Extension Area Specialized Agent for Farm Innovation and Agribusiness Management - Northwest District

About the role

The Area Specialized Extension Agent (ASA) for Farm Innovation and Agribusiness Management is responsible for providing leadership, guidance, and expertise to producers, Extension agents, and the agricultural community in Virginia Cooperative Extension’s (VCE) Northwest District. The position’s home office location may be a unit office within the district or based at the Northwest District Office of VCE in Mt. Crawford, VA. The position will provide services throughout the 20 counties and independent cities within the district. As producers face increasingly complex decisions about land use, technology adoption, new crops, new nutrients, and the processes for using them, many find they need tools and access to faculty to support quality decision-making. The position will further economic and business decision-making (i.e., enterprise budgets, profit/loss analysis, financial crisis management, farm labor, economics of improvements, land lease rates, etc.). The ASA will be expected to evaluate the economic efficacy of new technologies and the technology’s ability to contribute to the profitability and sustainability of producer operations in their unique contexts. This position will play a key role in enhancing agricultural sustainability, economic viability, and community well-being to the area farming communities. The ASA will work closely with Extension agents and specialists in delivering educational programming that enhances the agricultural productivity and sustainability of producer operations, with specific emphasis on livestock production.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership, guidance, and expertise to producers, Extension agents, and the agricultural community in the VCE Northwest District.
• Evaluate the economic efficacy of new technologies and their ability to contribute to profitability and sustainability of producer operations.
• Enhance agricultural sustainability, economic viability, and community well‑being for area farming communities.
• Work closely with Extension agents and specialists to deliver educational programming that enhances agricultural productivity and sustainability, with emphasis on livestock production.
• Provide services throughout the 20 counties and independent cities in the district.
• Travel to provide in‑person leadership and build community partnerships (with few exceptions for telework).
• Support economic and business decision‑making such as enterprise budgets,