Agricultural Inspector - St. Joseph, MO

Why You’ll Love This Position

Grain Inspection Services (GIS) plays a critical role in Missouri’s grain market by acting as an unbiased third-party to help to establish the value of grain being bought and sold.

increased flexibility and pay incentives.

• Pay incentives
• +$5.00 per hour for qualifying work on shuttle trains
• +$4.00 per hour for work outside of 8am - 5pm, Mon-Fri
• Standby pay when qualifying work is rescheduled (up to 8 hours weekly)
• Per diem (typically $18-$38) when working extended shifts in travel status
• Full state benefit package(see section below)

Location: St. Joseph, MO

Grain Inspection Services (GIS) plays a critical role in Missouri’s grain market by acting as an unbiased third-party to help to establish the value of grain being bought and sold.

Employees in this position primarily perform hands-on work in the field as grain is being loaded into railcars, barges, or containers, with some in-office duties – no two days are the same. The nature of the work is dynamic, allowing for increased flexibility and pay incentives.

• Starting base salary: $42,000.00
• Pay incentives
  • +$5.00 per hour for qualifying work on shuttle trains
  • +$4.00 per hour for work outside of 8am - 5pm, Mon-Fri
  • Standby pay when qualifying work is rescheduled (up to 8 hours weekly)
  • Per diem (typically $18-$38) when working extended shifts in travel status
• Full state benefit package(see section below)

This position is NOT a standard 9-5, Monday-Friday office job and employees must be adaptable.

This position can provide increased flexibility and quick accumulation of (comp) time off beyond the standard leave accumulation.

While employees are generally expected to work during normal business hours, actual time worked often fluctuates due to railroad volatility and seasonal business needs. Early starts (5a-8a) and long days (10-14+ hours) are very common. Evening and weekend work are less common but are still an expectation of this position. For example, you may be scheduled at a container-loading facility 6am to 6pm on Tuesday.

You could also be scheduled for a Sunday train which typically runs 10-14 hours. In these examples, you could “flex out” those extra hours later in the week as the schedule allows or earn comp time.

Service needs can often lead to inspectors working more than 40 hours in a week. For example, if someone worked 50 hours in a week, in place of overtime pay, this extra 10 hours is converted (1.5x) to 15 hours of comp time to be used to take time off later. This comp time could be used for a scheduled vacation or for a week where the customer service needs are lower.

While supervisors work with their employees for scheduling and utilizing flex time, employees must be reliable and available, and all leave must be approved.

Once employees have met minimum qualifications of this position, including but not limited to obtaining required licenses (see licensing section), employees may train for additional FGIS inspection licenses such as wheat and sorghum licenses. Additional compensation is available for obtaining these licenses. Employees are also then eligible for promotion to Senior Agricultural Inspector which results in additional compensation and responsibilities. There are further opportunities for promotion including the Quality Assurance Specialist, Assistant Manager, and Manager positions at each field office.

• Receive on-the-job training (no experience required)
• Inspect railcars, containers, barges, trucks and/or other carriers to ensure they are in proper condition for loading and free from leaks, odors and infestation
• Observe and verify the weighing of carriers by grain company employees
• Obtain representative samples of grain & process the samples for moisture content, test weight, dockage, and presence of foreign material
• Inspect the grain for damage and other subjective factors
• Complete sample pan tickets and work records legibly, accurately, and efficiently
• Maintain vehicles, sampling and lab equipment, and work environments properly
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with other employees, grain businesses, others in the…