Grant Schmieg

Experience

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  VanderaWal Farms

  Sept 2014 - Feb 2024

  Hired Hand

  As the hired hand for VanderWal Farms in Volga, SD, I have learned more than I ever could have imagined. My employer here is one of the smartest men I know. I have learned everything from managing and maintaining their cattle herd, to soil and crop health in the field. With being enrolled in classes at South Dakota State University, I finally got a chance to apply the knowledge I gained in agriculture to the real world.

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  Crop Production Services

  May 2015 - Aug 2015

  Agronomy Internship

  For my first internship of my college career I worked at Crop Production Services. This was my first commercial agricultural related job. Going into this company, I didn't know what to expect. Working for a commercial operation was quite new to me. CPS was basically like a privately owned co-op. We sprayed fields, sold and applied fertilizer, scouted crops, and many other agricultural related operations. My main objective that summer was to scout fields. I looked for crop diseases, invasive weeds and insects, concerning soil conditions, and other field characteristics. I learned a lot about dangerous diseases in corn and soybeans. Another part of the internship that I really enjoyed was driving water truck for our sprayers. I would follow the sprayer to the field, then help load chemical onto the sprayer for the specific field we were on. I learned a lot about herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. I asked questions about every ten minutes because I was so curious. I learned a lot at this job and it definitely paved the path that I am currently following in my life. Show less

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  Mustang Seeds

  May 2016 - Aug 2016

  Sales Intern

  Being an intern at Mustang Seeds I have gained a lot of knowledge in the sales word. This summer, I mainly worked one on one with several salesmen learning critical sales tactics and multiple forms of customer appreciation. I was also in charge of planting 20 cover crop plots spanning from southern SD to southeastern ND. Each plot had 32 different kinds of cover crops. Along with planting the plots came maintaining. Once they were planted, weeding and tilling the plots to make them look presentable was a must. A lot of these plots were located next to corn and soybean plots also, so they were included in a total plot tour of each location. Another piece of the internship that I really liked was attending farm shows. We had booths at multiple shows this summer. The ones that I attended were Farm Fest in Redwood Falls, MN and Dakota Fest in Mitchell, SD. Since I worked a lot with cover crops, I gained quite a bit of knowledge. This helped me talk to customers and possible future customers at these shows. My experience last summer was one I'll never forget. Show less

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  Mustang Seeds

  May 2017 - Feb 2022

  Precision Agriculture Manager

  I manage our Precision Agriculture Department at Mustang Seeds' main office in Madison, SD. We work with Climate FieldView, drone scouting, and other precision ag platforms.

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  GDM

  Feb 2022 - now

  Product Development Supervisor

  Each year we test new varieties of soybeans bred with elite genetics from GDM breeding programs. Our testing bridges research and sales. The goal of the Product Development team is to find the best products that we can offer to customers.