Posted October 5, 2023 | By Nutrien Ag Solutions

As part of Nutrien's Experience Exchange program, corporate employees from Loveland, CO spent a week during busy season at a GA Nutrien Ag Solutions branch.

Employees from Nutrien’s corporate office in Loveland, Colorado took a trip to a Nutrien Ag Solutions branch in the Southeast Division in the spring to participate in an employee exchange, where they got a glimpse into the day-to-day operations of the retail side of the business.

The program, which is officially called the Nutrien Experience Exchange, was piloted in 2020 and was halted due to the pandemic. The program was recently revived with three employees from the corporate office taking a trip out to Georgia for a week of opportunities to learn more about the retail side.

The trip was coordinated by Kristi Farmer, the Southeast Division General Manager and Sydney Lamberth, Emerging Talent Employee for the Southeast Division.

“The idea was for them to come out during the busy season, which was intentional so they could really see what goes on,” Kristi says. “We wanted to give them an understanding of how what they do in Loveland or the corporate office fits into the broader picture of us being able to offer customer support to our growers.” 

The employees from the corporate office were able to learn about everything from counting inventory to unloading a truck, blending fertilizer and more. The program also included a tour of the Cordele Cotton Gin and the Cordele Fertilizer Terminal.

“This experience was beneficial to both our host employees and visiting employees because there can be misconceptions when you’re working in two different environments,” says Sydney. “This trip helped make connections because everyone got to see the different dynamics of their roles within the company.”

The group was also able to see how farm operations and branch activities tie together through tours at local growers’ farms and the local Nutrien Ag Solutions branch.

“We were able to visit several growers in action in the field or in the harvest process which helped bring the customer interaction in focus for the visitors,” says Kristi. “We saw a blueberry field where harvesters were picking berries along with the processing plant to see the blueberries being packaged and shipped out.”

The team also saw onions being harvested, peanuts being planted and tobacco being dried. In addition to time out in the field, they also spent time with various departments at the branch location to see things including how invoicing works and the ins and outs of financing.

 “The best part for me is getting to have these folks actually see this part of the business. Being able to watch them have those ‘a ha’ moments as they traveled around our state and met with our employees,” says Kristi.

Keep an eye on our social channels to hear what the participants and hosts for the Nutrien Experience Exchange visit had to say about the time spent in the field.

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