GROWMARK's 56th annual Summer Internship program gets off to a great start!

As part of the GROWMARK Summer Internship Program, Ontario interns travelled in style on the corporate jet to meet up with another 53 summer interns; all attending an orientation session at head office in Bloomington, Illinois.

During their first, of three trips to illinois, interns got the opportunity to network with each other, meet GROWMARK executives and learn more about the organization’s co-operative roots and core business strategies.

Barry Hannah, Ontario human resources manager, handles the recruiting and placement of students throughout the province. He says he is impressed with the high caliber of interns each year. “The program has such a broad reach with recruits from 18 universities and colleges System wide.”

Interns are placed with an FS Co-operative or a GROWMARK facility and are exposed to accounting, marketing, communications and product and service-related activities. Each intern will complete a special project and deliver a presentation on that project to other interns and GROWMARK executives later this summer.

“We are very excited about the outstanding group of students this year,” says Allison Stephey, GROWMARK university relations manager. “It is encouraging that our internship opportunities reach such a diverse group. They will gain hands-on experience in their chosen field, and have the opportunity to clarify career goals.” 

From the University of Guelph, GROWMARK Ontario summer interns travelled via GROWMARK corporate jet to Illinois to meet with U.S. interns at orientation meeting on May 17.

From (L-R): Christine Wyville of Grey County (Markdale), is majoring in Honours Agriculture. Christine is working at Huron Bay Co-operative this summer as an agronomy intern specializing in documenting and reporting on Glyphosate Fleabane resistance in the region.

Darren Clark of the Chatham Kent region (Highgate), is majoring in Bachelor of Commerce, Food and Agricultural Business. Darren is placed with AGRIS Co-operative as an agronomy intern with a focus on GROWMARK’s N-WATCH program responsible for analyzing nitrogen levels in 40 plus locations.

Kaylene Sangers from Ayr is on her way to a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture majoring in Honours Agriculture. Kaylene is positioned with FS PARTNERS, also working with the N-WATCH program and as a field scout.

Christopher Albrecht from Wellesley is working towards a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture major in Animal Science. Chris is also placed with FS PARTNERS working on exploring the potential of the GROWMARK System’s planning and mapping modules. 

Sunderland Co-op wins environmental award for N-WATCH™

Sunderland Co-operative was recognized along with five other environmental champions during a special ceremony hosted by the Durham Environmental Advisory Committee on May 14.

The co-operative was the recipient of the Eric Krause Innovative Plans/Policies/Initiatives Award for helping to fund and pilot N-WATCH (Nitrogen Management Strategy). This award is given to those who have shown forward-thinking efforts that encourage positive change with respect to the natural environment.

Developed by GROWMARK, Inc, the goal of the N-WATCH program is to investigate the complex dynamics of available nitrate and ammonium nitrate in plants. Additionally, N-WATCH and the results collected can be used to estimate the concentration of available nitrogen as the year progresses and to reduce nitrogen losses to the environment.

This specific N-WATCH program funded by Sunderland Co-op, focused in Durham Region with the results available to members of the co-op. Although the N-WATCH program was implemented at Shadyway Farms Ltd., the yield data and results are shared widespread so that others can benefit from the advantages of the program.

Due to the success of the test site location, the N-WATCH program will be launched province wide with more than 50 sites participating in the program in 2015.

Sunderland Co-operative was nominated for this prestigious award by Agricultural and Rural Affairs-Economic Development Division. 

Pictured below from (L-R): Alex Georgieff, Commissioner of Planning and Economic Development; Blain Thompson, Sunderland Co-operative General Manager, Warren Jibb, Sunderland Co-operative Director and GROWMARK, Inc. Director; Roger Anderson, Regional Chair and CEO of the Regional Municipality of Durham.  

Congratulations to the Sunderland Co-operative team!

On Co-op releases new Bernie Daly Memorial Fund video and announces new information on how the fund can help more youth attend CYL.

Established in 2009, in honour of the late Bernie Daly, GROWMARK and the Ontario FS Co-operatives created the Bernie Daly Memorial Fund to support the continued growth of the Co-operative Young Leaders Program (CYL) run by the Ontario Co-operative Association.

The main objective of the fund is to provide a long-term pool of resources that will help support youth who cannot participate in CYL due to financial restraints or lack of sponsorship. Daly’s main concern was to ensure that all youth in the co-operative sector had a chance to attend CYL even if financial restrictions became a barrier for participation.

Daly served the Ontario Co-operative System for more than 30 years. He was a solid support and strong contributor to the health of the Ontario co-operative sector. He believed fully in co-operative principles and values, promoting them in business as well as in his everyday life with his family and community. 

Please take a moment to view and share this video to help support Co-op Young Leaders and The Bernie Daly Memorial Fund.  

To learn more about how you can contribute to the Bernie Daly Memorial Fund or apply for support to attend Co-operative Young Leaders, please visit The Ontario Co-operative Association’s website.