Gopher Crops and Soils

Chapter Meeting Minutes—Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021

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Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by President Conner Holthaus at 6:35 p.m. There were 8
members and 1 advisor.

Guest Speaker
Liz Knutson is the District Leader in Southern Wisconsin for Pioneer. Her other job titles are the
Product Marketing Manager for Corn Pioneer seeds at Corteva, as well as Integrated Operations
Education Consultant at DuPont Pioneer. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a
bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Education in 2014. She completed her Master’s degree in Seed
Technology and Business at Iowa State University in 2018. Liz grew up on a crop farm in
southwestern Minnesota, where she spent a great deal of time working with the family
agribusiness. Liz is an avid volunteer with the National FFA Organization and enjoys cheering on
the Golden Gophers with her husband, Randy, at any opportunity.
Key Takeaways
➔ Corteva focuses on the customers, she highly recommends working with them.
➔ How to get your foot in the door: Apply for the Assosiate Territory Program. You have
three routes and can become a Seed Territory Manager, Crop Protection Territory Manager,
or Sales Support Manager.
➔ Utilizies many tools to help sales of products through their company.
➔ Corteva offers a Ag Warriors Program to connect veteran men and women to careers
within agriculture.
➔ They give back to the community, especially through Wounded Warriors.
➔ Diversify your experience with internship or job opportunities
➔ Find UMN alums who work for any ag company can help you get your foot in the door for
other opportunities.
➔ One of the most important things you can do while starting your career is to never stop
networking.
➔ Do your job really well and people will notice. It’s not all about advancements, its about
the quality of work you do. Find what matters to you and the family that grows around
you.
➔ It is very important to have a positive attitude in your career. If you are right for a
position, training is always an option.
➔ Know when you don’t know something and admit to it, follow up, and prove your worth.
➔ Reach out to Liz if you want a recommendation for

Officer Reports
Treasurer—Nick Selseth
➔ $4,200
➔ Still have some hats and shirts left if you would like to purchase any.
Current Events—Creighton Sauer
➔ Corn up 2 cents
➔ Beans up 22 cents
➔ Pigs up
 ➔ Cattle up
➔ Crop prices going up
➔ More row crop acres this year
Vice President—Reece Reibel
➔ We have some great guest speakers coming up!
➔ Currently searching for an apparel company.
Secretary —Ellen Harth
➔ I am thinking about sending out another survey about why you chose to join the Gopher
Crops and Soils Club so we can continue to have interactions on our Facebook page.
Also, include what members want to get out of the club and what they would like to
learn about crops and soils.

New Business
SAESES
➔ Spring SAESES cancelled
➔ There may be a virtual opportunity instead
FFA State Convention
➔ Unsure what will happen with crop kits
Next Meeting
➔ We will be trying to have our next meeting in-person, hopefully there will be pizza too!
➔ Encourage anyone you may know to come, we want our club to grow!
➔ Our club is a great thing to put on resumes and elections are coming up soon!
➔ More information will follow.

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 7:21 p.m. by Conner Holthaus.

Respectfully Submitted,
Ellen Harth
Gopher Crops and Soils Secretary