NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY — A group of STC seventh graders along with science teacher Kory Staff and Patty Gomez of Corteva Agriscience pose for a photo outside of the Toledo facility on Tuesday after the students completed a tour of the plant.

Ever since Kory Staff first started working as a middle school science teacher at South Tama County 24 years ago, he’s been taking seventh graders on an annual tour of the Corteva (formerly Pioneer) seed corn facility just a few blocks down the road to the west in Toledo. It’s become such a staple that many of the plant’s current employees can remember participating in it when they were in school.

Last Tuesday, with the students broken up into smaller groups, they walked through the complex as Staff led the way along with employees at the plant. Even in small towns, the number of kids who are directly involved in farming operations has dramatically declined overall, so exposing them to other potential career opportunities in the agricultural field can open many doors in the long run.

It also makes them more knowledgeable in general. Staff noted that students are now more likely to be able to identify the difference between a seed corn plot and standard field corn, and it’s a valuable lesson on genetics, which play a key role in which seed corn ultimately gets sold to farmers.

“They see it, and just like in my classroom, I don’t teach the same way for every group of kids based on how they’re understanding stuff. You’ve gotta figure out how to take that real life stuff and relate it to the classroom because if their employees were to lead that, it’d be a little bit harder because they don’t know how to relate to the kids as well,” Staff said.

Both Staff and the leaders at Corteva, an international company headquartered in Johnston, hope the tours remind students that they can find great jobs after high school right here in Tama County, whether they go there straight out of high school or obtain a two or four-year degree first.

“Even if you’re not a guy in the office but you’re a welder, maintenance type stuff, you know, they still need those people. It’s a skilled trade,” Staff said.

And while they’re still in school, they can get some valuable experience and fast money detasseling corn in the summers. Of the 72 current employees and contractors at the Toledo plant, it’s estimated that about half of them are STC alums.

PJ Holbach is the plant operations manager in Toledo and previously worked at Corteva’s facility in Reinbeck. He noted the wide range of opportunities available within the company, even for employees who start in entry level jobs locally, and gave a summary of what happens at the Toledo plant.

“The main focus here is to process seed corn and package it for sales, so that’s really what it boils down to. We grow it, we harvest it, we package it and it’s off then to be sold to the farmers,” he said.

He commended Staff for the holistic summary he gives students of how the corn is raised and harvested while referencing the science that goes into it. Holbach joked that as a younger man, he detasseled for seven years and never once asked why it was necessary.

And of course, anything that helps the plant eventually recruit great employees is a net positive in the long run.

“This is a good size employer. It’s a good employer, so if they kind of have that in the back of their mind as a young person, they might see that opportunity when they turn 18,” he said. “If they don’t want to go to college, maybe there’s an opportunity there, and if they do go to college, maybe there’s that opportunity to get with the company in advance.”

Plant Location Manager John Schutt also spoke highly of the ongoing partnership between the company and the school district.

“Since 1955, Corteva Agriscience has been privileged to operate in the Tama/Toledo community. Over the years, we’ve had the pleasure of working alongside many incredible individuals from this area, especially those who have graduated from the South Tama Community School District,” he said. “Their dedication and hard work have been the backbone of our success, and continue to help us deliver the best seed corn products to farmers around the globe.”