Alpha Pi Chapter at the University of Arizona focuses greatly on professional development in their chapter so that brothers can experience all forms of agriculture, build relationships with alumni and local industry leaders and get the opportunity to potentially find jobs or internships.
Brother Dylan Gilmore of Alpha Pi Chapter said his chapter sets up tours every semester for their chapter to visit. He said their VNR-Membership Development, Brother Grant Smith, selects a region and then connects with local agriculture businesses to set up tours, some of which are businesses owned by AGR alumni.
“It was a cool opportunity to see ag in a different mindset,”
“It was a cool opportunity to see ag in a different mindset,” Brother Gilmore said.
The chapter made four stops on their tour around northern Arizona. They visited Lyman Ranch Meat Shop where they got to experience how they sell their locally-grown meat. Brother Gilmore said Lyman Ranch Meat Shop talked about the challenges of running a ranch and a meat shop, and how to navigate those challenges in business.
They also visited the Annual Bar T Bar Bull Sale, which is one of the biggest bull sales in the state. The chapter got to tour the entire sale and received a shoutout from an AGR alumni out of Colorado State, Brother Bob Prosser, who was helping with the event. This brought light to many local farmers what AGR was and how these young men were being proactive in building their futures. Brother Gilmore said while they were there, Bar T Bar Bull Sale, made roughly $2 million in cattle sales, which was fun for the chapter to experience.
Their next visit was to a Biomass Plant where they learned how trees could be used to create energy. Brother Gilmore said the plant uses shredded-up trees, put them in a boiler and it becomes energy.
Lastly, the chapter visited Reed’s Cattle Co. where they got to learn from first-generation farmers about how they got started and how they used social media to help grow their business.
“It was cool for a lot of our brothers,” Brother Gilmore said. “A lot of us may become first-generation ranchers or farmers, and so they had a lot of advice for us.”
These tours are funded by the chapter’s Professional Development budget and some alumni donate money, food and time so that collegiate brothers can continue to participate in these tours. Brother Gilmore said sometimes alumni will pay for gas money or money for meals and even meet them halfway and have dinner with the chapter brothers who are in attendance.
He said these professional development tours bring about several opportunities for brothers who attend. It helps brothers network with alumni and local industry leaders, which could lead to internships and even jobs.
Brother Gilmore explained the chapter tracks how many brothers gain internships every semester when they attend professional development tours, giving them an understanding of how these tours have helped their brothers.
Next semester, the chapter plans on going to Phoenix and touring some of the larger agriculture industries in the state and they would like to invite chapters from all across the country to join them in these tours.
Brother Gilmore said in past years they had invited other chapters to attend and hope to have them join them to gain insight and help create pathways for their future.
