Should you become a member of the American Society of Agricultural Consultants?
10/14/2021
I became a member of the ASAC about 6 years ago and I don’t regret it. I had been in the insurance industry for about 10 years when I made a career change and became a business consultant with Farm Credit East in Maine.
A business consultant at Farm Credit East (FCE) can be a jack of all trades or have a specific niche. We can focus on taxes, tax planning or estate planning. We might work more with dairy producers through a benchmarking program or other profit analyzer program. Some write grants or focus on producers in the green industry, while others choose a specialty in orchards, fruit and farm stands. We are in the Northeast, and ag can be pretty diverse here!
Do you know what is the best part of being a business consultant at FCE? The flexibility! I had the chance to reinvent myself. Do you know what can be the worst part of being a business consultant at FCE? The flexibility- where was I supposed to start??
I feel lucky that I work for a company with training programs, but even with those training programs joining ASAC provided me with more perspective, friendly colleagues that opened my eyes to even more possibilities and a great annual conference. Being a member also showed my clients, my employer and my future clients that I took my new career seriously. It also shows dedication to professionalism and continued education. The society doesn’t require extremely rigorous classes and day long exams. With the diversity of our members and different specialties it would be an impossible task to cover all those areas.
The society takes its mission and dedication to ethical, professional, ag consultants very seriously. Our membership and officers plan a robust, educational meeting every year that can satisfy certification requirements (if you pursue being a Certified Agricultural Consultant or CAC). Every year at our conference I meet someone new, and learn something I didn’t even know that I should know.
Be a professional, be serious about your job as an agricultural consultant, show your dedication to being an ethical, responsible person; be a member of the ASAC.
Ethan Robertson
ASAC Member and 2021 President
I became a member of the ASAC about 6 years ago and I don’t regret it. I had been in the insurance industry for about 10 years when I made a career change and became a business consultant with Farm Credit East in Maine.
A business consultant at Farm Credit East (FCE) can be a jack of all trades or have a specific niche. We can focus on taxes, tax planning or estate planning. We might work more with dairy producers through a benchmarking program or other profit analyzer program. Some write grants or focus on producers in the green industry, while others choose a specialty in orchards, fruit and farm stands. We are in the Northeast, and ag can be pretty diverse here!
Do you know what is the best part of being a business consultant at FCE? The flexibility! I had the chance to reinvent myself. Do you know what can be the worst part of being a business consultant at FCE? The flexibility- where was I supposed to start??
I feel lucky that I work for a company with training programs, but even with those training programs joining ASAC provided me with more perspective, friendly colleagues that opened my eyes to even more possibilities and a great annual conference. Being a member also showed my clients, my employer and my future clients that I took my new career seriously. It also shows dedication to professionalism and continued education. The society doesn’t require extremely rigorous classes and day long exams. With the diversity of our members and different specialties it would be an impossible task to cover all those areas.
The society takes its mission and dedication to ethical, professional, ag consultants very seriously. Our membership and officers plan a robust, educational meeting every year that can satisfy certification requirements (if you pursue being a Certified Agricultural Consultant or CAC). Every year at our conference I meet someone new, and learn something I didn’t even know that I should know.
Be a professional, be serious about your job as an agricultural consultant, show your dedication to being an ethical, responsible person; be a member of the ASAC.
Ethan Robertson
ASAC Member and 2021 President
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