Katy Starr Hazelton, Idaho Marketing Specialist AgSource Laboratories
What education are you bringing with you to this position?
I have two bachelor's degrees from the University of Idaho, in agribusiness and animal science – production.
Please describe your agricultural background.
I grew up on a small cow/calf operation and tree farm in Central Oregon. I have a long history of involvement in 4-H and FFA, growing up with sheep, steers and cattle breeding projects. My summer employment throughout my college years involved farm work and ranch work.
While attending the University of Idaho, I was also able to work with the research steers on campus. Agriculture has been a part of every day in my life and will continue to be.
What territory will you cover?
Primarily Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Utah, but my territory includes anywhere we have customers.
What are your new responsibilities?
My new responsibilities include developing business growth for services provided by our lab, as well as to educate our customers on the benefits and value of our services and work with employees on new services to offer.
What previous positions have you held?
Prior to working for AgSource, I was an administrative assistant for the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association where I worked on membership coordination, accounting, office management, producer and public communications and education, social media and event planning.
What excites you most about working in your new role?
Agriculture is a huge passion of mine. Unfortunately, there are many outside forces that threaten agricultural operations everyday. I live my life in a way where I educate the public whenever I can about lifestyles they are so far removed from and so have little understanding as to why certain actions are done on any given operation.
My excitement for this position derives from my passion. Each operation is different and is managed in a way that is most efficient for them. Any opportunity I have to safely and responsibly help operations be more successful by providing our services, I will proudly support and encourage their adoption.
How will you, in your new role, be of most help to dairy producers?
My position allows for an open line of communication between our customers and AgSource. If customers are concerned about results or even if they are happy with the services we have provided, I want to hear it! The customer/business relationship is critical to both sides being successful.
My background in agriculture allows me to understand where customers are coming from. My family also needs to make sure feed for our cattle is safe, meets their nutritional requirements and that they eliminate any cattle that could potentially expose BVD to our herd. I wouldn’t ever promote a service I wouldn’t recommend to my family.
Why did you choose this company?
When I first moved to this area and began looking for a job, I was always very interested in AgSource and Genex, our sister company. The type of services the lab provides benefits dairies, farms and ranches. We provide them with valuable information that can increase the bottom line or, in some instances, save an operation from going under.
The individuals I work with are very dedicated and hardworking. One would hope they would work with like-minded individuals and I am very proud to be working with AgSource Laboratories.
What goals would you like to accomplish while in this position?
My most important goal is to make sure our customers are happy and satisfied with the services we provide. Without them, we wouldn’t exist. The company has hired me to also help increase profits. So, from quarter to quarter, I hope to make positive improvements from the past year.
As I continue in this position, there will be more things I would like to accomplish and I will do my best to make it happen. PD
