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Iowa State Sophomore Receives TCF Scholarship

Iowa State University sophomore Lexi Wagemester is a recipient of a Chicago Farmers’ scholarship. A native of Viroqua, Wisconsin, Lexi is majoring in animal science at Iowa State. In a thank you note to TCF, Lexi said that she grew up on a small farm where her family raised commercial cattle and pigs. Her mother grew up on a dairy farm and her father grew up raising cattle and hogs. Lexi said she grew up working cattle and sorting pigs alongside her father and siblings. “I truly enjoy the work and dedication it takes to care for animals,” Lexi said.

She noted that her rural community presented some financial challenges to her family, but, at the same time, it also helped her to realize the value of hard work and a college education. Lexi said she began working part-time on a dairy farm to start saving for college when she was 15-years-old. When she was 16, she was able to purchase her own vehicle, “which taught me how to be responsible and conscientious about my money.”

Throughout high school, Lexi was involved in FFA and her local 4-H Club, which made her realize that she wanted to pursue a career in agriculture. Lexi said she chose to attend Iowa State because it was the perfect place for her to expand her knowledge and experience. At Iowa State Lexi is active in the Dairy Science Club and the Block and Bridle Club. Her plans are to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science and possibly to continue her education in graduate school. “With this degree, I either plan to pursue a career in ruminant nutrition or something related to animal reproduction or genetics,” Lexi shared.

“I am extremely grateful for this scholarship as it helps further my education at Iowa State,” Lexi wrote. “Receiving this scholarship will allow me to achieve my educational goals. I greatly appreciate this scholarship and the financial support from The Chicago Farmers. Thank you for your generosity and believing in me.”

Written by Chicago Farmers Editor Denise Faris

Chicago Farmers get a view of ADM’s future

Ian Pinner, senior vice president and chief strategy and innovation officer at ADM and president of the company’s Health and Wellness division, talked about ADM’s future and its many expanding roles during Chicago Farmers’ March 8^th  ZOOM meeting.

“Unlocking the power of nature to enrich the quality of life” is ADM’s new purpose and focus for the future. Known as a global leader in human and animal nutrition and a premier agricultural organization and processing company, ADM continues to evolve so that it aligns with the latest trends, according to Pinner. “This description of ADM reflects the transformation of ADM and directly impacts how we interact with farmers every day,” he said.

“ADM thinks about trends in such areas as sustainability, alternative proteins, and consumers’ needs,” said Pinner. “We are updating our brand as part of our evolution to stay fresh and refreshed. We continue to build on our legacy of processing wheat and beans, but we also are evolving the value that ADM can create and keeping it current in the marketplace.”

Pinner noted that ADM does more now than ever before. While it is known as a buyer and seller of farm products, it has expanded its capabilities up and down the value chain, he said. A leading nutrition company, ADM is aware of the fact that across the food value chain there is a tremendous shift in consumers’ tastes that offers opportunities to companies that are agile and resourceful.

“There is an evolving demand that is happening at a time of innovative technology to support new approaches to nutrition,” Pinner noted. “In response to this, ADM purchased Wild Flavors six years ago. We built and expanded 16 production facilities for feed protein complexes in the United States to meet the needs of animal nutrition.”

He noted that ADM also has implemented high tech ways of interacting with its customers and engages in daily virtual tastings of its products. It has more than 50 innovation centers.

Enhanced science and technology capabilities and investment in market research allows
ADM’s Nutrition business to support its customers from the development of their ideas to a product and to market in record time, related Pinner.

Regarding animal nutrition, he went on to say that consumers want their pets and livestock to be raised humanely and sustainably. ADM has dramatically expanded in this area through acquisitions and organic investments and finding solutions in nature so that it has a range of ingredients that meet animals’ nutritional needs.

 ADM’s Health and Wellness business is expanding the universe of pre-, pro-, and post-biotics. And the company is pioneering sustainable and renewable solutions such as plant-based replacements for materials that were traditionally made from petroleum and other non-renewable resources. And it is still one of the world’s largest buyers, transporters and processors of agricultural products.  “We remain a premiere global supply chain manager matching local needs with global capabilities,” said Pinner.

