Forever Green Agronomy Associate

About the Job

Forever Green Agronomy Associate

This is a 75% or 100% appointment.

Location: This position will be a hybrid work-from-home arrangement with periodic requirements for in-person, on-campus work at the University of Minnesota campus in St. Paul. The nature of this position requires travel for farm visits around the state of Minnesota from March - November and the incumbent must also be available for program needs on-campus for events, meetings, etc. Responsibilities include attendance at local and regional events and occasional travel to regional conferences and events.

Overview

The Forever Green Agronomy Associate will join an expanding team to support growers, with a special focus on EECO program and Go First Farm participants who are adopting these crops. This person will work collaboratively and proactively with a wide variety of partners within and beyond the University. This is a temporary (one-year) full‑time position, and flexibility exists to offer the preferred candidate a 75% FTE arrangement with the bulk of the duties happening during the agricultural production season.

The Agronomy associate will work within the FGI Commercialization Team, which includes the Forever Green Agronomy Manager, Director of Adoption and Scaling, CAS staff members, and third‑party contracted technical assistance providers such as growers, community partners, and collaborating organizations. The Agronomy Associate will also liaise with R&D Program Manager and FGI researchers working on the specified crops to share knowledge and provide a feedback loop from growers to researchers, helping to identify research needs.

The Agronomy Associate will serve as the statewide outreach coordinator for pilot‑scale hazelnut production/research sites through the Go First Farm (GFF) network. The Associate will also support collaboration with a diverse array of private, nonprofit, and public partners working together to support the adoption of perennial and winter annual crops and systems across Minnesota.

• Support individual growers who are growing the FGI crops covered in the EECO Program by providing one‑on‑one technical assistance related to soil preparation, planting, fertility, weed management, harvesting, post‑harvest handling, crop rotation, and other management concerns (30%).
• Coordinate, with oversight from lead agronomist, FGI technical service offerings to growers for agroforestry crops Hazelnut & Elderberry. Duties include supporting grower pipeline and development, providing technical support, coordinating site planning and logistics, and shepherding growers through the contractual processes (30%).
• Perform field verification and certification on enrolled EECO/GFF fields to ensure that planting specifications have been followed, which is required for growers to receive financial assistance (10%).
• Participate in educational and grower‑to‑grower learning events that may be live and in‑person, virtual, or pre‑recorded, such as field days, winter meetings, webinars, or call series (10%).
• Assist growers by coordinating the provision of mobile grain drying units and leading grain testing services (5%).
• Assist with and disseminate written grower‑focused technical assistance materials (10%).
• Other collaborative and outreach activities as assigned to support the success of the EECO Implementation Program, similar local and regional projects, FGI Commercialization, Adoption, and Scaling Team and the broader Forever Green Initiative as needed (5%).

A cover letter must be submitted to be considered for this position.

• Work experience in agriculture or a related field.
• Experience developing and delivering educational and technical assistance resources to growers.
• BA/BS degree plus at least two years of relevant experience or a combination of related education and work experience to equal at least six years.

• On-farm experience or experience working in the agricultural industry (agronomy services, seed, soil science, machinery, etc.).
• Located outside the Twin Cities metro area to better serve our geographically diverse farmer base.
• Advanced knowledge of…