Puck Celebrates National Ag Week
National Ag Week happens every Spring as a celebration to raise awareness of the work those in agriculture do to feed and fuel the country. At Puck, we take this opportunity to highlight the contributions of our local agricultural community by hosting two special events; National Ag Day for high school students and Women in Ag Day, a tribute to the incredible women who play a key role in agriculture.
National Ag Day
Puck celebrated another National Ag Day on Tuesday, March 18th by welcoming students from four local high schools. Puck invited IKM-Manning, Boyer-Valley, Woodbine, and Denison high schools to tour the Manning facility. It's also an opportunity to learn about different jobs that assist the agricultural sector. The educational goal was to present students with a local business that works within the agricultural industry without being directly related.
When students arrived, they were challenged with a Puck history quiz. Those who answered all the questions correctly were entered to win a prize. They also had the opportunity to talk to a member of Puck’s HR Department and learn a little bit about Puck’s Family of Brands.
CEO Jeremy Puck greeted the students and thanked the staff involved. He also thanked the IKM-Manning FIRE students, who designed and produced the shirts that Puck employees and student visitors received. After a brief overview of what to expect while at Puck, students were divided into groups and sent to different departments around the facility.
Activities for Students
In the showroom where the high school students initially gathered, the Sales Department had a water transfer station. Barrels of water were set a distance apart, and teams attempted to move the water from one barrel to another with either cups or a submersible pump. Students learned about downtime and increasing their efficiency by incorporating new technology.
In the training center, the Marketing Department had six stations of activities for the students to rotate around. The activities were based on tasks that the marketing team regularly perform, such as Google Ads, social media, shirt or sticker design and placements, and more.
Over in the warehouse, the Shipping and Logistics Department challenged students to a scavenger hunt throughout the one-acre warehouse. They also had the chance to wrap large packages securely while trying to beat the clock. Engineers gave a presentation to the students in our production breakroom. This looked at the entire process of a Puck product’s production, from conception to the final product. Rounding out the presentation, engineers showed the students a recently completed Puck Force Feed trailer that was the first of a new design.
Puck’s Fabrication Department teamed up with DMACC Carroll to create their station activities. While some students tested their hand at welding on DMACC’s welding simulator, others joined the plier toss to see how close they could get to the target. Thank you to our visitors and volunteers from DMACC for bringing their welding simulator and speaking with the students!
Women in Ag
On Friday, March 21st, Puck welcomed women from the surrounding area for our Women in Ag event. This afternoon event centered around women’s role in the agricultural industry and celebrates their contributions. Guests received gifts upon arrival, including a reusable wine cup with lid. They were also entered to win one of the door prizes provided by one of the vendors.
Vendors came early in the afternoon to set up their booths. Throughout the afternoon they could present their business and its products to Women in Ag guests. The 2025 vendors had a range of products, such as clothing, birdhouses, jewelry and accessories, honey, nutritional drinks, and baked goods. Upon arrival, guests wandered the vendor booths and enjoyed drinks and snacks.
Speakers
Puck’s 2025 Women in Ag event had three speakers; Alexis Stevens from Landus and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Madelynn Wuestenberg from ISU Extention and Outreach, and Jamie Lindemann from L3Co. Alexis gave two presentations, and the first looked at the agricultural market and the future of ag. In this presentation, Alexis showed the data on past crop sales and their predicted futures in the market. In her second session, Alexis dived into AI in agriculture. She explained how artificial intelligence has the potential to assist the industry.
Madelynn’s presentation was a look at Iowa’s 2024 Weather Superlatives, examining the areas of the state that received the most abnormal weather events last year. She explained the latest meteorological predictions from Iowa State University for the country’s spring weather and how that can affect farmers in our area. Madelynn also gave attendees ideas on how they can participate in the nation’s precipitation monitoring through programs like CoCoRaHs.
Jamie, based out of Southeast South Dakota, owns and operates a family farm of pastured Berkshire pigs. She shared the story of how she got into pasture farming to begin Lindy Land and Livestock. L3Co’s unique pasture-raised practices combine rotational grazing with portable infrastructure and technology to create the best-tasting pork for customers. Jamie also explained how she markets to customers directly in addition to supplying local restaurants.
National Ag Week is a fantastic way to discuss the importance of our agricultural industry and the value it provides. Thank you to all of our guests, speakers, and vendors who attended these events to help celebrate with us. To learn about upcoming events at Puck, check our events calendar.
