From Singapore to Spain to St. Louis, the careers at Bayer have one thing in common: a focus on digital transformation. Automation, digital tools and the use of data science won’t eliminate the many complex tasks involved in growing crops; instead, these approaches and tools enhance those tasks, leveraging innovation to be more productive and sustainable.
Tami Craig Schilling, vice president and global market development agronomic impact lead for Bayer, shares information about the opportunities and how FFA members can prepare for digital careers after graduation.
Q: Why is digital such an important component of current career opportunities?
A: Bayer is a global company with a few hundred physical locations where we do everything from producing seed to manufacturing crop protection products to breeding new plant varieties, and nearly every role in our company has a digital component.
Digital won’t overtake human interaction; both are super powerful and are part of the solution. [Bayer] employees, retailers and farmers all use digital tools so that we can be an even more effective organization and a great industry.
Q: Can you share some examples of how digital tools are used in different roles at Bayer?
A: When meeting with farmers, field sales representatives and our partners review FieldView maps; plant breeders use digital systems to capture genomic-level seed information making it usable by our people all over the world; and our technical communications use automated communication tools to deliver customized crop management alerts to customers.
Q: What kinds of people does Bayer look for to fill these positions?
A: We are a company made up of people with lots of different backgrounds and experiences who come together to shape the future of agriculture. To be a part of our team, you don’t have to have grown up on a farm — that is absolutely not required — but a working knowledge of agriculture production and cropping systems definitely helps. We seek people who embrace digital technologies and envision ways they can be put to use for our customers. Technology of all kinds is moving fast, and we’re going to need a lot of people to do these jobs.
Q: How can educational opportunities better prepare FFA members to move into these digital roles?
A: FFA has a major opportunity to help young people and ag teachers learn more about the ways digital tools and data science play a role in agriculture. Incorporating digital components into supervised agricultural experiences (SAEs), career development events (CDEs) and leadership conferences will expose students to the many kinds of digital technologies used across agriculture.
