Regional Agronomist

About the role

The Regional Agronomist at Plant Grow Harvest is responsible for protecting and improving potato crop performance across PGH-owned and partner farms. This role involves developing agronomic plans, interpreting field and scientific data, and providing practical recommendations related to soil, seed, fertility, irrigation, crop protection, plant health, and harvest readiness.

Responsibilities

• Develop season-long agronomic plans that integrate variety, soil, fertility, irrigation, crop protection, harvest readiness, operational capacity, and expected economic return.
• Inspect fields regularly, evaluate crop and soil conditions, identify emerging risks, and provide clear weekly recommendations to farming leadership.
• Create and maintain standardized procedures for sampling, scouting, test digs, yield estimates, and harvest evaluations, while ensuring field data is collected accurately and consistently.
• Design rotation and soil-management strategies that improve long-term productivity, reduce pest and disease pressure, and protect the economic value of farmland.
• Develop nutrient and crop-protection recommendations and support purchasing decisions for fertilizers, crop-protection products, and soil amendments.
• Monitor biological risks and implement practical, timely strategies that balance crop health, resistance management, compliance, environmental stewardship, and return on investment.
• Develop and oversee irrigation strategies that reduce crop stress, improve water-use efficiency, and protect tuber quality.
• Create field-specific tillage and soil-preparation plans and adjust execution based on field conditions, equipment capability, and crop needs.
• Maintain accurate agronomic records, analyze results across locations and seasons, capture lessons learned, and establish repeatable PGH standards.
• Collaborate across farming and business functions, translate technical information into practical direction, and build agronomic knowledge throughout the organization.
• Provide professional agronomic guidance to selected growers and customers while protecting confidential information and maintaining strong working relationships.
• Support crop-input budgets and evaluate agronomic decisions based on yield, quality, cost, risk, asset productivity, soil health, and overall farm return.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Agronomy, Crop Science, Plant Science, Soil Science, Agricultural Science, or a closely related field; an equivalent combination of substantial potato-farming education and experience may be considered.
• At least three years of progressively responsible experience in commercial potato production.
• Demonstrated experience supporting potato crops across different fields, farms, or growing conditions.
• Practical knowledge of potato fertility, irrigation, soil management, crop protection, pest and disease management, and harvest readiness.
• Experience interpreting soil, petiole, tissue, moisture, crop-development, and yield information.
• Experience with precision agriculture, GIS, remote sensing, irrigation monitoring, or other modern agronomic tools.
• Experience developing agronomic plans and communicating recommendations to operational teams.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Outlook, Word, and other modern workplace technologies.
• Ability to learn farm-management, collaboration, data-visualization, and supply-chain systems.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to meet company driving requirements.
• Ability and willingness to travel consistently between Arizona and California.

Qualifications

• Deep potato-specific knowledge to evaluate crop and soil conditions, diagnose risks, and improve plant health, yield, quality, and economic performance across different fields and growing environments.
• Ability to develop comprehensive seasonal crop plans while adjusting quickly and responsibly to changing weather, field conditions, labor, equipment, and operational priorities.
• Ability to interpret field observations, sampling results, crop data, and economic considerations to identify patterns, determine likely causes, evaluate risk, and make practical evidence-based recommendations.
• Ability to create clear SOPs, records, and repeatable systems that improve consistency, preserve agronomic knowledge, and support reliable execution across locations and seasons.
• Ability to build trust across farming and business teams, communicate technical information clearly, raise concerns assertively, and strengthen organizational capability through coaching and knowledge sharing.
• Ability to connect agronomic decisions to input costs, crop value, yield, quality, risk, asset productivity, and long-term farm returns while collaborating effectively with Finance and Procurement.

Skills

• Potato Agronomy and Crop-Health Expertise
• Agronomic Planning and Adaptive Execution
• Data Analysis and Agronomic Judgment
• Process Discipline and Knowledge Management
• Communication, Partnership, and Teaching
• Business and Financial Stewardship

Benefits

PGH offers a competitive benefits package including health insurance, retirement savings plan, and paid time off.

Pay

The Regional Agronomist's salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Schedule

The Regional Agronomist works full-time, with approximately 50% travel depending on the growing season.