
Livestock Internship
The livestock internship was by far the more popular option last year.
Low-Stress Handling
Philip Jorgensen manages the livestock interns, and the main focus is handling cattle in a low-stress, safe way. He has pushed horseback work in recent years because it's easier on the animals. Interns do a lot of bull sorting, plus moving cattle for rotational grazing.
Processing, Semen Testing, and Data
Summers include a lot of processing and animal health work. Semen testing is a big season, so interns help push animals through the facilities. They also learn how JLC collects data and why it matters to the back-end systems. Facility upkeep is part of the job, and "tour ready" is a phrase interns will hear a lot.
Do You Have Bull Experience?
Reagan asks applicants whether they've worked around bulls, not just cattle. Jamie explains why: bulls are a different animal. They're like a group of testy teenage boys, and when something happens, it happens fast. JLC's bulls are bred to handle well, but they're still male animals. Without bull experience you can still be considered; it's just something to think about.
Always Something Going On
Interns who arrive in early May may catch calf processing and breeding. Last year's group also took part in an overnight cattle drive with bedrolls, camping out and starting to move the cows at 5 a.m. on horseback. Reagan says the interns loved it, and it could become a regular feature.
Crop Operations Internship
The crop operations internship has been the less popular of the two summer options, and Reagan is upfront about why: it isn't the right time of year for interns to hop into big machinery.
What Interns Actually Do
Last year, one intern, Nathan, floated between the crop and livestock sides. Crop-side work included cutting, raking, baling, hauling, and stacking hay, plus helping with any planting operations during their stay. Two interns did a lot of trucking. Interns also got to see silage chopping and any summer harvest, and spent time at the shop seeing how it works.
A Quieter Season, Still Plenty to Do
Jamie notes that summer cropping, outside of making hay, is not as busy as the livestock side for the typical internship window, but there's always something to do. Floating between the two sides gave interns a broader picture of the operation.
New for 2027: Agronomy Internship
The third internship comes with the launch of Ideal Soil Solutions and a new permanent research plot.
The Test Plot
The permanent test plot is planned for 2027 and is very large. According to the information Reagan has, it will have 144 individual plots for crop rotation sequences, input studies, and insect and disease studies. The interns who come this year will help start and implement it. Jamie joked that someone will soon be knocking on the door wanting to write a thesis on that data set.
What Interns Will Do
Learn the soil health principles Ideal Soil Solutions shares, along with the biologics JLC uses and how they're applied.
Do crop scouting, which interns haven't done before.
Take soil and tissue samples with Bryan Jorgensen, JLC's chief ag officer, or Andy Johnson, the tech agronomist.
Do yield checks.
Possibly work with JLC's certified seed operation, learning how seed is inspected, cleaned, and documented. Martin, who handles that work, is passionate about getting it right.
JLC has been no-till since about 1991, Reagan believes, so soil health is central to the program.
Careers That Don't Require Owning a Farm
Jamie points out that the internship opens many paths: sales, research, tech services, and more, all without having to own an operation. Interns may also connect with Ideal Soil Solutions territory managers Chris Phillips and Mason.