Erica DavisWashington Court House, Ohio Administrative Assistant Jersey Marketing Service

What education are you bringing with you to this position?
I am a graduate of Penn State with a degree in agricultural science and a minor in agricultural communication.

Please describe your agricultural background.
I was raised on Daview Farm, a 120-head family Holstein operation in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. The 4-H program, FFA, state/national Junior Holstein events and the PA Dairy Princess Program provided me opportunities to grow my love for agriculture and the dairy industry. Collectively, they continued to encourage me to develop my skills in various aspects of the industry.

What territory will you cover?
Ultimately, my territory is the U.S. I look to assist all Jersey breeders and enthusiasts in the marketing of their cattle through online, private treaty, and public sales.

What are your new responsibilities?
Within Jersey Marketing Service (JMS), my role will include the coordination of the Jersey Bid Online Auction, assistance with marketing and promotion for all JMS activities and on-site support at public auctions.

I work closely with our experienced field staff to provide the best options and most complete information possible to each individual breeder.

What previous positionshave you held?
The dairy industry has allowed me to experiment with different careers. I spent a summer milking cows, feeding calves and monitoring the maternity pen at Pennwood Farms in Berlin, Pennsylvania.

Advertising and communication internships at World Wide Sires and Accelerated Genetics involved me in marketing. As the editor of “The Ayrshire Digest,” I worked with breeders and industry to produce a quality promotional piece for the breed.

For the past five years I have worked, self-employed, on sale and show crews with all the breeds of dairy cattle. Much was learned about each breed and how each contributes their own unique quality to the dairy industry.

What excites you mostabout working in your new role?
The people. I work with cows to talk to the people who share such a love of their breed and their industry. I also welcome the variety my job provides me personally. Each sale is different and there are new challenges every day.

How will you be of most helpto produlcers in your regionor area of expertise?
I am working with the entire JMS team to retain and regain trust and loyalty among established and new customers in our marketing program.

As a team, we work to meet the needs of our customers in their decisions to buy and/or sell Jerseys. My personal contribution will be careful attention to detail, organization and willingness to work with breeders as they market their cattle.

I plan to continue to be a part of the Jersey Bid Online Auction success, creating another avenue for breeders to sell their genetics. I also strive to use any ideas or knowledge gained in past experiences and use them to help continue to make JMS a force in marketing cattle.

Why did you choose this company?
Having worked JMS sales in the past as a crew member, I came to appreciate the people in the Jersey breed.

I learned the ethics and integrity under which JMS manages their sales. I enjoyed working with the staff and shared in their passion for marketing the “little brown cow.” I didn’t so much “choose” JMS; we just fit together.

What goals would you like to accomplish while in this position?
My ultimate goal is to be an integral part of the JMS team who continue to make marketing and promoting Jerseys their priority.

I want to continually find ways to help the gap between sellers and buyers become smaller, ranging between how to communicate more effectively and efficiently to how technology plays into the auction ring and so many stops in between. PD