The location of this position could be based out of any of our Kenmare, Minot, Velva, Rugby, Mohall, Harvey, Williston or Stanley store locations.

Purpose:
Strengthen our relationship with our customers by providing Agronomy solutions, support for customers and Gooseneck Implement employees.

Research and test equipment options/attachments on the ROI for our customers and Gooseneck.

Responsibilities:

A Gooseneck Agronomist acquires and maintains customers, provides in-field services, and technical advice and services to these customers. The consultant will also work to educate Gooseneck employees and customers on agronomic topics.

Customer acquisition – The consultant will meet with growers and attempt to convince them to hire the consultant to provide agronomic services. Once hired consultant should have a conversation with their growers to listen and understand each grower’s operation, their logistics, and the reason why they perform operations the way they do. It is important for the consultants to become familiar with individual operation to be able to give the best recommendations/ services suited for that specific operation.

Soil sampling – The consultant will soil sample for their customers and potentially for other consultant’s customers. (Teamwork) Most of the soil sampling will be done in September and October. The consultant should plan to have their soil sampling done by mid-November.

Crop planning and Prescriptions Creations– Ultimately, the timeline to finish crop planning and creating prescriptions will depend on when the grower needs it. Growers will potentially need this to be done in time for fall seeding and fertilizer application, spring seeding and fertilizer application or for fertilizer purchases, this can typically occur from October through May. It’s important the consultant should talk with each individual grower to determine when their grower will need his crop plans and Rxs. The consultant plan to have Rxs delivered to the grower or applicator at least 3 days prior to when the Rxs will be used.

Grower meetings with existing customers – This should be done after soil sampling but no later than February. At this meeting, the consultant will provide crop plans, although they may only be preliminary crop plans. The crop plans will often need to be rewritten before Rxs are created.

Crop/ Pest Scouting – The consultant should scout fields as often as needed to ensure proper and timely management practices for the grower. Scouting once per week is usually sufficient but sometimes the consultant will need to scout more or less frequent than this. The consultant should plan to scout early in the week. This gives the consultant a cushion if weather delays scouting. Also, most growers prefer to get their scouting reports early in the week rather than on Friday afternoon. Early week scouting potentially allows the consultant and their growers to have the weekends off.

Employee and customer training – The consultant will work to educate Gooseneck employees and customers on agronomic topics. This can include writing newsletter articles, presenting at employee and customer events and providing in-field support when asked.

Equipment and attachment research and testing – The consultant will work on the effects to the ROI on attachment such as Exact apply, Pro series Openers, closing wheels, RTK. Perform field trials to validate the resalts.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

The consultant must have a sound understanding of soil, water, and crop interactions. The consultant should be able to answer most of the agronomic questions that farmers ask of us. Furthermore, consultants should have the resources to quickly find the answer if they don’t know it. Consultants must have the knowledge to effectively scout fields, make agronomically sound recommendations, and have a thorough understanding of soil fertility.

Besides the agronomy knowledge, the consultant must be self-motived, take pride in their work, and have a determined work ethic to independently deliver their work on time & professionally to their growers.

• Be able to use technology (computers). EX. CEL (basic formulas/functions), word, PowerPoint, GIS software (Create zones, import/export data etc.), send/receive files to/from equipment.
• Work hard, be determined & motivated to get your work done, Pride in your work, “run it like it’s your own business”, Continue to want to learn no matter how much experience you have, problem solver, adaptability.

Education and experience

A degree in Agronomy is preferred but is not mandatory. However, a degree in Agri business, Precision Ag, Animal since or on farm experience may be considered.

The consultant must stay current on new and upcoming trends and developments in agriculture. This knowledge is acquired online, field-days throughout the summer, and at trainings that usually occur throughout the winter months. It is up to the consultant to ensure that they stay up to date with their agronomy knowledge. To obtain the necessary experience, new consultants may scout and crop plan for other consultant’s clients.

Expected results

• Bring in sufficient revenue for Gooseneck Implement to be profitable for the consultant position.
  • If the consultant is not yet profitable, they should spend at least 40 hours per month attempting to acquire new customers. This includes
  • Develop and practicing presentation materials for new grower meeting, either for a one on one or group setting. This includes developing an elevator pitch and an organized and detailed presentation (usually PowerPoint).
  • Development of marketing materials for customer acquisition. This could include pamphlets, and display materials for customer events or ag shows, etc.
  • Identifying potential customers, and planning/attempting to meet directly with these customers, preferably on their farm.