Curtis Gerrits Sales Manager MARGINSMART Cottage Grove, Minnesota

What are your new responsibilities?
As sales manager I will be responsible for developing, maintaining and servicing the company's growing portfolio of local and national dairy producer accounts. My responsibilities will include direct sales to dairy producers, developing a network of industry partners, and providing customer service to our customer base.

What territory will you cover?
The company currently has customers in 10 states throughout the U.S. Since it is a web-based program, and we use webinar technology, it is easily adaptable to all areas so I will be covering all of the U.S. and wherever our product can be implemented in assisting dairy producers and their margin and profitability management strategies.

I will also be working with industry partners (nutritionists, feed companies and brokers, commodity brokers, lenders, business consultants, milk plants, etc.) throughout the U.S. in collaborative team efforts to ultimately benefit dairy producers and their financial management team.

Please describe your agricultural background.
I was born and raised on my family’s 70-cow dairy farm in De Pere, Wisconsin, and was intimately involved in our dairy expansions where I ultimately became the transition cow and calving manager at Lake Breeze Dairy (a 3,000-cow dairy operation and partnership in Malone, Wisconsin). I worked closely with our head herdsperson and veterinarians in developing protocols, treatment programs and calving procedures within the special needs area of the dairy.

In between dairy expansions I also gained experiences working on a customer heifer raising operation and a neighboring veal farm. Through high school I was very active in FFA, where I had become the Youth Delegate for the National Safety Council through 2000 and 2001. Proudly, our family is in its fifth “on the farm” generation.

What education are you bringing with you to this position?
I graduated from Freedom High School, attended Saint Norbert College and the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, attended many sales training seminars such as Dale Carnegie Sales Advantage and Dale Carnegie Courses and attained dairy specific experiences working directly with leading dairy producers.

What previous positions have you held?
Most recently I was with Marawood Construction Services as an agriculture sales and design associate working directly with dairy producers in the design, feasibility and profitability of their dairy expansion projects. Prior to Marawood, I was a sales manager and agricultural project manager for agricultural construction companies as well as the transition cow and calving manager at Lake Breeze Dairy.

Who has made the biggest impact on your career?
There have been many individuals, such as my parents, close friends, fellow dairy associates and my wife, Cassandra Gerrits, who all have had a very positive impact on my career. But the one individual that encourages me to strive to do my best day-in and day-out is my father, Brian Gerrits.

I was blessed to have grown up on our family farm where I got to follow, be mentored by and learn from my father. Each and every day he teaches me to work hard, learn hard and strive for my goals. My dad’s passion for the dairy industry and work ethic has been instrumental tools in developing my career.

How will you be of most help to producers in your region or area of expertise?
Not only are dairy producers in the businesses that they are passionate about, but they also strive to be profitable in an always changing market and economy. With the tools and customer service that the company offers dairy producers, I will help in directly impacting their bottom line profitability. It is a tool that will help producers manage financial market volatility and assist them in their long-term objectives within the dairy industry.

As each and every dairy is unique and managed under different circumstances, MARGINSMART will customize its program to project the future margins and profitability of each individual dairy producer for THEIR specific operation, not just on an industry general concept. This is what excites me the most about the company – I can help truly make a difference for each dairy for their specific operation.

Why did you choose this company?
Because of their exclusive approach in assisting dairy producers manage the profitability of their businesses. It is on the cutting edge of margin management specific to each dairy producer and is rapidly growing its account base. With the growing demand throughout the country and its drive to service each customer as individuals are two key components as to why I choose to be part of the team.

What goals would you like to accomplish while in this position?
My goals include continuing to grow the company’s dairy accounts, maintain strong customer relations, create a continual renewal rate of customers on an annual basis, and ultimately have a positive impact on each customer and their dairy operations. PD