Agriculturist

Summary of position:

The purpose of the Agriculturist is to be the primary point of contact between the Cooperative and the Cooperative’s shareholders and facilitate the efficient production and storage of sugar beets. Activities the Agriculturist does to accomplish this purpose range from providing insight on planting, growing, harvesting, and delivering shareholder’s sugar beet crop, overseeing the sugar beet receiving operations, and monitoring stored crop until it is processed. Working with a team of agriculturists, researchers, and shareholders, the Agriculturists contributes to the SMBSC’s mission of maximizing sugar production and minimizing storage losses. Towards that mission, Agriculturists are found providing input on investments in maintenance, equipment upgrades, environmental projects, effective partnering in industry, innovation, training, and uncompromising safety. This will be achieved by (1) developing and maintaining internal and external relationships focusing on education, improvements, and good results; (2) monitoring assigned sugar beet fields, receiving stations, and storage piles; (3) managing seasonal employees.

Essential Functions:

Internal and External Communication

• Articulates the rationale, role, innovation, impact, and results of research to a variety of audiences including growers and employees
• Coaches growers in improving sugar beet quality focusing on sugar beet production including contracting acres, aiding in the selection of varieties, issuing seed, scouting fields, recommending pesticides, monitoring fertility and observing harvest activities

Field Observations

• Scouts and monitors fields contracted in their territory for various pest and other agronomic issues
• Organizes a variety strip trial with growers, verifies samples are taken for quality analysis, and communicates results to the grower and other internal and external customers
• Monitors the condition of designated storage piles and provides a weekly report to the Agricultural Superintendent
• Performs necessary environmental inspections and submits environmental reports as required

Employee Management

• Collaborates with internal and external parties to hire and train receiving station personnel
• Provides leadership and mentoring to personnel regarding best practices with safety and environmental standards
• Monitors employee progress to ensure harvested sugar beets are acceptable for long-term storage, reduce receiving station interruptions and maximize efficiency

Core Competencies and Skill Requirements:

Broad understanding of agronomy, agricultural, and business practices.

• • Ability to evaluate information to determine best practices using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether new techniques or findings apply to sugar beet production, harvest and/or storage
  • Ability to keep up-to-date with new agronomic techniques and publications and applying the new knowledge to benefit SMBSC
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
  • Ability to develop constructive and cooperative working relationships with internal and external audiences and maintain these relationships over time to advance the overall public image of SMBSC
  • Ability to influence growers to accept newly advanced agricultural methods and techniques by communicating experimental results
  • Ability to communicate with a variety of audiences with diverse backgrounds

Required Education and Experience:

Bachelor degree in agronomy, agricultural science, plant science or related field preferred but not required if background is sufficient