CAST

New CAST Intern Uses Her Farm Background in Multiple Ways

CAST’s newest staff member has solid roots in family farming, and as she enters her third year of college, she has found ways to branch further into the world of agriculture.

Michelle Mensing recently added the role of CAST Student Administrative Assistant for Marketing and Membership to her resume. The long title fits the many years of experience Michelle has had working with ag-related projects. While growing up on a farm near Orient, Iowa, she actively participated in 4-H and FFA activities. “We had strong programs with good advisors,” she stated. She especially appreciates the firm foundation in communication she built while participating with those organizations. Michelle was a member of the speech contest team, and during her senior year in high school, her FFA soil judging team went to the national finals in Oklahoma.

When ag classes and sports team participation ended in the summers, Michelle stayed in tune with farming by working as an intern for the Wallace Centers of Iowa. Henry A. Wallace was born in Orient, and the organization that has his family namesake is active and award-winning.  Michelle worked in various ways with their “Prairie Harvest Community Supported Agriculture” program, and she has been especially involved with their youth activities in Des Moines, Iowa.

Michelle says “I didn’t realize how important an agriculture background is, but now I realize how ag ties into everything.”  She has also tied it into her program at Iowa State University where she has added an ag business minor to her finance major.

With her experience and goals both firmly grounded in agriculture, Michelle can immediately contribute to the busy schedule facing CAST this fall. As Melissa Sly, Director of Marketing and Membership, points out, “Michelle is already assisting with the many upcoming activities. She is especially focused on the 40^th Anniversary event and the Borlaug CAST Communication Award breakfast gathering at the World Food Prize.” CAST staff members are pleased to have Michelle join the team.