Meet our summer interns

We’ve been impressed with the passion and talent of all ag students we’ve met in our interactions throughout the country, from career fairs to trade shows. This year’s class of Stine sales and agronomy interns is no exception. We’re thrilled to have a group of talented and passionate students in our summer internship program.

Stine’s 2025 intern class includes five sales interns and one agronomy intern. Each is getting hands-on experience working with Stine’s experts in the field throughout the busy growing season. Get to know the interns and what they’re up to this summer.

Sales interns

Stine’s sales interns work directly with the regional sales agronomists (RSAs) and independent sales representatives (ISRs) in their assigned territory.

“Many of our sales reps are independent, and they’re each successful in their own way,” says Schomburg. “Their end game is selling Stine seed, but they typically go about it in different ways. Interns can work with these individuals to see how they’re successful and take away best practices to try to implement their own strategies in the future, which is beneficial wherever they land, including if they end up at Stine.” 

Here's the rundown on our sales interns for the 2025 season and a little Q&A about their background.

Brady Klotz

Brady is heading into his senior year at Northwest Missouri State University. His dream job has always been something in the ag field, but specifically in seed sales. His family farms around 2,000 acres of row crops near his hometown of Hoyt, Kansas, and he credits his upbringing in agriculture for his career ambitions in the field. Brady is assigned to Stine Region 38 (Kansas and Missouri), working with RSA Eric Webb; ISRs Neal Haverkamp, Mark and Dylan Harshbarger; and Field Agronomist Danny Greblunas.

What are your primary duties as a Stine intern this summer?
My main duties are taking stand counts for the ISRs and assisting with plot work with Danny. I will also do cold calling and work on building relationships and getting the Stine name out there. 

What’s one thing you’ve already learned from your internship?
I have learned what the new Product Development Plots (PDPs) are and how Stine genetics really work. I’ve also learned how the company selects only the best hybrids out of those plots.

What do you hope to achieve through this internship?
I hope to achieve a better understanding of what ISRs do in their day-to-day life in seed sales. I also want to learn more about what the agronomy side of the seed sales world entails.

Alyssa Kleinlein

Alyssa is assigned to Stine Region 10 (Iowa and Minnesota) and works closely with RSA Mick Kane and Central Director of Retail Development Tony Pleggenkuhle. Her hometown is Strawberry Point, Iowa, and her agriculture background is primarily in livestock. Alyssa is a student at Kirkwood Community College, where she’ll enter her sophomore year this fall to pursue an ag science degree with a beef certification. Fun fact: She’s served as the Clayton County [Iowa] Fair Queen and Beef Princess!

What inspired you to pursue a degree in agriculture?
My background in agriculture is deeply rooted in livestock, more specifically cattle. My grandparents have a cow/calf operation, so I grew up around their farm as well as competing with show cattle. Through the years, I have had the opportunity to show many breeds and varieties of cattle, as well as horses and Boer goats. I still actively show breeding heifers and Boer goats. I chose to pursue a degree in agriculture because the industry as a whole gives back so much to those involved, and every day is rewarding in some way or another.  

Were you an active member in 4-H or FFA growing up? If so, how did that experience prepare you for your internship with Stine?
Through school I was actively involved with both 4-H and FFA. I served in many leadership roles in both, including president of my 4-H club for four years and vice president of my FFA chapter during my senior year of high school. I still am a member of the Starmont FFA Chapter. Being so involved with both organizations prepared me for my role with Stine a lot more than I first thought. As I go around talking with people, I have found there is always a connection leading you to who you are talking with. Most of those connections I have found come from me showing livestock with someone they know! 

Who is your favorite ag influencer or ag hero?
My favorite ag influencer is Heather Welper. She is involved with the livestock industry and shows Herefords. She is my favorite because she not only helps others but also shares any knowledge she can to better young people in the industry. She has a strong and profound love for God and shares her meaningful story with others to let them know they’re not alone, all while having a good time doing it! 

Austin Davis

Austin is a hunting, fishing and video game aficionado from Marion, Arkansas. He recently graduated from Arkansas State University, where he majored in plant and soil science. His dream job is one that doesn’t feel like work, where he can apply and implement evolving changes in agriculture to make the industry more sustainable for future generations. He is assigned to the Stine Region 14 team (Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana), where he works with RSA Dru Sanders and ISRs Parker Sutton, Will Stratton, Carson Cunningham, Andrew Sager, Chase Tucker and others.

