The People Catalog
34 ways to be one of us.
Every job in the potato supply chain, named. Each role links to where it commonly leads — so you can see the career as a path, not a label.
Production
5 roles
Field Agronomist
Technical bridge between grower and vendor
→ Independent Crop Consultant→ Extension Specialist→ Ag Input Sales Rep
Grower-Operator
Owner or second-generation principal running a potato operation
→ Ag Cooperative Manager→ Ag Lender→ Commodity Contract Trader
Harvest Crew Lead
Field general for the dig
→ Grower-Operator→ Equipment Mechanic→ Cold Storage Manager
Irrigation Technician
Field-service tradesman keeping water on the crop
→ Precision Ag Specialist→ Equipment Mechanic→ Equipment Dealer
Seed Potato Specialist
Producer and certifier of clean seed stock
→ University Plant Pathologist→ Extension Specialist→ Grower-Operator
Processing
4 roles
Dehydration Plant Operator
Process operator on a dehy line making flakes or granules
→ Processing Line Supervisor→ QA Chemist→ Sanitation Lead
Processing Line Supervisor
Floor lead at a frozen-fries or chip plant
→ QA Chemist→ Sanitation Lead→ Packaging Engineer
QA Chemist
Lab gatekeeper for incoming raw and outgoing product
→ Processing Line Supervisor→ Sanitation Lead→ University Plant Pathologist
Sanitation Lead
Third-shift food-safety operator
→ QA Chemist→ Processing Line Supervisor→ USDA Inspector
Logistics
4 roles
Cold Storage Manager
Custodian of a half-million hundredweight of potatoes for nine months
→ Grower-Operator→ Processing Line Supervisor→ Ag Cooperative Manager
Export Logistics Coordinator
Document jockey routing frozen fries and seed potatoes onto ocean containers
→ Fleet Dispatcher→ Ag Cooperative Manager→ QSR Supply Manager
Fleet Dispatcher
Air traffic controller for a refrigerated trucking fleet
→ Export Logistics Coordinator→ Cold Storage Manager→ QSR Supply Manager
Refrigerated Trucker
Solo operator moving temperature-critical loads cross-country
→ Fleet Dispatcher→ Cold Storage Manager→ Export Logistics Coordinator
Retail & Foodservice
5 roles
Fry Cook
Line cook running the fry station through a 400-cover Saturday
→ Independent Restaurant Operator→ QSR Supply Manager
Grocery Produce Buyer
Supermarket category manager for fresh potatoes
→ QSR Supply Manager→ Ag Cooperative Manager→ Commodity Contract Trader
Independent Restaurant Operator
Owner-operator running a fry-forward kitchen on thin margins
→ QSR Supply Manager→ Grocery Produce Buyer→ Fry Cook
QSR Supply Manager
Procurement lead buying frozen fries by the truckload for a regional QSR chain
→ Commodity Contract Trader→ Ag Cooperative Manager→ Grocery Produce Buyer
School Nutrition Director
K-12 district food authority feeding 5,000-50,000 kids a day on federal reimbursement
→ QSR Supply Manager→ Grocery Produce Buyer→ Ag Cooperative Manager
Finance & Services
4 roles
Ag Cooperative Manager
Operator answering to a board of grower-members
→ Commodity Contract Trader→ Ag Lender→ Grocery Produce Buyer
Ag Lender
Underwriter of the grower's operating year
→ Ag Cooperative Manager→ Crop Insurance Adjuster→ Commodity Contract Trader
Commodity Contract Trader
Deal-maker between processors and growers in a market with no futures
→ Ag Cooperative Manager→ Ag Lender→ Grocery Produce Buyer
Crop Insurance Adjuster
Field investigator for MPCI claims
→ Ag Lender→ Field Agronomist→ Independent Crop Consultant
Research & Education
4 roles
Community College Ag Instructor
Two-year program faculty turning out the next field-ready workforce
→ Extension Specialist→ Field Agronomist→ Ag Input Sales Rep
Extension Specialist
Land-grant scientist embedded with growers
→ University Plant Pathologist→ Independent Crop Consultant→ Field Agronomist
University Plant Pathologist
Research scientist on the front line of potato disease
→ Extension Specialist→ USDA Inspector→ Independent Crop Consultant
USDA Inspector
Federal eyes on grade, food safety, or pest status
→ Extension Specialist→ University Plant Pathologist→ Field Agronomist
Tech & Data
3 roles
Agtech Founder
Operator-turned-founder building software the industry will actually pay for
→ Precision Ag Specialist→ Farm Data Analyst→ Ag Cooperative Manager
Farm Data Analyst
The numbers seat inside a large operation, co-op, or processor field group
→ Precision Ag Specialist→ Ag Cooperative Manager→ Commodity Contract Trader
Precision Ag Specialist
The person who makes the data tools actually work in the field
→ Field Agronomist→ Independent Crop Consultant→ Agtech Founder
Support Trades
5 roles
Ag Input Sales Rep
Territory rep selling seed, chemistry, and fertility to the grower's farm office
→ Field Agronomist→ Independent Crop Consultant→ Equipment Dealer
Equipment Dealer
Sales seat at the iron house growers actually walk into
→ Grower-Operator→ Ag Lender→ Equipment Mechanic
Equipment Mechanic
The wrench the grower calls before he calls the dealer's sales rep
→ Equipment Dealer→ Grower-Operator→ Precision Ag Specialist
Independent Crop Consultant
Grower-paid agronomist with no vendor allegiance
→ Field Agronomist→ Extension Specialist→ Agtech Founder
Packaging Engineer
Designs the bag, carton, and tote the potato actually ships in
→ QA Chemist→ Processing Line Supervisor→ Grocery Produce Buyer
Don't see your role?
The catalog grows from the people who request invites. Tell us what you do — we'll add it.
Request an Invite →