Mike Boerboom

Degree: Bachelor of Science
Major: Ag and Food Business Management

Previous job titles and organizations:
Cargill, Cargill Animal Nutrition, Pork Consultant Intern

Current Job Title: Financial Analyst                               
Organization: New Fashion Pork

How did you find this job?
After consulting with a career center counselor, I decided to cold call New Fashion Pork regarding their internship program. They invited me to interview their on-site interview day. After the interview, I decided the internship was not what I was looking for. They encouraged me to contact them as I got closer to graduation, as they would have a full-time position.

Please describe your job:
I manage New Fashion Pork’s risk through the use of futures and options. Day to day this involves analyzing agriculture markets, putting together risk management strategies, and executing positions. Day to day there is one thing that stays constant; the markets will open and close at the same time. How they will trade is the challenging part and what I spend a majority of my time trying to understand. Every morning I spend time reading market comments, analyzing statistics, and developing a strategy for both the day and the future. Strategy will change from day to day and new positions are placed on a regular basis.

What from your undergraduate educational experience was most helpful in preparing you for this career?
All of my classes are helpful in some aspect. But the upper level Applied Economics classed are the most helpful. This includes futures and options, commodity managerial economics, and economics of strategy. Carlson classes are important but the Applied Economics department does a wonderful job of preparing you on how to approach problems, fully understand them, and come up with a solution that is most sensible to the company. On campus organizations are the best way to learn how to work with people and understand what it is like to work with different personalities. Get involved on campus and take an executive position within an organization.

What is the biggest misconception about this occupation or field?
People often do not think as animal production agriculture as having many career opportunities. In fact there are a lot of great opportunities, you just have look for them and find something that fits.

What advice do you have for current students?
Don’t be afraid of anything. Cold call companies, outdo the competing person, network, and find something that you will enjoy.