What are your primary duties as a Stine intern this summer?
My primary duties as a Region 14 intern consist of learning from and helping all my regional ISRs in their day-to-day duties and getting to see the side of Stine that most do not get to see. I’m carefully learning and picking up new skills I learn from each person.

What’s one thing you’ve already learned from your internship?
One thing I have already learned is that everyone runs their business differently. Even though they have a common goal, their methods can and will be different to reflect their individual style.

What’s your background in agriculture? What inspired you to pursue a degree in agriculture?
My background in agriculture is deep. I was a field scout for four years, where I got to learn a plethora of things on in-season crops and problems that can occur, including bugs and weeds to identify. I also worked for RiceTec in the Arkansas division, where I grew accustomed to seed treating at a high capacity and the full logistics of a major seed company. My drive to pursue agriculture came from Jamey Boney. He inspired me to dive into the ag world and understand the importance of the relationships you can create from it.

Drew Davis

Drew is a senior at Murray State University, where he’s pursuing a degree in agronomy. He has a passion for agriculture and all things golfing. In fact, his dream job is to be a professional golfer. His hometown is Clinton, Kentucky, where his family still farms today. Drew is currently assigned to Stine Region 18 (Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama and Florida), where he works closely with RSA Ben Wilson and ISRs Mathew Chalk and TJ Todd.

What are your primary duties as a Stine intern this summer?
My primary duties are to talk to customers, get accurate stand counts, put up signs and make more connections for the future.

What’s one thing you’ve already learned from your internship?
I have learned that the more you put yourself out there and the harder you work, the more you will get out of it.

Who is your favorite ag influencer or ag hero?
My favorite ag hero is my dad. He has shown me so much and taught me everything I know, including how hard you have to work to get everything you want.

Autumn Schlipf

An agribusiness major at Illinois State University and a Gridley, Illinois, native, Autumn Schlipf is prepared to wear a lot of hats this summer, helping Stine’s sales team with plot work and data tracking. She’s assigned to two regions: Region 12 (northern Illinois), where she’s working with RSA Jake Anderson; and Region 13 (central Illinois), where she’s working alongside RSA Andrew Colgrove, Field Agronomist Ian Matzenbacher and Soybean Technical Agronomist Tyler DuBay. She’s excited to learn, grow and represent Stine this summer.

What’s one thing you’ve already learned from your internship?
I’ve learned that sales take just as much organization as it does strong communication. Both are key to making things work smoothly.

What’s your background in agriculture? What inspired you to pursue a degree in agriculture?
I grew up on a small corn and soybean farm with a precision planting business. My path in college is basically a copy-paste of my older brother’s, so I guess you could say a passion for ag runs in the family.

Were you an active member in 4-H or FFA growing up? If so, how did that experience prepare you for your internship with Stine?
I wasn’t just active in 4-H — I’ve been in it since birth! My mom was the 4-H club leader before I was born and stayed with it until I aged out at 18. Leadership roles in both 4-H and FFA helped build my communication and organizational skills, which have prepared me well for this internship.

Who is your favorite ag influencer or ag hero?
My dad. He not only taught me how to work and has more knowledge about agriculture than I think I could ever learn, but he also taught me how to care for others well — whether that be a neighbor down the road or a stranger on the street.

Agronomy intern

While most interns will acquire agronomy experience on the job this summer, one intern in particular is spending the growing season heavily invested in supporting Stine’s agronomy team — Rylan Barnes.

Rylan Barnes

Rylan is going into his junior year at Iowa State University, where he’s pursuing an agricultural studies degree. When he’s not busy on the guitar, hanging out with friends or playing linebacker for the Iowa State Cyclones, he helps out on the family farm in Britt, Iowa. Rylan works directly with Stine Director of Agronomy Tom Larson, assisting with any task the agronomy team needs support on, including Stine’s PDP program.

What’s one thing you’ve already learned from your internship?
Connections are really important to have within and outside of the company.

What is your dream job and why?
To be an agronomist. I grew up on a farm and have learned a lot about crops and soil over the years. I want to be an agronomist to help farmers grow better crops and take care of the land in a way that’s good for the environment.

Who is your favorite ag influencer or ag hero?
My ag hero is my grandpa. He helped start our family farm and has been working for a long time.

Stine’s intern season will wrap at the start of the new school year in August. We appreciate the time and hard work each intern is putting into their experience so far and can’t wait to see what the future holds for them.