"Seasonal Workers" and NRCS Plant Materials Program Meet Demands of Farm Work

Anthony Dieguez (right) and coworkers at the Beltsville National Plant Materials Center

Located at 26 regional facilities or Plant Materials Centers (PMCs) across the nation, student interns or “seasonal” workers" as they often jokingly refer to themselves, perform an age-old-labor-intensive routine of agricultural work during their summer break. But the big difference with these young people is that they’re doing all this work willingly. So why do these young men and women, many of them college students with unrelated majors to agriculture, spend their time in the fields?

Two college students at the Aberdeen, Idaho, PMC have interesting and practical insights into why they chose to work on a farm year-after-year rather than doing something more related to their coursework. "As most jobs are agriculturally related here in southeast Idaho, there aren't a lot of summer work options for college students so most of us students do things like move water lines,” said Jared Reed a senior majoring in secondary education at Idaho State University (ISU) who has worked five summers at the Aberdeen PMC.  “At the PMC we move lines, rouge fields, and help harvest plants. I like variety of tasks we do during the summer.”

While Jared is finishing up his degree at ISU, his buddy Walt Satterfield, who has worked three summers at the Aberdeen center, will be graduating this fall. Walt, however, intends to pursue a career in public administration. "Working at the PMC is a great summer job,” said Satterfield. “Even though it does not pertain to my major in school, I enjoy the work because agriculture is something I have been around all my life and have grown to appreciate. This job gives me a chance to work outdoors and involves manual labor which is a refreshing change from the college lifestyle."

On a farm just outside of Washington, D.C., Anthony Dieguez drives a tractor as he charts his career course for a job in the film industry. This is Dieguez’s first summer at the Beltsville, Maryland PMC and his fourth with the NRCS.

Dieguez’s father first encouraged Anthony to work at the Beltsville PMC and after many hours in the fields the younger Dieguez learned to appreciate working outside. When asked why a film major was working like a field hand he said, “as a film student, I spend a lot of time indoors in editing rooms and once film making is my fulltime career, I’ll be spending many more hours in an editing room. Working at the PMC gives me a chance to connect with nature before my career’s demands will make it more difficult to get outside on a regular basis.”

Find out more about the NRCS Plant Materials Program

However not all student interns are in fields unrelated fields to agriculture and for Dominique Colberg who works at the Palmer, Alaska PMC, an internship can really help determine what area of agriculture she finds most interesting. Dominique has worked several summers at the Palmer, Alaska PMC and plans to get her degree in range management. “I chose to work for the PMC because it provided me with both the opportunity to see what people with range management degrees actually do and to jumpstart a future career” said Colberg. “Working for NRCS is an excellent resume builder for someone like me wishing to continue work in an agriculture-related field.”

These student workers play a crucial role in helping the program meet its yearly budget goals. Consequently, whatever motive students have in signing up to work at a PMC is fine with the program managers. As long as the students give it their all, managers are happy to have these “seasonal workers.”
Your contact is Robert Westover, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 301-504-8175.