Regional Manager, Jordan Burt discusses the opportunities in ag and what he looks for when hiring

When you talk to Jordan Burt about his role at Holloway, he will tell you he is in the service business. His number one and constant priority for him and his team is to provide excellent service to the growers who are Holloway’s customers. As the regional manager for Holloway Ag’s northern territory (which covers Tulare, Kings, Fresno, Madera, Merced, and Mariposa counties) Jordan says the first thing he looks for in recruits is their intangible skill to understand service.

“We are so service minded at Holloway that we really look for someone who understands that we are not just selling soil amendments,” Burt says, “We are partnering with the growers to understand their pain points and provide solutions that increase yield.”

Burt is a veteran of the ag industry. He received his degree in business management from Fresno Pacific and spent the first half of his career on the ag production side with Grimmway Farms and The Wonderful Company. He says that experience on the grower’s side of the business really helps him understand what growers need and are dealing with season to season. He also looks for this industry knowledge when hiring for his team.

“Since most of our business is service based, the better they understand the ag industry, the better they can serve our customers.” Burt says. “Farmers need a team to grow a crop, whether that team is internal or external consultants. If my sales team at Holloway understands what the farmer faces on a daily basis, it enlightens us on how best to support their efforts.”

Jordan says the practicality of putting general business management practices into action through hands-on experience was most valuable in his career. He interned at some of the major commercial farming operations in college that later parlayed into career opportunities. “I encourage anyone thinking about the business side of agriculture to get an internship in the industry. There are so many opportunities people don’t even think about until they understand the inner workings,” Burt says.

For example, many times new graduates only think of the actual labor of farming, but there are so many other aspects to getting food on the tables of the world. At Holloway, we support the grower and one of our fastest growing teams is Jordan’s team, Business Development, which handles sales and service.

“There’s a big misunderstanding with a lot of the younger people I’ve talked to that this industry is narrow in terms of career potential,” Burt says. “There are a lot more opportunities to do a lot of things with ag companies that people don’t even realize. Sales, operations, consultant with the farms, accounting, procurement, etc. There is a common misconception on how vast the opportunities are.”

Holloway Ag gives college students the opportunity to stretch their sales muscles and get real industry experience by working in the call center to generate leads for the outside sales team. If an individual shows genuine interest and potential, Burt and his team get those students in the field to assist the agronomists or to support the service side of the business when trucks are doing deliveries for growers.

Holloway also supports employees who want to get their masters in soil science, which is required to be an agronomist. One of the Business Developers, Marcia Cripps is going through this program now with the financial and professional support of Holloway Ag.

“There is so much opportunity in the ag industry for career growth,” Burt says. “When I am looking to add to my sales team, I find and recruit individuals who align with character and ethics of Holloway. That is the most important part – the rest we support through training and educational opportunities.”