This position is located in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS),Dale Bumpers Small Farm Research Center, Booneville, Arkansas. In this position, you will be organizing and managing field plots; performing statistical analyses of experimental data collected; planning, organizing, and maintaining field for conservation and experimental use; and establishing and carrying out field safety and training program for all farm operations.

Duties

Provides technical expertise in the area of forage science, especially forage grasses. Recommends amount, source, and methods for applying chemical/organic fertilizers and pesticides to research plots and pastures. Assists in developing modified field equipment to meet specialized needs for planting, managing, and harvesting research trials. Undertakes routine care, maintenance, and calibration of moderately complex equipment and instruments, assists in the development of modified field equipment, providing input regarding requirements and fabrication. Shares responsibility for ongoing assessment, development, and/or maintenance of buildings, roads, experimental pastures, irrigation systems, fences, work areas, corals, wells, water impoundments, and Center grounds. Keeps land use history, including kind of crops grown, amounts and sources of fertilizers and pesticides used, and crop culture practices. Provides administrative and technical supervision to the field support group to meet needs of the research program and to maintain and improve location facilities. Writes periodic laboratory reports on experimental design, principle, procedures, and results. Performs a wide range of duties designed to solve agronomic research problems to provide year around grazing and forage production. Modifies methods, if necessary, to solve problems or make improvements. Devises experimental protocols to help meet program objectives. Maintains agronomic and conservation practices of all areas of the Center including those not under experimentation.

Requirements

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
• Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Time in grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. Basic Requirements: 1. Degree: agronomy; or related discipline of science that included at least 30 semester hours of course work in the basic plant sciences, including at least 15 semester hours in agronomic subjects, such as those dealing with plant breeding, crop production, and soil and crop management. OR 2. Combination of education and experience: at least 30 semester hours in the basic plant sciences, including a minimum of 15 semester hours in agronomic subjects, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. AND GS-09 Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: Qualifying experience for GS-09 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-07 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is establishing and maintaining proper soil and water conditions, tillage, crop residue management, erosion control, seeding and crop establishment, irrigation, and harvesting for plant production; operating and maintaining equipment used for farm operations; and maintaining detailed field or laboratory experiment records. OR Education: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree in agronomy or related science degrees. Related degrees may include Agronomy, Crop Science, Horticulture, Agricultural Science, or Plant Sciences. OR A combination of applicable experience and education as described above. GS-11 Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: Qualifying experience for GS-11 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-09 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience in organizing and managing field plots; performing statistical analyses of experimental data collected; planning, organizing, and maintaining field for conservation and experimental use; and establishing and carrying out field safety and training program for all farm operations. OR Education: 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in agronomy or related science degrees. Related degrees may include Agronomy, Crop Science, Horticulture, Agricultural Science, or Plant Sciences. OR A combination of applicable experience and education as described above Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

Please see above for education qualification requirement information.

Contacts

• Address Agricultural Research Service 141 Experimental Station Road Stoneville, MS 38776 US
• Name: Kendra Bledsoe
• Phone: 7032599425
• Email: [email protected]