Current jobs related to Agronomist - British Columbia - Mastronardi Produce

Mastronardi Produce pioneered the commercial greenhouse industry in North America, and we’re now the leading greenhouse vegetable company on the continent. Our award-winning, flavorful produce is packed under the SUNSET® brand and is available at leading grocery retailers across North America. Family owned for over 65 years, we pride ourselves on having the most flavorful products and the best people in the industry. We are constantly pushing boundaries to be a leader in fresh produce innovation. We seek individuals that demonstrate our PRIDE values (Passion, Respect, Innovation, Drive, Excellence) to help us fulfill our mission to inspire healthy living through WOW flavor experiences.

Mastronardi BerryWorld America, North America’s leading grower and distributor of greenhouse produce, has created a partnership that will “WOW™” the North American berry market.

We are currently seeking an Agronomist that would be based in BC to join our Berryworld team This role is responsible for assisting suppliers and customers with both technical and post-harvest support to ensure correct growing methods and maximize yield potential in berry crops. This requires a person who has excellent technical knowledge, great interpersonal and communication skills, team spirit and a willingness to travel extensively.

Values:

To perform the job successfully, the incumbent’s behavior must be consistent with the PRIDE values expected of all Mastronardi Produce employees: be Passionate; have Respect; be Innovative; be Driven and strive for Excellence.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Provide technical and post-harvest support to growers across all crops to maximize yield potential and fruit quality. Focus will be on the West Coast of USA and Canada, from British Columbia to California.
• Provide weekly forecasting updates to align grower output with sales and ensure growers have adequate packing materials to meet their harvesting needs.
• Provide technical support to propagators and assist in their compliance to MBWV plant specifications and delivery to order.
• Assist propagators in forecasting plant availability and correct grading of plants at packing/shipping.
• Timely reporting of progress, recommendations, and questions back to the grower and MBW team.
• Frequent communication with growers when plants are received to ensure that plants are of the right quality and best practice is being followed during planting.
• Develop and maintain relationships with our customers, growers and other third parties.
• Assist in procurement of new growers and development of planting and production proposals that meet business objectives.

Key Accountabilities:

Relationships

• Develop and maintain professional relationships with growers and propagators, ensuring that they feel like they have an organized and efficient contact with technical knowledge within MBW.
• Understand the broad strategic ambitions of MBW growers and propagators to ensure that we are aligned in our expectations.
• In collaboration with MBWV leadership and the procurement team, identify and develop relationships with potential new growers, in order to secure additional production volumes.

Technical and Post-Harvest Support

• Understand all aspects of irrigation, fertigation, plant management and harvest requirements to be able to provide answers to technical/growing related questions.
• Regularly walk the crops with the growers and proactively advise on strategy to maximize yield potential and fruit quality.
• Understand the basics of grower economics to be able to assist growers with choosing the correct plant type and planting window to maximize their yield and profit margin.
• Continue to develop the MBWV growing manuals by evaluating regional planting and growing trends and attending growing and production seminars.

Complaint management

• Raise and initiate customer and propagator complaint investigations.
• Monitor, track and manage the progress of investigations efficiently.
• Liaise with appropriate individuals to ensure a fast resolution for customer or propagator complaint investigations.
• Record the detail, progress, response, and actions relevant to complaint investigations on the database.

Reporting

• Produce and distribute reports of farm or crop visits to the grower and wider MBW team.
• Run and produce accurate reports, as required, by the team or our customers ensuring accuracy and high attention to detail.
• Flag concerns noted in grower fields and escalate to appropriate managers and decision makers.

Seasonal Activities

• Coordinate and communicate plant orders and shipments with the growers, in conjunction with the MBWV Logistics Coordinator.
• Work with the research manager to coordinate propagator and grower trials and display results in a means that deliver improvements year on year.
• Coordinate Group visits by the team to growers and propagators.
• Work closely with team members, providing support as and when required.
• Ad hoc administration and projects.

Weekly Activities

• Regular contact with propagators and growers to understand likely challenges and find solutions for such issues and escalate as required.
• Visit propagators/ growers as necessary to understand factors affecting supply program.
• Continuing education on growing practices through internal meetings, industry events and individual study.
• Troubleshooting/ issue management.

Qualifications/Education Requirements

Education/Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or associate degree in related field (botany, horticulture, plant science, etc.) or equivalent practical experience required.
• Fluent written and spoken English required.
• Spanish – a plus.

Specific Knowledge & Experience

• 3 years experience of working with cropping and plant production of berries, including fertigation, crop protection, agronomy, and harvest.
• Excellent knowledge of Word, Excel and PowerPoint and Microsoft Outlook.
• Familiarity with European-style berry systems a strong advantage.
• Demonstration of strong interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate with internal and external personnel.
• Receptiveness to change within fast moving industry.
• Able to work within a team as well as work independently.
• Ability to plan and prioritise your workload. Proven time management skills.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Excellent attention to detail skills.
• Ability to work outside under challenging weather conditions (hot, rainy, cold, etc.).
• Ability to walk on uneven surfaces, bend, lift and carry up to 25 lb.
• Possess current driver’s license and be able to rent vehicles in the USA and Canada.
• Possess passport and legal standing to be able to travel in USA, Canada, and Mexico.

Please note: Mastronardi Produce has accommodation processes and policies in place and provides accommodation for employees with disabilities. If you require a specific accommodation because of a disability or documented medical need, please contact the Human Resource office so that arrangements can be made for the appropriate accommodation to be put into place.

Salary for this role is $70,000/yr CAD