BVU, Ag Processing Inc. Forge Strategic Partnership

Collaboration allows for employees of Ag Processing Inc., as well as eligible family members of full-time employees, to receive grant funding to lower the cost of education at BVU.

Buena Vista University (BVU) and Ag Processing Inc. have formed a Strategic Partnership, joining forces and strengthening the employees, member cooperatives and communities they are committed to serve.

This partnership allows for employees of Ag Processing Inc., as well as eligible family members of full-time employees, to receive grant funding to lower the overall cost of education while enrolled in classes at BVU’s Storm Lake campus. Partner grant funding also lowers the cost per credit hour for students enrolled in BVU’s convenient online/hybrid undergraduate programs or the organizational leadership graduate program.

BVU professors and staff are also available for training programs, workshops, and more should officials with Ag Processing Inc. seek those services and expertise.

“We are continuing to strive to get younger people to work for us and stay with us,” says Dean Nosbisch, Ag Processing Inc.’s Director of Human Resources. “We see this as a big opportunity and a win-win not only for our employees and their families, but also as a way of potential retention for us.”

“We see this as a big opportunity and a win-win not only for our employees and their families, but also as a way of potential retention for us.”

Dean Nosbisch, Director of Human Resources, Ag Processing Inc.

Ag Processing Inc., a leading agribusiness cooperative headquartered in Omaha, produces and markets soybean meal, refined soybean oil, and biodiesel. The company works with its member owners—local and regional cooperatives representing nearly 200,000 farmers throughout the country—and their farmer-owners to provide competitive markets and services, add value to agriculture products, and generate competitive returns through cash flow and equity growth.

“We like to have close relationships with the communities in which we operate and that comes with offering educational benefits and professional development opportunities for our employees for the long term,” says Matt Bendler, Ag Processing Inc. Vice President of Human Resources. “Whether our employees take on opportunities at several of our AGP facilities or develop their careers and stay local, we really push for community involvement and community leadership.”

Bendler said many of Ag Processing Inc.’s employees show such community involvement by serving on local city councils, volunteer fire departments, church councils, and more.

Ag Processing Inc. operates 10 soybean plants across the Midwest in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota, as well as four soybean oil refineries and three biodiesel production facilities. The company employs about 1,200 workers.

“BVU offered experiences I can look back on and truly appreciate,” says Reggie Kock, Merchandising Manager at Ag Processing Inc. in St. Joseph, Mo., and a 2013 BVU graduate who played baseball for the Beavers. “The focus by the professors on providing real-world scenarios within the classroom and the life lessons taught by my coaches helped prepare me for life beyond college.”

BVU has long enjoyed strong educational ties throughout Iowa, including many of the locations in which Ag Processing Inc. operates facilities. Students enrolled in a program through a community college BVU partners with can seamlessly transfer their credits toward their bachelor’s degree at BVU. Students receive personalized support, including admissions and enrollment counseling and academic advising at those office locations.

“BVU is excited to partner with Ag Processing Inc., extending educational benefits to its employees and eligible family members,” says BVU Director of Strategic Partnerships Laura Todd. “We look forward to working together to continue to strengthen our community’s workforce and more through education.”

For more information about BVU’s Strategic Partnerships and partner opportunities, please visit the BVU website at bvu.edu/strategic-partnerships or contact Strategic Partnerships at StrategicPartnerships@bvu.edu.

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