SEED participants Ava Coddington (left) and Eliza Uliczny (right) check out the view from the top of one of Keystone Cooperative’s grain branches. Photo courtesy of Keystone Cooperative.
Graduating FFA members now have a unique opportunity to jump headfirst into agriculture-focused careers.
Keystone Cooperative, a 100% farmer-owned cooperative serving customers in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, launched its Securing Experience and Employment Development (SEED) program in 2024 after two former Indiana FFA state officers pitched the idea to the company’s senior leaders. A proud sponsor of FFA, Keystone Cooperative donated $40,000 to the Indiana FFA Foundation in 2024, which corporate partner Syngenta matched at the national level.
“Our goal is to create a seamless pipeline for students who are smart and passionate about agriculture, but don’t want to go to college,” says Sarah Morehouse, SEED program coordinator for Keystone Cooperative.
The current class of six SEED participants started the program in June 2024 and plan to complete it in May 2026. Working as full-time employees, these participants rotate through each of Keystone Cooperative’s divisions: grain, energy, agronomy, swine and animal nutrition and corporate. Keystone Cooperative provides housing for the employees as needed and offers them full-time benefits.
Lots of Lessons
Eliza Uliczny, an Indiana FFA Alumna and current SEED participant, applied for the program because she knew she wanted to work in agriculture in some capacity. She’s been impressed by how much she learned through the program already.
“There are so many aspects of agriculture that Keystone Cooperative is involved in, and I’ve been able to learn about all those different things,” Uliczny says.
For example, she’s gotten to ride along with sales reps in the agronomy division, loaded and unloaded trucks in the grain division and worked at the farm store. Uliczny and another SEED participant also took a shift running the cooperative’s feed mill by themselves.
Ultimately, Keystone Cooperative leaders hope to find a place in the company where SEED professionals will continue to build their careers. After their two-year program ends, they have an opportunity to start an apprenticeship program; the sky’s the limit from there.
Six SEED participants meet for a Development Day, where they learned more about Keystone Cooperative’s agronomy division. Photo courtesy of Keystone Cooperative.
In the meantime, established employees are realizing the benefit new perspectives from SEED participants brings — they’ve hired 18 new SEED participants for 2025. As for the current participants, they’re gaining an inside look into many aspects of agriculture and are discovering new things about themselves in the process.
“I’ve been surprised in all sorts of ways. I never would have imagined I would learn how to set up a propane tank,” Uliczny says. “I hope this leads me to a career with Keystone Cooperative, something that I can grow into long term.”
Future Focused
Looking for your next step? Find additional details about Keystone Cooperative’s SEED program.
