Career Pathways for FFA Members with Keystone Cooperative

Keystone Cooperative’s Lindsay Sankey addresses FFA students from Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan about their SEED program at the Keystone HQ in Indianapolis. Photo: Eric Pfeiffer/ Hoosier Ag Today

With the National FFA Convention in town this week, Keystone Cooperative took the opportunity to corral students from Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio chapters at their Indy headquarters to discuss career pathways within the organization.

Lindsay Sankey, director of Public Relations for Keystone, says they’re looking for senior FFA students who have decided they want to enter the workforce after graduation instead of attending college to apply for their SEED program, which is an acronym for Securing Experience + Employee Development.

“We hope that they hire on with Keystone and retire with us in 40 years,” Sankey explains. “It is a two-year employment commitment where they rotate through our agronomy business, our energy business, grain, and then also swine and animal nutrition. They’ll also spend some time in our corporate office learning business acumen- HR, marketing, IT even- all the different things that go on at Keystone.”

At the end of those two years, the employee will then meet with the SEED program coordinator to figure out which area was the best fit and where they should continue their career with Keystone. Throughout the two years, Keystone will also take care of the necessary accreditations, which would be quite costly to do individually.

“We’re paying for their CDLs, their applicators license, Pork Quality Assurance training, propane safety training. They essentially start earning money the first day that they show up in the SEED program, and we take care of all that financial burden.”

If you’re an interested FFA senior, Sankey encourages you to visit keystonecoop.com/careers. The deadline to apply is January 31st! This is a paid position with benefits.