One Day, One Job » farming

Ocean Spray

Willy Franzen — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:23:55 +0000

Have you ever had Craisins? The ingredients list only says “cranberries and sugar,” but I swear that there has to be something else in there that makes them so addictive. Ocean Spray has made a name for itself by consistently finding new ways to market the fruit that they produce. See, Ocean Spray is an agricultural cooperative (I assumed they were owned by some big conglomerate or something), which means that they’re “owned by large group of cranberry growers throughout North America.” Most of the 600 members are cranberry growers, but there are also 50 Florida grapefruit growers. This means that Ocean Spray is all about finding new ways to increase demand for two tart, but delightful fruits. The company is based in Lakeville-Middleboro, MA, and they’ve been “the leading producer of canned and bottled juice drinks in North America” since 1981.

Crave the Wave

Usually when you think about innovation in fruit, you think of genetic engineering and other creepy stuff like that. At Ocean Spray it’s all about giving consumers new ways to enjoy fruits that they’ve known all their lives. At first it was Cranberry Juice Cocktail in 1930, then Cran-Apple in 1963, Ocean Spray® Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice Drink in 1991, and Craisins in 1993. Ocean Spray has a solid history of successful new product launches, yet they’ve continued to stay true to their grower owned heritage. It’s a simple business, but it’s one that has continued to grow over 8 decades–to the point where Ocean Spray did nearly $2 billion in revenue in 2008. If you love grapefruits and cranberries and would like to become part of the Ocean Spray story, then you should check out their Jobs page. But before you do that, you absolutely need to make sure that you know what a bog is. Ocean Spray has quite a few positions posted, and a few seem suitable for a new or recent grad including Client Technologies Administrator and Supply Chain Coordinator (Kenosha, WI). They had a Business Development Analyst position posted that seemed perfect for a new gradd, and they seem to have removed it just as I was writing this. You can see the Google cache here. You can always reach out to them to see if there might be other similar opportunities that aren’t posted yet.

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What’s your favorite Ocean Spray product?

Marrone Bio Innovations

Willy Franzen — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 14:10:07 +0000

Ten days ago we took a look at Rodale Institute, a non-profit that is “dedicated to pioneering organic farming through research and outreach.” We talked about how industrial farming has led to amazing boosts in productivity, but it’s also created a lot of problems. Marrone Bio Innovations is a Davis, CA based company that is taking a natural approach to one specific area of agriculture: pest control. They’re aiming to be “the world leader in natural product innovation” by making “natural, effective, safe, environmentally friendly products the mainstream future of pest management.” Usually you don’t hear organic and pesticide in the same sentence, but Marrone Bio Innovations’ business is predicated on bringing the two together.

Don’t Be a Pest

Marrone Bio Innovations has a range of products that solve problems from Fungal and Bacteria Disease Control to Blight Control. Now, I’m not a Plant Scientist, so I don’t know anything about the effectiveness of Marrone Bio Innovations’ products, but I do know that they recently received a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for the development of a natural biopesticide for control of invasive zebra and quagga mussels. If the NSF is backing them, then you know they’re one of the leaders in the field. If you’re excited about a world with less harmful pesticides, then you should check out jobs at Marrone Bio Innovations. Nothing is explicitly entry level, but if you’ve been working in a lab throughout college, I could see their Associate Research Scientist – Formulation position being a good fit. There’s also a Zequanox® Sales manager position that could be worth checking out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think about biopesticides?

Rodale Institute

Willy Franzen — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 16:51:51 +0000

Last week I got an e-mail from a One Day, One Job reader who is just wrapping up a seasonal position and looking for her next gig. In doing so, she realized that other readers might be interested in her current position, so she wrote me to tell me about it. When I saw the name Rodale Institute in her e-mail, I swore to myself that I had already featured the organization, but it was actually a publishing company named Rodale that was started by the same person as the Institute and used to be financially linked to it as well. The Rodale Institute is a Kutztown, PA based non-profit organization that is “dedicated to pioneering organic farming through research and outreach.” They’ve been at it since 1947, and they’re going to keep “researching the best practices of organic agriculture and sharing [their] findings with farmers and scientists throughout the world” because they believe that eating organic is the healthiest option for people and for the Earth.

