Jamie P. Jarrett
 Shoreview, Minnesota Dairy Marketing Nutritionist Land O’ Lakes Purina Feed

For my continuing education, I chose to broaden my horizons and study lactating dairy cows, which proved to be extremely challenging and rewarding. I finished my doctorate at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2011 where my research focus was phosphorus digestion and absorption in lactating dairy cows.

Please describe your agricultural background.
I grew up in Bakersfield, California, on somewhat of a hobby farm, where my passion was in raising and showing hogs.

What are your new responsibilities?
When I wake up in the morning my job is to be innovative. I am charged with being a liaison between marketing and research and development. Understanding how sound research connects to a more valuable end product to our producers.

What territory will you cover?
My responsibilities are on a national level.

What excites you most about working in your new role?
This role will allow me to have a positive impact in the dairy industry across the U.S. “Sustainability” is such a buzz word surrounding agriculture these days and can be subject to interpretation. But when you get down to the root of it, it simply means the capacity to endure. Dairy producers continue to do more with less with each passing year, to me, this is sustainability.

This job allows me to support that and be a part of that. This is the way we feed an ever growing population, and I would like to think that I am playing a positive role in that achievement.

How will you be of most help to producers in your region or area of expertise?
Due to my background in nutrient efficiency and refining how we feed production animals, I can bring tools of understanding how gaining efficiency can improve not only animal well-being and production, but help producers continue to improve upon being the environmental stewards that they already are.

Why did you choose this company?
I chose Land O’ Lakes Purina Feed because I wanted to be a part of a working community that supports improvement in its industry. The top of the line research facility allows understanding of metabolism that can be found nowhere else. I wanted to feel good about standing behind research and what it means to a producer’s bottom line. With Land O’ Lakes Purina Feed, I can have that.

What goals would you like to accomplish while in this position?
While in this position, I hope to have a positive impact on the understanding of the field of what it means to optimally feed dairy cows. To achieve this, I plan to be intrinsically involved in the research and development process that brings new feeding programs and products to dairy producers, solving their known and undiscovered challenges. PD