The first day of the 2025 summer internship at Tennessee Farmers Cooperative started with a group meeting at TFC headquarters in La Vergne. Interns are, front row from left, Emma Gunn, Abigail Colarullo, Madison Youngblood, Layla Denton, Jillian Plunkett, Gracey Plemons, Natalie Taylor, and Layla Adams. Middle row from left are Jami Jordan, Madisyn Woody, Bailey Lafollette, Makala Blythe, Alli Lawson, Grayson Riner, Lexy Halbert, and Ella Hasty. Top row from left are Carson White, Kail Leake, Cole Carter, Conner Johnston, Matthew Laws, Trevor Lynch, Nick Catron, Will Southall, and Harrison Lee.
A season of purpose
Co-op’s 2025 summer interns get an insider’s look at the industry of ag
Story by Emma Gunn
The Co-op internship program is a 12-week paid study, with a bonus of a college credit for many. Students can apply to work in various departments at Tennessee Farmers Cooperative (TFC) headquarters in La Vergne or at one of the local Co-ops in their hometowns. From customer service and communications to agronomy and regional tours, Co-op interns walk away with a wide range of experiences. Will Southall, Madi Woody, and Lexy Halbert say their 2025 Co-op summer internship has impacted them greatly. Both Will and Madi had relatable experiences while they were working in different stores. Will, an intern at First Farmers Co-op in Decaturville, says that the chance to engage directly with farmers was eye-opening. “Our customers are essential, so I was eager to help them be productive in their operations,” Will explained. “I have enjoyed my Co-op internship. It’s been a very rewarding experience.” Madi worked at United Farm and Home in Columbia and learned first-hand how her local Co-op did business, helping her to gain a “deeper understanding of how agriculture businesses operate on a local level.” A stipulation of the internship experience is that participants must travel to La Vergne at both the beginning and end of the summer to connect with fellow interns, gain a better understanding about the departments that make up TFC, and learn more about their own local Co-ops. These meetings provided a behind-the-scenes look at what services each department offers to support Co-ops across the state. For Lexy, who served in the Marketing Communications Department to work with digital media staff, the most meaningful parts of her experience were realizing how many people play a vital role in the Co-op system. “From the member Co-ops and their customers to accountants, the communications team, and countless others, every person plays an important part,” she says. “It just shows how Co-op is really built on teamwork.” In addition to time spent working, the interns also participated in a regional tour that offered a broader look at agriculture across the state. They visited various Co-ops and heard from managers about the unique challenges and opportunities in their local areas. Madi said that in addition to the “incredible opportunity the tour provided to see how other Co-ops around the state handle day-to-day opportunities,” the tour gave her a chance to build a stronger relationship with some of her fellow interns. While Will is looking forward to going back to campus and seeing his friends and professors back at the University of Tennessee at Martin, he says he is excited to apply the agronomy information he learned as a Co-op intern to help further his education back at school.
The interns on the West Tennessee State Tour watch as Weakley Farmers Cooperative Manager Paul Wilson teaches about the importance of drones and answers questions about agriculture in the Martin area.
Lexy is eager to take back what she learned from her summer experience into a new season of opportunity.
“I’ll be student teaching this fall at Woodbury High School,” she says, “and the valuable lessons and experiences I have gained over the summer will serve me well in the classroom.”
Madi says the internship provided connections that will be valuable far beyond the summer.
“The coworkers I have met and the farmers I have served have given me a better understanding and love for the agriculture industry,” she says.
Scott Bohanon, education and training manager at Tennessee Farmers Cooperative, says the intern group was one of the “best ever.”
“We hope that the 26 interns we had with us this summer will carry what they’ve learned into their own careers and lives,” Scott adds. “We have enjoyed working with all of them and wish them the very best as they seek their roles in our very dynamic world of Tennessee agriculture.”
If you or someone you know is interested in the Co-op Intern Program, applications are open year-round at https://www.ourcoop.com/careers-en/apply-trainee-intern. The selection of candidates takes place in February of each year for the upcoming summer.
For more information, contact Education and Training manager Scott Bohanon at sbohanon@ourcoop.com.
Madi Woody, an intern working at United Farm and Home in Columbia, displays Co-op Starter Chicken Feed and other supplies to help chicken enthusiasts get their flock off to a good start.
Will Southhall, an intern at First Farmers Co-op in Decaturville, learned about the day-to-day operations at the facility. Here he’s helping at the warehouse by loading a bag of Co-op custom layer chicken feed into a customer’s car.
