By Meredith Bernard, aka. This Farm Wife
Growing up in small town Manitoba on a grain farm, Kris Kinnaird was exposed to all things farming from day one. He was also exposed to parents who worked hard two-fold, running an electronics store full-time, while also operating the farm. That diverse upbringing played a large role in setting the course for where Kris is today, even though it took a few turns to get back home.
While Kris enjoyed growing up on the farm, for a while he had other aspirations and wasn’t sure it was his calling. Then, when it came time to go to college, he realized he wanted to stay in the field of agriculture and went on to get his degree in Ag Business from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. While in school, Kris worked at different jobs for several summers trying to find his niche. From internships as an agronomist, to farm research technician to working on oil rigs, he made money to put himself through school but didn’t find a line of work he wanted to pursue after graduating.
For Kris, the best of both worlds was going to be finding a job that involved both farming and technology, the two things he was raised immersed in. He was familiar with Farmers Edge through the use of their services on his family’s farm, his brother working for them, and the topic of precision agriculture intrigued him. Upon graduating, he began working at Farmers Edge as a Precision Technology Specialist in Alberta – 10 hours away from home. Kris was excited about his new job and enjoyed the work, but eight months later jumped at the chance to return to Manitoba in another role with the company.
In his time with Farmers Edge, he’s worn several hats, from Operations Coordinator to the Digital Agronomy team and now as a Product Marketing Manager. He’s been using the digital tools longer than he’s been an employee, which helps him understand how they work from both a customer and staff perspective, which fits his role very well. Kris considers himself as a support arm for the sales team, facilitating with product questions, understanding the value of products and helping customers understand the ROI for the investment they are paying for. Kris says his favorite thing about his job is how Farmers Edge works to introduce cutting edge tools to the marketplace, changing how farmers interpret the information they produce on the farm. He loves seeing the “lightbulb” go off when a customer realizes the benefits to their operation from the technologies he helps them incorporate. He is proud to work for a company that does their best to stay ahead of technology and adapt to fluctuating industry changes and needs.
Kris is happy being able to keep his feet in both precision ag with Farmers Edge and farming, helping run his family’s farm with his brother and Dad. He’s proud of the way he was raised and the advantages he found from being a “farm kid” taught him the value and importance of hard work from an early age. Watching his parents own and operate a business on top of farming instilled the same hard work ethic in him. When Kris isn’t in the field, he enjoys curling and hockey in the winter and baseball, golf and camping in the summer. One thing’s for sure, no grass is growing under Kris’ feet, because he’s out there getting the job done.
By Meredith Bernard @ThisFarmWife
Meredith Bernard is a mom to two, photographer, writer and farmer living and working alongside her husband on a beef cattle farm in Milton, NC. Connect with her online at thisfarmwife.com.
