Farm Sustainability Analyst

About Us

Foremost Farms USA is one of the largest, leading dairy cooperatives in the United States and major dairy food and ingredients manufacturing business. We represent hundreds of Midwest dairy farmer members located in seven Midwest states, and we produce about 500 million pounds of cheese and 50 million pounds of butter in plants across our network every year. “We Bring Dairy to Life” in eight manufacturing plants across Wisconsin and Michigan and in our headquarters in Middleton (Madison), Wisconsin; and we’re looking for employees who are innovative and aim for excellence in our wide variety of production, field and business roles. Join us!

About This Opportunity

JOB TITLE: Farm Sustainability Analyst

POSITION TYPE: Full time

CLASSIFICATION: Exempt

Monday – Friday

Position Overview

This position will focus on the areas of on-farm environmental stewardship practices; data collection, measurement, management, and reporting of sustainability data and information for the member-owners of the cooperative and the cooperative’s operations; and implementation and reporting of through the use of standard sustainability reporting measurements and the National Dairy FARM-Environmental Stewardship (FARM-ES) model.

This role is responsible for assisting member-owners in providing data for the cooperative to meet the goal of establishing an estimated carbon footprint for the member-owner milk supply and provide additional information on member-owner farm practices to be used in reporting and communication of the Foremost Farms USA sustainability reporting. Additionally, this role will assist the sustainability team with communication of and recruitment of farms for sustainability-related projects. This role will build and maintain positive relationships with member-owners, and internal and external business stakeholders to enhance the reputation of Foremost Farms, in accordance with company policies and procedures. The role will also assist with customer collaboration projects as needed. This position will utilize the standard of practice within the FARM-ES model, while building/maintaining positive relationships with members farms, and professional agriculture stakeholders and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to enhance the reputation of Foremost Farms, in accordance with company policies and procedures.

Key Accountabilities:

• Conducting FARM-Environmental Stewardship (ES) second party standardized evaluations of member-owner dairy farms
• Communicating relevant FARM resources to member farms including the ES User Guide and ES Reference Manual.
• Maintaining and safeguarding farms’ confidential information.
• Communicating the cooperative’s sustainability goals and expectations to participating farms.
• Observing, evaluating, and reporting findings on individual farms for opportunities to apply value-added services for member-owners.
• Updating and maintaining information within the NMPF FARM Program database and Foremost Farms USA CRM tools.
• Reporting of aggregated FARM-ES data and Conservation Practices Questionnaire (CPQ) data
• Supporting farms with customer sustainability projects – recruitment, data collection, etc.

Cooperative Sustainability Team duties:

• Data expert for (Farm analyst: on-farm sustainability data using the National Dairy FARM-Environmental Stewardship model) -OR- (business analyst: sustainability, i.e. environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data) and data to support commercial responses to customer, regulatory, and other stakeholder inquiries.
• Assisting Sustainability Team with on-farm sustainability projects and initiatives.
• Managing data and reporting for sustainability commitments and certifications.
• Developing & updating innovative tools and dashboards to communicate and measure progress to internal and external ESG goals and annual sustainability reports
• Consulting and collaborating with customers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with on-farm projects and initiatives.
• Interacting with customers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) industry partners, and regulatory agencies on farm environmental sustainability topics.
• Working closely with cross-functional teams and business units to support requested sustainability data for projects. Be a consultant and collaborate with on-farm, operational, and other internal sustainability resources to drive consistency and share best practices.
• Developing data assurance processes and coordinating with third party firms to validate ESG data.
• Attending and/or representing the cooperative at various agriculture and dairy industry meetings, webinars, and workshops.
• Communicate directly with member-owner dairy farms of the cooperative on environmental stewardship topics.
• Create educational programming and communication for dairy farms in sustainability and environmental stewardship.
• Support of the Cooperative Sustainability Strategy and Team

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in agriculture, agronomy, agricultural business, data analytics, sustainability, environmental education, or related degree is required.
• 1-3 years of job-related experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• On-farm field-level practice and agronomy knowledge and experience.
• On-farm sustainability and environmental stewardship practice knowledge and experience.
• Data analytics and project management experience.
• Sustainability and regulatory experience in food manufacturing or the dairy industry.
• Familiarity and experience with government conservation programs – Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), etc.

Job Setting: This role is hybrid, requiring a minimum of two to three days per week in the corporate headquarters in Middleton, WI.

Benefits:

Because you and your family matter, Foremost Farms offers some of the best benefits in the area! Our comprehensive medical plan includes health, vision, dental, and prescription insurance. You can choose to enroll in a single or family plan with low monthly premiums and low annual deductibles ($250/$500). Other benefits include:

• 401(k) with a generous company contribution (100% match on up to 8% deferral)
• Paid time off, starting at 200 hours (25 days)
• 10 Paid holidays
• Paid parental leave (6 weeks paid at 100%)
• Flexible spending accounts – for medical and dependent care (childcare) expenses
• Life and disability insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• Referral program
• Advancement opportunities!

Don’t meet every single requirement? At Foremost Farms we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disabled are encouraged to apply.

At Foremost Farms USA, we believe that employee diversity brings strength to our organization. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all individuals regardless of their race, creed, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disabilities, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.

Successful completion of pre-employment screening is required, which could include a drug test, background check, and other verifications or assessments to be sure you will be able to succeed in your position.

Are you ready to Be Foremost?

Apply today at www.foremostfarms.com

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