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About the Company:

Cactus Family Farms encompasses the Pork Division of Cactus Operating, LLC. Cactus Family Farms has hog operations in Iowa, South Carolina, Georgia, and Nebraska. Cactus Feeders, Inc., is an Amarillo, Texas-based producer of commercial cattle and market hogs. Originally founded as a family company in 1975, Cactus Feeders is 100% Employee Owned with its 800+ employees producing a million fed cattle and 850,000 market hogs annually.

About the position:

Our Cactus Family Farms summer internship is a 10-week paid swine internship based out of Osceola, Iowa, with travel to our Southeast locations in Georgia and South Carolina for a portion of that time (environment permitting). Students selected for the internship will work in every part of our swine division, including sow farms, finishing farms, office locations, feed mill, and other site locations to receive the full experience and exposure from start to finish. Our goal is to give students the opportunity to experience first-hand what a career at Cactus Family Farms would look like.

Location :

Osceola, Iowa with travel to other Cactus Family Farms locations as needed

Internship Experiences:

• Boar Stud Facility
  • Tour the facility and assist boar stud management as needed
  • Hands-on learning - collect the boar’s semen which is later used for artificial insemination at the sow farm
• Sow Farm Operations
  • Assist with reproduction in the breeding and farrowing departments
  • Heat check sows and prepare them for the breeding process
  • Processing piglets and administering to their health needs
  • Feeding sows and maintaining the cleaning protocols for the sow farms
• Wean to Finish Operations
  • Help with finishing operations to ensure pigs are gaining weight to meet the market’s standards
  • Feeding pigs and ensuring the finishing barn is operating as a safe and clean environment
• Travel to Cactus Family Farms Southeast Operations (environment permitting)
  • Spending time in South Carolina with our Sow Farm and Feedmill
  • Touring and assisting management with our Sow Farm in Georgia
• Rotational Experiences
  • Marketing/Logistics/Transportation Department
  • Human Resources Department
  • Environmental Department

Internship Responsibilities:

• Maintain and adhere to all Cactus Family Farms biosecurity protocols
• Provide safe animal care practices and animal husbandry techniques to both the sows and piglets
• Communicate effectively with a diverse group of people such as employees, managers, and senior management
• Conduct a mini-research project during the internship, which will be presented to Cactus Family Farms Management team at the end of the summer

Qualifications:

• Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, or Graduate student at an accredited university or college (Required)
• Student pursuing a college degree in an agriculture-related field (Required)
• Background in agriculture and/or the swine industry (Preferred)
• Proven leadership capabilities and background
• Student who possesses a self-starter and team player mentality
• Student willing to immerse himself/herself in both our company work and company culture
• Student with strong written and verbal communication skills
• Willing to relocate for the summer

Pay and Benefits:

• Paid Internship
• Housing is provided