He shared that ADM also is developing partnerships that match the bounties of the American farmers. It has collaborated with Innova Feed, a leader in producing insect ingredients for animal nutrition, and Spiber, a Japanese biotechnology start-up that takes corn by-products and turns them into polymers for such things as light weight auto products, apparel, and high performance foam. Pinner said the polymers will play a role in expanding the range of plant based, sustainable alternative materials.

“Everything ADM does starts with the farmers; your goals are our goals,” said Pinner. “We connect what you grow with the world; we connect farmers with customers looking for a certain product; and we are expanding how we move products around the world and enhancing your global reach. We are partners with farmers as we expand the scope of what we do to meet today’s most pressing challenges.”

Regarding the impact of Covid-19 on ADM’s thinking, Pinner said that Covid has acted as an accelerator around trends such as sustainability, more natural products, traceability, addition of  pets to households, and more demand for functional products that are healthy. He said these are ideal situations for ADM’s Nutrition business, which recorded $6 billion in human and animal nutrition sales this year.

Regarding the future for ethanol in ADM’s plans, Pinner said that the company continues to look at its portfolio to determine the status of products. It is continuing a strategic review of its corn dry mill assets, which were temporarily furloughed due to the drop in demand in fuel due to Covid restrictions, and which the company expects to restart in the first half of this year. Pinner said ADM was excited about the advent of the vaccines and seeing more cars on the road because these factors would have a positive effect on ethanol demand.

In discussing regenerative agriculture, Pinner said that ADM’s role is to identify how the products can be sourced. He noted, “We need standards so there is a level playing field.”

In response to a question from the webinar audience, Pinner said that infrastructure in the United States is a key business advantage; the cost to move soybeans down the inland waterway system to the Center Gulf, for example, is very competitive and it is important to hold that advantage. “We would like to see more investment in the river, roads, and rail infrastructures to maintain competitiveness,” he added.

Written by Chicago Farmers Editor Denise Faris

U of I student receives TCF scholarship

University of Illinois Urbana Champaign sophomore Aisha Kamran is a 2020-2021 recipient of a Chicago Farmers’ scholarship. She is majoring in technical systems management (TSM) with a minor in business. Aisha related that her interest in the TSM major was piqued while she was pursuing mechanical engineering during her freshman year.

“As much as I enjoyed my physics classes, there was a downside. I didn’t see how what I was learning would be applied in the real world,” said Aisha, of Lombard, Illinois, and a graduate of Glenbard East High School. “My aspirations in college mainly were to pursue classes related to a career following college graduation, and just taking physics, computer science, math, and chemistry courses did not give me insight on that future. I did research with a mechanical engineering professor and joined physics clubs and engineering clubs to be more involved in my major. However, I realized I preferred something more hands-on.”

Aisha went on to say that after her switch to TSM, she was in the lab room connecting wires and actually putting them into a mini house. Beginning with a diagram, the students then actually saw the application. “The best feeling was that I built something that I had drawn in my little notebook, and, being one of the few females in a classroom filled with males, that I had created something not common for females,” she said.

Aisha said she hopes to continue her technical journey. She said she later discovered operations management, which sparked her interest in a business minor. Aisha noted that she has been enjoying this combination and hopes this path takes her to a role in operations or supply chain management. However, she added, she is still learning about more jobs that her major could open up for her.

She said her current career plans would include moving towards an operations role and she is very open to learning about what kind of system a company offers because she is eager for the experience. “Because I lack experience, I am open to any work environments that would offer the experience needed to understand what kind of field I should consider,” Aisha said. “My classes have made me realize that the agricultural industry is huge, and there are so many ways to sustain, maintain, and grow this industry. There are also many components to enhance this, whether it’s biologically, through equipment, or economically. The thing about operations management is that I get to work with multiple departments no matter what field that company works with. It is not just operations; it’s also engineering, marketing, financials, and so much more. My major and minor assist me in reaching this goal because TSM is very hands on and business helps oversee the strategic components in management and working in teams.”

Written by The Chicago Farmers Editor Denise Faris