The wonderful team at the Animal Agriculture Alliance made me feel welcome from the very first day of my internship in the fall of 2018, and I was sad to say goodbye at the end of my internship. However, my sadness has quickly been matched by complete gratitude. Although I am not entirely sure exactly what my future in animal agriculture will be, I do know that the knowledge gained from my internship experience will stay with me for the rest of my life! Not only did I come to realize a great deal about myself, but I feel as though I have a much greater appreciation for all of animal agriculture.
Stepping outside of the dairy world
Up until this past September, my experience with animal agriculture had been almost entirely based upon dairy production. This internship provided me with an excellent opportunity to get to know the other facets of animal agriculture. I was introduced to people involved with poultry, pork and dairy alike. Among other things, this allowed me to learn that, although production practices vary across the different animal agriculture sectors, the goal of every producer is the same: to ensure a safe and secure food supply while maximizing animal health and welfare.
A lot of the challenges that animal agriculture is currently facing are shared across all types of animal agriculture. The Alliance really taught me that the most effective way to face a challenge is to create a unified voice. By bringing together multiple experts from all fields, including producers, animal health experts and welfare specialists, the Alliance provides the unique opportunity to discuss many possible solutions and work together to decide upon the best plan of action.
More than an internship
It is safe to say I learned a great deal from my internship. Perhaps most valuable of all is that I know where ever I end up within animal agriculture, I can count on the Alliance to be there supporting all of animal agriculture. As I embark on a new journey, I can’t stress enough how important internships can be. My next chapter is at the University of British Columbia Dairy Education and Research Centre and although my focus on is dairy, the Alliance helped me see the big picture.
All posts are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily represent the view of the Animal Ag Alliance.
