Robert Damon National Account Sales ManagerLand O’Lakes Animal Milk Products Shedd, Oregon
What education are you bringing with you to this position?
I earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Oregon State University.
Please describe your agricultural background.
Growing up, livestock played an important role in my life as I raised and showed animals all across the United States. I spent the summer months of my high school years working in the grass seed industry in the Willamette Valley.
What territory will you cover?
I cover the western U.S. including these states: Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
What are your new responsibilities?
As a national account sales manager for Land O'Lakes Animal Milk Products, I am responsible for maintaining and growing our relationship with our national accounts. Additionally, I help to establish distribution partners in areas not serviced by our current partners.
What previous positions have you held?
After graduation from college, I entered into production agriculture in both the feedlot business as well as cow-calf. My sales career began in 2005 in the veterinary pharmaceutical distribution industry, and in 2008 I became a sales manager for Lextron Animal Health/Animal Health International. Four years later, I went back into a sales territory for Animal Health International before joining Land O'Lakes Animal Milk in 2013.
How will you be of most help to producers in your region or area of expertise?
I strive to bring new ideas to producers and calf managers, to help make them more productive and more profitable because at the end of the day, we need to think about the cow when we’re talking calf nutrition. Doing what is best for the calves is our focus.
I also recently participated in a hands-on training program conducted by Forster Technik (a major manufacturing company of computerized calf feeders) that focused on the technical details of operation and programming of feeding programs. I look forward to sharing this knowledge with my customers.
Why did you choose this company?
Land O'Lakes Animal Milk Products is a leader in the dairy and milk replacer industry for research and product development. I love working for a company that is continually looking at the future and always adapting to improve industry standards and goals for the way we raise young animals. We’re also a leader in research, so we can bring new ideas and technologies on farms.
What goals would you like to accomplish while in this position?
I am focused on making Land O’Lakes Animal Milk Products the preferred milk replacer company in the western United States. I want to bring innovative ideas and technologies for calf-raising to the western dairy industry. My job is not about the sale, but focusing on feeding young animals to reach their full potential through a higher plane of nutrition.
On a personal note, I want to continue to grow both in my career as well as at home, as a husband and father of two. PD
