Jordan Bonham Rasmussen: Grain Origination and the Importance of Internships

Voted most likely to never leave her hometown, Jordan Bonham Rasmussen was in love with the small town feel of the town that she grew up in in southwest Ohio. It caught everyone, including herself, by surprise, when she got the bug to challenge herself, step outside of her comfort zone, and for an internship, travel to a new place: Albion, Nebraska. 

Receiving a bachelor's degree in agriculture communications from Ohio State University, it was a grain marketing class in her agricultural business minor that first sparked her interest in the excitingly competitive and ever-changing world of grain marketing. Getting what she calls a “wild-hair” in college, she told a recruiter for a chemical company that she wanted to go to Oklahoma or Kansas. 

However, his only open opportunity was in a small town in northeast Nebraska, called Albion. She loved it so much that she accepted another internship there with Cargill, then accepted a training position after college, and now lives and works there full time. 

The Perks of Internships 

Wanting something different, Jordan took the internship in Nebraska and packed up her Pontiac G6 and drove to live somewhere she had never been before, where she knew no one and worked for people she hadn’t even met. Even to this day, she realizes how crazy that sounds, but she also can’t imagine where her life today, as a Grain Marketer for Cargill, would be. 

“When you are in college, it’s the perfect time to try those things and push yourself beyond those limits,” says Jordan. “It was something that I was questioning, and I wondered what life would be like out of Ohio - you never know, unless you try!” 

Capitalizing on Collegiate Opportunities

Originally terrified to go anywhere other than where she currently was, Jordan told herself that “if you want to know anything else than what you currently know, learn new perspectives, see how other people think or what you do but do differently... you have to go elsewhere.” 

Jordan laid the groundwork to be comfortable accepting such an exciting and slightly terrifying change in relocating for a few months for her internship was by immediately getting herself involved in organizations in college. Starting off, she was involved in two or three for a semester and then, as she got a handle on those, she found other groups to join that had some interest to her. Whether it’s a club, an organization or a study abroad program, you can figure out how to make it work. 

“There were plenty of times that I hit a breaking point,” Jordan admits. “I knew that I had reached my max capacity and that I needed to reel it back in and focus on what truly mattered.” 

Grain Marketers

Jordan finds it can be hard to explain to friends and family what exactly she does as a grain marketer, as she is sometimes selling a product to buy. For example, she is selling a contract and through that contract, she is buying that farmer's corn, which can be hard to wrap your head around if you’re just starting out. 

“You have the futures aspect and the basis aspect,” explains Jordan. You have to sit down with your grower and figure out if the grower is the type to really understand technical aspects and their correlation or lack thereof, or if they’re simply thinking of the cash-price at the end of the day. Then you have to determine the best way to serve them. 

COVID-19 Impacts

In normal years, Jordan buys corn for Cargill that then sends through a conveyor to nearby Valero. Valero then processes the corn into the final commodity of ethanol. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the ethanol market in such a way that they actually turned into a shipper of corn utilizing the nearby Union Pacific Railroad to send the corn to California for chicken arms. 

“I was very much in the flow of buying for an ethanol market...

Voted most likely to never leave her hometown, Jordan Bonham Rasmussen was in love with the small town feel of the town that she grew up in in southwest Ohio. It caught everyone, including herself, by surprise, when she got the bug to challenge herself, step outside of her comfort zone, and for an internship, travel to a new place: Albion, Nebraska. 

Receiving a bachelor's degree in agriculture communications from Ohio State University, it was a grain marketing class in her agricultural business minor that first sparked her interest in the excitingly competitive and ever-changing world of grain marketing. Getting what she calls a “wild-hair” in college, she told a recruiter for a chemical company that she wanted to go to Oklahoma or Kansas. 

However, his only open opportunity was in a small town in northeast Nebraska, called Albion. She loved it so much that she accepted another internship there with Cargill, then accepted a training position after college, and now lives and works there full time. 

The Perks of Internships 

Wanting something different, Jordan took the internship in Nebraska and packed up her Pontiac G6 and drove to live somewhere she had never been before, where she knew no one and worked for people she hadn’t even met. Even to this day, she realizes how crazy that sounds, but she also can’t imagine where her life today, as a Grain Marketer for Cargill, would be. 

“When you are in college, it’s the perfect time to try those things and push yourself beyond those limits,” says Jordan. “It was something that I was questioning, and I wondered what life would be like out of Ohio - you never know, unless you try!” 

Capitalizing on Collegiate Opportunities

Originally terrified to go anywhere other than where she currently was, Jordan told herself that “if you want to know anything else than what you currently know, learn new perspectives, see how other people think or what you do but do differently... you have to go elsewhere.” 

Jordan laid the groundwork to be comfortable accepting such an exciting and slightly terrifying change in relocating for a few months for her internship was by immediately getting herself involved in organizations in college. Starting off, she was involved in two or three for a semester and then, as she got a handle on those, she found other groups to join that had some interest to her. Whether it’s a club, an organization or a study abroad program, you can figure out how to make it work. 

“There were plenty of times that I hit a breaking point,” Jordan admits. “I knew that I had reached my max capacity and that I needed to reel it back in and focus on what truly mattered.” 

Grain Marketers

Jordan finds it can be hard to explain to friends and family what exactly she does as a grain marketer, as she is sometimes selling a product to buy. For example, she is selling a contract and through that contract, she is buying that farmer's corn, which can be hard to wrap your head around if you’re just starting out. 

“You have the futures aspect and the basis aspect,” explains Jordan. You have to sit down with your grower and figure out if the grower is the type to really understand technical aspects and their correlation or lack thereof, or if they’re simply thinking of the cash-price at the end of the day. Then you have to determine the best way to serve them. 

COVID-19 Impacts

In normal years, Jordan buys corn for Cargill that then sends through a conveyor to nearby Valero. Valero then processes the corn into the final commodity of ethanol. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the ethanol market in such a way that they actually turned into a shipper of corn utilizing the nearby Union Pacific Railroad to send the corn to California for chicken arms. 

“I was very much in the flow of buying for an ethanol market and had to go back to buying for a rail market,” says Jordan, whose first role with Cargill was a farm marketing role with Cargill in south central Nebraska. 

The Importance of Customer Service

At the end of the day, Jordan believes that everything boils down to customer service because customer service is at the core of everything you do. At the end of the day, a five cent difference isn’t really going to matter if you don’t take care of the customer, treat them right and build that relationship with trust and loyalty. What matters is how well you know your contracts, how you help their needs and how you best serve them. 

 Jordan advises any young professional to not be afraid to take a risk and that when you’re young, it’s the best time to do so. There will always be plenty of opportunities in organizations to get involved in and, if you don’t like the job or enjoy the place, there is always a way to get out. Don’t ever discount a job opportunity as a life sentence, it can simply be a stepping stone to get to where you want. 

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