This month, we spoke with Juan Alejo about his internship with Fox Creek Cattle Company through the Boots to Agriculture Internship. KCARD assists with this internship as part of the Kentucky AgVets Program, which helps veterans and transitioning service members who are interested in agriculture access resources, internships, and educational opportunities.
The Boots to Agriculture Internship is offered through the Career Skills Program office at Ft. Campbell. Participants complete a 40 hour per week, eight-week internship at a farm or agri-businesses in the Ft. Campbell area prior to exiting the service. Interns can receive college credit for the internship as well. The goal of the internship program is to provide active-duty service members with the opportunity to gain hands-on skills and work experience in the agricultural field of their choice before they leave the military.
While at Fox Creek Cattle Company, Juan was involved in the day-to-day operations of the facility to help understand all aspects of the cattle business. Juan sorted cattle into pens, assessed herd health, helped with feeding the cattle, and other duties. Fox Creek Cattle Company is in Hopkinsville, KY and has been in operation for over 40 years. The full-time facility managers, Bryan and Kirstin Roberts, oversee the day-to-day operations along with 4-5 part-time and full-time employees. The facility focuses on backgrounding cattle and works with several Kentucky producers to source their calves.
1) Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from originally and how long have you been at Fort Campbell? What is your current rank and position?
My name is Specialist Juan Alejo. I’m originally from Jerome, ID, and I’ve been here at Fort Campbell for a little over 3 years now, serving as our company Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge.
2) What are your plans after you exit the service?
My plans once I exit the service are to go to school full-time and get a degree. I’m not sure exactly what I’ll get a degree in, but I’ll know for sure once I get there.
3) What was your favorite part of your internship with Fox Creek Cattle Company?
My favorite part of my internship at Fox Creek was honestly the fact that it was something new and it’s always a learning experience every day. The workers there went out of the way to teach me and show me new things every day.
4) Why were you interested in pursuing an internship in agriculture for your CSP program?
I was really interested in pursuing this CSP program because growing up in Idaho, this is all I saw living out in the country and it always interested me watching the big tractors drive by or seeing the cattle in the pasture, so I always knew this is something I’d like to learn more about and get more experience with.
For more information on the Kentucky AgVets Program, feel free to reach out to Kellie Padgett at kpadgett@kcard.info or (270) 883-0052. You can also sign up for our Kentucky AgVets newsletter at https://www.kcard.info/kentucky-agvets.