Choosing Form-A-Feed: A Recent Grad’s Perspective
Posted: October 17, 2019 | Written By: Kaylin Spaeth, Form-A-Feed Nutrition and Production Specialist
It’s no doubt that the last few years the agricultural industry has not been in very good economic standing. This made it somewhat intimidating when interviewing with companies and deciding what I would like to do after graduating from college. I wanted to do something where I had variety in my job and the opportunity to talk to farmers daily. After interviewing with multiple companies, I chose to enter the nutrition world and accept a position as a Nutrition and Production Specialist with Form-A-Feed. During my interview the management team was not only interviewing me, but I was also interviewing them to see if the company was a good fit for me. There were many different reasons I chose to accept my position with Form-A-Feed, and now after being with the company for a year and a half, I am happy to say my expectations have been met.
When I first started with Form-A-Feed, I was paired up with an experienced nutritionist who became my mentor. I liked this because I had a go-to person for any help I needed which included picking up new business, troubleshooting on farms, ration development, and any other random questions I may have had. Being paired up with someone also allowed me to learn from working with my mentor’s current customers while walking cows, pulling samples, and discussing ration changes. This was beneficial because I was learning on the job and I gained a lot more confidence in myself.
Form-A-Feed has a variety of people on the team who specialize in nutrition, and also other areas on the farm such as forages, robotics, milk quality, etc. By working with the team, I have been able to learn about inoculants and other forage products, reproduction, milk quality, employee communication, farm analytics and performance, robotic milking systems, and more. Although I focus on nutrition, I want to be a resource for my customers in many different aspects of the farm. Working with the other Form-A-Feed team members has opened many doors for me and helped broaden my knowledge about farm management.
This team approach was a big selling point for me because as a recent college graduate, I was nervous about having less experience and background than competitors in my area. By working with experienced nutritionists and service technicians, I have gained more confidence to pull up to a new driveway and talk to a farmer I had never talked to before. I will also always continue to learn. The industry and this job are always changing, so it’s important to stay open-minded to new strategies. It is great knowing I always have a team I can count on to bounce new ideas off. It may have been scary when I first started, but I am gaining more knowledge and experience every day.