Have you ever wondered what a career in agriculture might look like? Cooperatives offer many career opportunities, maybe even ones you might not think of. Take a deeper dive into a career that is offered by an agricultural cooperative and grow more.
Kasey | NEBRASKA
Kasey works at a cooperative in Nebraska and shares what her experience working as a grain scale operator & customer service specialist at the co-op is like.
WHAT DOES A GRAIN SCALE OPERATOR DO?
It is our job to accurately monitor and grade the grain that comes into our facility. We are often the first employees to interact with our customers. Customer service is such a key factor in this industry. We also answer grain marketing calls because we can price and contract grain for producers.
Describe what your day looks like:
An average work day for me starts by getting all the equipment turned and making sure our bin board is up-to-date for where we plan on taking grain for the day and getting logged into our grain marketing website. From there, I wait for grain trucks to arrive, answer phone calls, and assist customers.
My favorite thing about my job is interacting with our producers and helping them with any questions they have. I also love that everyday there is something different going on or a new challenge to work through.
HARDEST TASK YOU ARE ASSIGNED:
The most interesting and challenging task I was asked to handle was when the COVID pandemic first hit. I was selected to work from home, so if we had an instance where people needed to quarantine, I could step in and the facility could still operate. We had also just hired a new CSS one month prior so I had to adapt to training her from home. It was a challenge because my job is very hands on, but in the end it was a success.
WHAT MAKES YOUR TEAM SUCCESSFUL?
Teamwork is such a key element and I really think our team does such a great job at it. My coworkers are always willing to help where they are needed and don’t hesitate to jump into a project to get it finished. Whether it is an applicator helping at the grading scale or the grain pit operator tendering fertilizer loads to a machine in the field. We really focus on cross training our employees so they feel comfortable helping in different areas. That really is what teamwork is about.
Take a look at actual job openings at one of the largest agricultural cooperatives in the Midwest, Central Valley Ag, to see if there are any jobs that interest you.