Shelby Gustafson

        So far in this internship, I have worked on multiple activities, including field work, and I learned about PPE (personal protection equipment) for spraying herbicides/pesticides on fields before calibrating a boom and sprayer. I learned about mixing herbicides and cleaning all the herbicide bottles, caps, and all spraying equipment before putting them where they belong. A bright light trap to catch pests at night that are drawn to the light, and different kinds of crop/vegetable trials that are being done right now. I completed a training on ARM (Agricultural Resource Management), and I installed ARM on my computer for managing experiments, reports, and data collection from the field trials that we do this summer. I transplanted watermelons into black plastic on a transplanter. 

     Some past experiences/knowledge I have to help me be successful in this internship are that I have an associate degree in applied science. I have a certificate in Produce Safety Alliance, and I passed the Delaware Pesticide Private Applicator State Test in the fall of 2023 when I was in college. I was a field intern for Willard Agri Service in the summer of 2023. While I was interning at Willard, I scouted corn/soybean fields searching for any pests, weeds, or diseases that could disrupt proper plant growth. I performed soil tests to evaluate why crops were not growing to standard. I also performed tissue tests to evaluate if the corn and soybeans are getting the correct amount of nutrition they should be receiving to thrive. I completed reports on which areas needed to be replanted due to issues such as flooding. All of these will help me be successful in this internship because they all kind of go with what I am doing now, so I can use those experiences/ knowledge to help me with this internship, but also, I will be gaining more experiences and knowledge at this internship.

         My biggest goal I have set for myself in this internship is I want to become more professional, and I guarantee this internship will help me become that. 

         Some agricultural technologies I will be learning about during this internship are drones and the ARM. I got to learn how to activate a drone. There have been a couple of times already where I got to activate or be around a drone while a field was getting rolled and planted at the same time, and there was another time where the rye cover crop was getting rolled. The ARM app on my computer will be used quite a bit during this internship for managing experiments, reports, and data collection from the field trials that we do this summer.

I was doing a stand count in a soybean field in this
picture when I interned for Willard Agri Service. I
was looking for pests, weeds, and diseases that could
affect the yield, and how much soybean yield was in
that field. 

Me scouting a soybean trial plot at UME
internship looking for any pests or herbicides
damage that could affect the crop.

I was doing a stand count on this corn when 
I was a field intern for Willard. Checking for
any pests, weeds, and diseases that could affect
the crop. I was also seeing how much corn yield
was in this field.