VARIETY IS ONE WAY TO DESCRIBE A COOPERATIVE CAREER
Apr 06, 2023
Doing a variety of work has always been appealing to me. And, variety comes naturally when part of the cooperative system. You cooperate with others to get whatever needs to be done – done.
At our family’s dairy farm in Lafayette, Minnesota, we milked cows and raised corn and soybeans. I have been involved in some form of agriculture my entire life. Farm life is no different than a cooperative, you cooperate to get things done.
After graduating from New Ulm High School and then South Central College with a degree in ag business and management, I started at UFC in 1995 in the seed cleaning plant, cleaning and bagging seed. I also worked as a custom applicator, spreading fertilizer and spraying.
During the summer months, I would build grain bins for UFC and eventually became the foreman for the grain bin building crew. Those experiences led me to become Agronomy Operations Manager and my current position as VP of Ag Services.
As you can tell, being employed with the cooperative system has allowed me a variety of job responsibilities. But it’s also given me the chance to work side by side with a variety of individuals: fellow employees, farmers and patrons of UFC.
The cooperative business model is really a one-of-a-kind system. We work for the owners, but also know the owners. And that makes us one big family.
If you’re a motivated person, looking for a variety of job duties and opportunities for advancement, UFC is the place. While we love the business of ag, you do not have to have an ag background to work with us.
We have many individuals who come from a variety of backgrounds. There are lots of different employment opportunities and you can be part of a stable entity that is helping keep rural communities alive.
Collectively, we are a large family, passionate about what we do. We put in a lot of long hours together, but we have each other’s backs as well - at work and at play.
If that’s the kind of rewarding work you desire, we encourage you to consider UFC, no matter your background or experience.