Emily Rudd

Key responsibilities include:

• Working closely between 20 growers across South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales and production team to deliver a continuous supply of potatoes, meeting production requirements and performance targets
• Recruit and establish new growers to meet demand, while maintaining and developing current growers
• Support development of an advantaged field to fryer Agricultural Supply Chain, engaging and aligning key stakeholders within and external to PepsiCo
• Identify and support the use of new digital ag technology and systems to improve on farm productivity
• Support establishment of reliable and accurate forecasting processes from suppliers to allow accurate reporting, avoiding disruption to supply
• Established positive relationships with stakeholders, including suppliers, government agencies, and research institutions, fostering collaborative problem-solving efforts in agronomy-related matters. Regularly updating professional knowledge base by attending conferences/seminars on current trends in agriculture.
• Conducted field trials to evaluate new agronomic products and technologies, leading to informed recommendations for adoption.
• Compile detailed reports on field visits and client interactions, ensuring accurate record-keeping for future reference purposes.
• Organize educational workshops on various agronomic topics for the benefit of PepsiCo growers, encouraging knowledge share between stakeholders
• Promote regenerative agriculture principles to support PepsiCo sustainability goals such as crop rotations, efficient water use practices and overall greenhouse gas footprint.
• Ensure compliance to food safety requirements by growers, working through changes to policy to meet buy requirements.

• Working closely with the Technical Manager and overseeing a growing team of Technical and Quality Assurance Officers, to deliver understanding of Stoller’s products in all crops and to present improved solutions for growers and agronomists
• Directing the planning, execution, and evaluation of trials by the Technical Team ensuring alignment with business strategy
• Establishing, supporting, and maintaining strong relationships with growers, dealers, and internal staff
• Liaising with contracted research bodies and growers, ensuring protocol adherence and vital information is communicated
• Provide agronomic support and recommendations based on product and crop knowledge to dealers and growers
• Engage with growers regularly to keep up to date on crop challenges and offer agronomic solutions
• Achievements: Implemented planning, monitoring, and recording structures to capture information and allow for easy analysis of technical and marketing assets
• Delivered nutritional agronomy and product training to dealers and growers in masterclasses, aimed at enhancing growers sustainable crop management techniques
• Participated in international focus groups, designed to allow transfer of knowledge between subsidiaries
• The group presented and implemented several strategies to improve efficiencies throughout the company
• Successfully coordinated and delivered results for over 30 externally contracted replicated field trials in 2021 across Southern Australia to support new product registration efforts.

• Coordinated and conducted field trials ensuring delivery of comprehensive, reliable data for use by sales and marketing teams for promotion of Stoller products
• Supported the Technical Team to present technical concepts to audiences with a diverse range of agronomic knowledge
• Trialed new technologies, such as drones, satellite, data collection/analysis apps to identify potential use to support product effectiveness in the field
• Collect, prepare, and interpret results of soil and leaf analysis to allow for nutritional recommendations to growers and agronomists
• Ensure adherence of SDS and labels to government legislation and industry best practice.

• Monitoring and sampling of potato, onion, and carrot crops at key stages during the growing period to assess for pest and disease
• Collection and preparation of leaf and soil samples at required growth stages to allow for nutrient analysis
• Liaise with Farm Manager and farm staff to report findings.

• Monitor growth stages of grape vines from budburst through to harvest to collect accurate data regarding individual varieties, and to forecast harvest date and yield
• Collection of key phenological data from wine grape seedling populations, including vigour, yield, bud burst, bunch architecture, ripening characteristics, and flavour
• Conducted laboratory assessments on fresh grape and wines samples
• Liaise between research staff and winemaking staff to ensure small-scale winemaking requirements are met
• Maintain and collate accurate records of key data (such as harvest data, wine data and field plans) using Microsoft Excel.

• Worked under guidance of experienced professionals to learn trade best practices and techniques.
• Assist research staff with tasks such as data collection and sample preparation as required
• Supervision of 2 to 4 employees during harvest and pruning seasons
• Successfully completed education requirements.