Land O'Lakes, Inc.

After traveling 9.5 hours back home through the Texas heat of 103 degrees, I can officially say that I've wrapped up my internship with Land O'Lakes, Inc. I want to thank the college relations team - Bailey Pankratz, Carlos Reyes, Rebecca Hughes, MBA, and Rose Brown - for all of their support. Special thanks to my mentor Juan Rivera Perez, my plant manager Andrew Dean, and the rest of the team at the Springfield facility for helping me grow this summer. I'm also grateful for Tami Robison for the guidance she has provided for the future. A special thank you to Cody Cryer and my other fellow Aggies. Having worked with Cody in the past, he helped me understand the importance of networking and encouraged me to get involved - support that played a meaningful role in helping me pursue this opportunity. And to my fellow Texas interns, Supply Chain interns, and new friends I've made along the way - thank you for making this summer truly memorable. I'm excited to carry these experiences forward and look ahead to what's next.

As I wrap up my internship, I want to thank Land O'Lakes, Inc. for an incredible opportunity this summer. Working at the Purina Animal Nutrition plant in Fremont, Nebraska, allowed me to grow my knowledge of quality, process improvement, and manufacturing while gaining valuable hands-on experience. Most importantly, I had the chance to learn from and work alongside so many amazing people. Thank you to everyone at Land O'Lakes and the Purina Animal Nutrition team in Fremont for your mentorship, support, and the connections I made along the way. I'm grateful for this experience and excited for what's ahead!

And that’s a wrap on my Summer 2026 internship! What an unforgettable experience. I want to take a moment to express how grateful I am for Land O'Lakes, Inc. for giving me the opportunity to intern at the Carlisle Manufacturing Plant in Pennsylvania. Accepting this internship meant relocating from Texas to Pennsylvania, and I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions I’ve made. Over the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to learn so much—not only about manufacturing, dairy processing, and continuous improvement, but also about myself. This internship challenged me in ways I never expected and helped me grow both professionally and personally. I leave with more confidence, new skills, and a deeper appreciation for the people who make our food system possible. One of my favorite parts of this summer was building relationships with so many incredible people. Thank you to everyone who took the time to answer my endless questions, share your knowledge, and make me feel welcomed from day one. Your mentorship and encouragement made a lasting impact on me. Outside of work, I fell in love with Pennsylvania. I loved experiencing the strong connection between the community and local farmers. As a Food Science student, I couldn’t help but geek out every time I visited the farmers markets and saw that connection firsthand. It reminded me why I chose this field in the first place. I’m especially proud of the opportunity to lead my downtime reporting project and contribute to improvements that will continue beyond my internship. Seeing an idea develop from conversations on the plant floor to a finished project was an experience I’ll always value. To everyone at Land O’Lakes, thank you for believing in me, investing in my growth, and making this summer one I’ll never forget. Here’s to new friendships, lifelong memories, and the next chapter. Until next time, Pennsylvania. 🤍 #LandOLakes #Internship #FoodScience #Manufacturing

Over the past 11 weeks, I had the opportunity to intern at the Melrose Land O’Lakes Dairy manufacturing facility. This internship gave me the opportunity to lead a continuous improvement project while putting my problem-solving and technical engineering skills to the test. I was able to work with incredible people across operations, engineering, maintenance, quality, and more, and truly see the cross-functionality of these teams in manufacturing and supply chain. My project allowed me to make improvements to a barrel closing system, as well as provide recommendations for future improvements to the system. It was incredibly rewarding to work on a project that identified six-figure improvement opportunities and had the potential to create a meaningful operational impact. Finally, I was able to present my findings to company leaders, plant leadership, and my fellow supply chain interns at the end of the summer. One of my favorite parts of the experience was the collaboration I got to experience with people across the entire business. From operators to plant managers and everyone in between, I never could have imagined how much I would learn from each and every one of them. I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone at Land O'Lakes, Inc. who invested their time mentoring and supporting me throughout the summer. I am especially grateful to the Melrose team for making me feel welcome from day one. I absolutely could not be more grateful for this amazing learning experience. I am so excited to carry everything I’ve learned into my final semester at Colorado School of Mines, as well as my future career and whatever comes next!

Thanks for the conversation Agriculture Future of America!

Today was Land O'Lakes, Inc.’s annual Employee Celebration and Town Hall. This year, our Studio Team was able to create a Hat Bar experience for employees on-site. It was incredibly gratifying to witness a sea of hats as people donned their branded gear. One of my favorite parts of my job is to be part of company culture-building, even in small ways. Special shoutouts to the amazing Meetings, Events & Experiences team, as well as our Studio team and other colleagues who helped the Hat Bar come to life! cc: Nicole Von Blidner Erin Hilby Samantha Kelly Sam Landman Tonja Engen Rebecca Neamy Lori Hatton Jodie Pfeffer Chris Johnson Scott Schraufnagel

The Land O Lakes Culinary Team is getting after it in Charlotte, North Carolina! #LandOLakesCulinary