Life Through the Eyes of an Intern: Life is Getting Busy

By: Lauren Ibach, Communications and Outreach Intern

I’m about to round out my second month here at the Nebraska Corn Board and I must say things have really picked up around here. It seems like all of my projects are approaching their deadlines all of a sudden. Last week was an especially big week for me. Last Friday I traveled to Osmond, Nebraska for a blender pump opening. In case you were wondering from Lincoln it takes 3 hours to get to Osmond so I had a long drive. I had a great time talking to members of the community about ethanol and educating them on Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFV’s). I find it very interesting listening to people’s different perspectives about ethanol. Through my summer at the Corn Board I have come to realize that there are a lot of common misconceptions when it comes to ethanol just as there are common misconceptions about agriculture in general so I enjoy hearing people’s thoughts and working to educate them on the facts about the industries that the Nebraska Corn Board focuses on. All in all it was a good day and made that long drive worth it.



Pumping E85 for a hog farmer



On Saturday June 22nd I traveled to PrairieLand Dairy for their annual Dairy Days Celebration. I was really looking forward to this trip because working with younger kids and educating them about agriculture (specifically corn) is something I am very passionate about. I spent the week punching holes in plastic bags, cutting 200 pieces of string, and designing labels for my activity the kids would get to participate in. The kids started coming at 11:00 and boy were they excited. We made “Corn Necklaces” together. For this project the kids got a bag with a string around it and were instructed to put in two cotton balls and a couple pieces of corn. They were then instructed to take the bag home and place it in the sun so they can grow their own field corn. During this process we also talked about the different portions of a dairy cows feed ration and how corn helps to produce the milk we drink every day. By the end of the day I realized I should have brought more supplies because I ran out of stuff early. This was one of my favorite experiences so far with the Nebraska Corn Board.



I have never seen gas this cheap!

This week hasn’t slowed down one bit. Earlier this summer I was assigned a job to develop a brochure and a photo book for a mission trip that is coming up here within the next two weeks. I have been working around the clock to finish these items and get them sent off to the printer before it’s too late. Some other things I have been up to are traveling to Omaha with other staff members to host an ethanol promotion at various Kum and Go stations. The new stations have put in flex fuel pumps that offer E85 and the Nebraska Corn Board along with the Iowa Corn Board worked together to offer E85 for only 85 cents at these locations. My responsibilities during these events were to pump the E85 for the customer and talk to them about ethanol. This was another chance for me to hear different opinions on ethanol and educate them about how ethanol is good for Nebraska.

As you can see I have been up to a lot lately and it doesn’t look like there will be any slowing down.