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Kylee Sigmon: Tyson Foods

Raised on a cattle farm in Berryville, Arkansas, honors agricultural business and agricultural communications major Kylee Sigmon put her experience to work early in her internship at Tyson Foods.

“She’s had the opportunity to do things not many people at her age have had a chance to do,” according to her supervisor at Tyson Foods, associate director of production planning Anthony Henson. “She put a tutorial together for me and taught me the basics of the beef industry. It’s handy to have someone with Kylee’s unique experience on the team.”

The presentation walked him through the beef life cycle, from birth to production to the plate, looked at U.S. cattle populations and what factors affect supply. Since beef prices affect poultry sales, this information helps Tyson improve their forecasts.

Sigmon was primed for this work after serving as a national beef ambassador from 2015-2016, during her first year at the University of Arkansas. As one of a team of five people, she attended national trade shows and traveled to Washington, D.C. to lobby for beef.

Recent honors alumna Maggie Jo Hansen, who works in Local Grain Services at Tyson, feels the same way about Sigmon’s unique background. “It’s really rewarding to mentor someone who is farther ahead than I was at her age. I feel like I learn just as much from her at the same time.” Sigmon traveled with Hansen on a Bumpers College study abroad trip to Greece, and their shared interest in agricultural communications has kept them close since.

Even though both of her parents work for Tyson, Sigmon says there are some things only time in the office can prepare you for: “One thing I don’t think you understand until you’re a part of it, is how big the company truly is. Seeing how a company functions day-to-day and keeps food on peoples’ tables world-wide is really eye-opening.”

Sigmon is the president of Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow, the treasurer of agriculture sorority Sigma Alpha, and is taking nineteen hours of classes and working fifteen hours a week at Tyson. When does she have time to sleep? She puts it simply: “When all the work is done.”

In response to consumer demand, all Tyson®-branded chicken is from birds raised without antibiotics, which has sparked Sigmon’s honors thesis research. She will focus on rampant misconceptions about terms like “natural” and “organic” on packaging. She hopes to help people understand USDA regulations so they can know the truth about what they’re buying.

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