NDSU alumnus Sean Hertz, BS ’20, knows about adversity.
He’s watched family members suffer the consequences of drought and tanked commodity prices. But the 23-year-old is returning as the fifth generation of family farmers with confidence, after earning his bachelor’s degree in agricultural systems management through NDSU’s Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.
Hertz now farms alongside his parents, Shane and Stacey Hertz, as one of several young farmers and ranchers who have returned to their roots in North Dakota’s Hettinger County.
“I got a really broad range of classes at NDSU, from taking a bunch of marketing classes to help with marketing our grain or taking welding classes to improve my welding skills or going to a crop scouting seminar and getting my private applicator’s license,” said Hertz, who minored in crop and weed science and agribusiness.
Hertz points to the senior capstone class, in which his project focused on farming succession, a valuable class at NDSU. Connecting with other young farmers in college was another advantage.
“Being around a lot of like-minded young farmers and seeing their perspectives was kind of eye-opening. Being in Fargo and being around some Red River Valley farmers, who had totally different views on farming than we do, overall was a really good experience just to broaden my knowledge base,” Hertz said.
During his time at NDSU, he was president of the Agricultural Systems Management Club, which was another valuable networking tool.
“I had a really good time with it and I met a lot of lifelong friends through the club,” he says. “There are aspects of that club that I use to this day as well.”
As Hertz harvests corn on the family farm which dates to 1905, he encourages others to pursue an NDSU degree through the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.
“Give it a shot. At least take a tour, talk with some of the professors. There are some really good professors that I had at my time there. There’s a lot of them I would consider a friend now, and someone I could call if I had a question and I know they would help me out,” he said. “Go see what it’s all about and then you can make that decision for yourself.”
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