Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products
Buyers and purchasing agents (farm products) purchase farm products either for further processing or resale. This includes tree farm contractors, grain brokers and market operators, grain buyers, and tobacco buyers. They may negotiate contracts.
Buyer agents and purchasing agents are shoppers who head to farms to buy livestock, oysters, cotton, fruit, grain and much more, moving farm products from the initial purchase to quality evaluation, storage, and sale.
Buyer and purchasing agents purchase farm products, such as milk, grains, or Christmas trees. Purchasing agent jobs include negotiating contracts with farmers for the purchase of farm products, arranging for transportation or storage of purchased products, arranging for processing or resale of purchased products, and maintaining records of business transactions and product inventories.
Buyer agents review orders to determine product types and quantities required to meet demand, test crops or products to estimate their value, determine their grade or locate evidence of disease or insect damage and coordinate activities of workers. They sell supplies, arrange for loans or finance and advise growers on land preparation or livestock care techniques.
To become a purchasing agent, a bachelor's degree with a considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed. The skills required include critical thinking, communication, judgement and decision making, negotiations, persuasion, problem-solving, coordination, monitoring, social perceptiveness, management of personnel resources, mathematics and accounting. An average buyer purchasing agent salary varies according to experience and skills.
A successful buyer agent can negotiate contracts, communicate with government agencies, coordinate logistics, maintain data, and supervise workers.
Qualifications
Every career requires an element of study and academic qualification, and there can be several study routes and pathways you can take. In following any academic pathway you will study subjects that contribute to the specialised knowledge required to achieve your career goals. These qualifications provide a future employer with the evidence that you have the desired knowledge, understanding and experience of their industry, so it’s important to consider the various types of qualifications available to you and to understand how they can boost your career and create opportunities for you.
- MBA Operations Management
- MBA Business Management
- BBA Business Management
- Bachelor's Any Subject
Tasks
- Purchase, for further processing or for resale, farm products, such as milk, grains, or Christmas trees.
- Negotiate contracts with farmers for the production or purchase of farm products.
- Arrange for processing or resale of purchased products.
- Arrange for transportation or storage of purchased products.
- Review orders to determine product types and quantities required to meet demand.
- Maintain records of business transactions and product inventories, reporting data to companies or government agencies as necessary.
- Examine or test crops or products to estimate their value, determine their grade, or locate any evidence of disease or insect damage.
- Coordinate or direct activities of workers engaged in cutting, transporting, storing, or milling products and maintaining records.
- Calculate applicable government grain quotas.
- Sell supplies, such as seed, feed, fertilizers, or insecticides, arranging for loans or financing as necessary.
Progression Routes
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