Stacey Godin, astudent entering her second year of the FMT program this fall, completed her Agricultural Internship in Lachute (QC) working for the Hammond family at BenAllan Farms and Ferme Kevin Hammond. The primary location, BenAllan Farms, cultivates 3,700 acres and milks 200 Holstein and Ayrshire cows. Family member Kevin and his wife Emily operate Ferme Kevin Hammond, milking 85 cows on a rented farm.
Reflecting on what she learned during her stage, Godin stated, 鈥渢he biggest thing I learned is that I can work well in a team as well as independently. The host farm(s) have been very confident in my skills and my ability to carry out various tasks independently, so I gained lots of self-confidence.鈥
鈥淚 was intimidated at first as to what work I would be doing and what tasks I would be doing. After the first week I was integrated into the farm as if I had been working there previously. The other employees were very welcoming and are always there to lend a hand if needed,鈥 she added.
鈥淭his experience has been rewarding for me in the sense that it gave me the opportunities to learn a lot about different enterprises as well as management skills and techniques,鈥 concluded Godin.
Invested and enthusiastic
Emily Hammond of Ferme Kevin Hammond, Stacey Godin鈥檚 supervisor and an FMT alumni, describes why she likes hiring interns from Mac. 鈥淚 like teaching the younger generation about all the aspects of farming and what goes into managing a farm and see them apply those lessons themselves. Stacey is from a farm and she already knows a lot, so it was nice to have discussions and hear her thoughts on some of the day-to-day decisions. It鈥檚 so it鈥檚 nice to have an intern that is there to learn and who鈥檚 interested in what we do.鈥