Go Organic!

What’s old is new again. For most of human history, farming was organic—there was no other option. But as technology moved forward, more and more chemicals made their way onto our farms—and this was great because it enabled us to produce food on a massive scale. Unfortunately, there are a lot of negative effects that come along with industrial farming. J.I. Rodale was one of the first people to realize what was going on, which is why he founded the Rodale Institute “to study the link between healthy soil, healthy food and healthy people.” The mission hasn’t changed over more than 60 years, and The Institute continues to be a leader in research and advocacy for organic farming. They’re proving that improvements in farming technology don’t require chemicals and industrial practices. If you want to be part of the organic movement, then you should consider jobs at the Rodale Institute. The Seasonal Research Technician is the position that I was e-mailed about (there are 5 different options), and there’s also a Part Time Store Assistant position.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you eat organic?

Tomato Mountain Farm

Willy Franzen — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:56:30 +0000

We’re supposed to reach a high of 56 degrees today in Chicago, which is great even if it’s foggy and gloomy. Spring is on its way, and in only a couple of months it will be farmers market season again. Although my city is short on farms (we have a few, really), there are a ton within driving distance. Many of them haul the food that they produce into the city on a weekly basis and sell it to the yuppies who love eating fresh, organic, locally grown food (also known as me). One of these farms is Tomato Mountain Farm, which is based in Brooklyn, WI. They have a presence somewhere in Chicago 6 days per week, and their produce offerings range from basil and beets to watermelons and zucchini. Obviously, they also grow a lot of tomatoes.

Grow Your Career

Tomato Mountain Farm is “a 12-acre certified organic farm and processing kitchen located 25 miles south of Madison, Wisconsin.” Beyond their produce, they also offer products like salsas, sauces, and preserves. It may be a small operation, but they’re growing a wonderful business based on serving everybody’s most basic need in its most basic form: fresh food. If you are interested in what Tomato Mountain Farm is doing, you should check out their Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for two people to work farmers markets for them. You can find the full position description here (.doc file). In many ways these are entrepreneurial opportunities, so it could be a cool way to spend the summer and get your career started.

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Do you frequent farmers markets?

Seed Savers Exchange

Willy Franzen — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:00:14 +0000

You’ve probably heard the term “heirloom,” in reference to fruits or vegetables. For the longest time I had no idea what it meant, but eventually I asked someone and the gist of the definition is “any garden plant that has a history of being passed down within a family, just like pieces of heirloom jewelry or furniture.” More often than not the plants are passed down in the form of seeds. Heirloom breeds of plants are important not only for sentimental reasons, but also because they provide genetic diversity. By maintaining old breeds of plants with their unique resistance to disease and pests, we are able to ensure the security of our food supply. Seed Savers Exchange is a Decorah, IA based non-profit that “saves and shares the heirloom seeds of our garden heritage, forming a living legacy that can be passed down through generations.”

Seeding a New Career

Seed Savers Exchange maintains “more than 25,000 endangered vegetable varieties,” which makes them “biggest non-governmental seed bank in the United States.” They’re more focused on working with smaller farmers and gardeners, which makes sense because those are typically the people most interested in heirloom varieties. In a lot of ways, the seeds that Seed Savers Exchange provides resemble art. The genetic diversity thing is important, but the history of the seeds and the varieties of flavors of the plants that grow from them is just as important. If you’re intrigued by what Seed Savers Exchange does, you should check out their Jobs page. Right now they have a number of positions posted that seem suitable for entry level candidates including Lab Technician, Collection Assistant – Field Operations, Assistant Curator – Seed Plants, and Horticulturist – Field Manager. The job descriptions go into a lot of detail, so check them out for all of the details.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you do any gardening?