The Wyoming County Dairy Institute is addressing the issue of the diminishing dairy workforce in our county by initiating a dairy and agri-service post secondary internship program.
The Wyoming County Agriculture Industry is strong and progressive. We have much to offer a potential intern in terms of agriculture and specifically the dairy industry.
The internship program is aimed at recruiting college students from across the northeast who are enrolled in agriculture-related disciplines and place them on farms or agri-service industries in Wyoming County. Many non-agriculture industries rely heavily on interns to gain access to some of the best employees available.
As many employers have stated, a well-orchestrated internship program allows them to evaluate a potential worker and future administrator with greater success than the superficiality of an interview process and a resume.
Data on internships demonstrate that often more than 80% of the students placed on internships will return to their internship site for the start of the professional career.
To be the best and stay the best means that a system has to be able to attract youth to current positions and provide a stable environment for the future. How can we transition a multimillion dollar operation from one generation to the next if the next generation does not exist, lacks a vital critical mass or the necessary skills to operate a dairy farm in today’s very competitive marketplace?
For more information about the internship program, please call Bill Maddison at (585) 786-2251 or e-mail him whm9@cornell.edu.
Copyright © 2009. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wyoming County