Isaac Clements

Hometown: Prattsburgh, NY

Major: Agribusiness Management

Good at: Hard work, not procrastinating (eventually), being friendly, public speaking, writing, telling dad jokes, being cheesy (Get it? Because I’m a dairy farmer?), making eggs, having a five o’clock shadow, being a dreamer

The right size for success.

“Out of a thousand kids, I was the only Agribusiness Management student.”

"During orientation I was sitting with what seemed like a thousand students. I’m from a small town in New York—it was overwhelming. Then we were grouped by college, and then by major. I was the only Agribusiness Management major. It hit me hard—the bigness and smallness. At Penn State, I’m going to get the tools I need to impact the world through agriculture with the help and guidance from others.”

"Never give up."

“Nothing creates strong ties like working together to keep a farm in business.”

“Growing up on a dairy farm has taught me the value of family. When I look at the news and see family farms going out of business, it saddens me. I want to be able to advocate for agriculture and raise support to help the family farms and the farmers to continue to do what they love to do. I want to be able to give back to agriculture.”

“At Penn State, I’m going to get the tools I need to impact the world.”

“Man, these cows are really skinny!”

“I work at Haller Farm, a Penn State beef farm. It’s interesting to see another part of the agricultural industry and how it operates. One time when I went back to my dairy farm in New York, I was looking at our dairy cows and I said to myself, 'Man, these cows are really skinny!' Yeah, they’re all cows, but the dairy and beef industries are very, very different.”

“I want to be able to give back to agriculture.”

“I’m part of the Blue and White Family.”

“One of the Lion Ambassadors said to me to find the college that makes you feel at home, and that really stuck with me as I made my decision to come to Penn State.”

Center for Dairy Excellence

Isaac did a summer internship with the Pennsylvania Center for Dairy Excellence.

“I feel like the dairy crisis is pretty well known. But I learned about incredible opportunities for growth in the dairy industry. With better use of tools like marketing, we can get the dairy industry in a healthier place.”

Anchors aweigh—down on the farm.

“I went on a spring break trip to the Netherlands with the Dairy Science Club. Incredible experience! One thing’s for sure—the Dutch eat A LOT of cheese. We got to see the Floating Farm under construction; it’s now in operation. It’s a full dairy with around 30 cows that can be taken from city to city to let urban people discover ag firsthand and bring rising sea levels to mind. It really inspired me. We have a lot of work to do to get the word out about agriculture.”

Is Agribusiness Management right for you?

Explore the Major