Progressive Publishing is pleased to introduce Ashley Hagenow as one of its summer 2022 editorial interns. Hagenow began work in May and is responsible for writing feature stories and news articles, as well as video production, forProgressive Dairy.

Ashley Hagenow grew up in Wisconsin on a small hobby farm complete with horses, rabbits and a few barn cats. Having a background in agriculture from her parents – especially her dad, Bob – she found it only natural to join 4-H as a cloverbud and continue her involvement in agriculture as an active FFA member in middle school and high school. Hagenow and her younger sister, Sarah, were involved in showing and judging dairy cattle at the local, state and national levels. Hagenow also enjoyed showing horses.

Following graduation from Rio High School, Hagenow served as the 2018-19 Wisconsin FFA state reporter, where she worked with the Wisconsin FFA staff and fellow teammates to plan over 60 workshops, conferences and conventions sessions for more than 20,000 Wisconsin FFA members and presented leadership trainings in classrooms and at leadership conferences across the state.

This fall, Hagenow will be a senior at the University of Minnesota, where she studies agricultural communication and marketing with minors in animal science and agricultural and food business management. Throughout her time as an undergraduate student, Hagenow has immersed herself not only in her coursework but in extracurricular activities offered at the university and in the agriculture industry. Some of these activities focused specifically on the dairy industry include participating in the collegiate dairy challenge and dairy judging teams, engaging as a Midwest Dairy ambassador, volunteering on the National Dairy Shrine student social media committee, serving as vice president and senior yearbook editor in the Gopher Dairy Club and most recently becoming involved in the social media and public relations committee for the Mike Hellenbrand Lasting Legacy Award. Other on-campus activities include involvement in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) Undergraduate Student Board, the National Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow, the CFANS Mentor Program, the National Agri-Marketing Association and Agriculture Future of America.

Prior to working for Progressive Publishing, Hagenow participated in numerous internship programs that cover different aspects of the agricultural industry. These include serving as a marketing and communications intern for CHS Inc., as a marketing intern for CLUTCH Marketing Agency, as the public relations intern at Curious Plot Marketing Agency and as a media intern for the Arizona National Horse Show.

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“My personal mission statement is: To communicate with, connect and empower others in a career that provides for work/life balance, personal fulfillment and the ability to positively impact agriculture and its people,” Hagenow says. “Agriculture has always been a central focus of my life, and I am excited about what the future holds and my role within the industry.”

“We’re fortunate to have Ashley join our team this summer,” says Progressive Dairy Associate Publisher Karen Lee. “She brings with her many talents, experiences and a passion to share the message of agriculture with others. We look forward to sharing her work with our readers.”