Portland, OR – “Employees’ understanding of their company purpose and culture is directly linked to measures of business health,” according to recent research by Gallop.[1] In fact, hiring for cultural values is one of the best ways to hire aligned employees and avoid employee turnover. Columbia Grain International (CGI), a global leader in the origination, processing, logistics, and distribution of high-quality bulk grains, pulses, edible beans, oilseeds, and organics for U.S. domestic and worldwide export markets, has refined the process of aligning culture values to create longstanding careers to help feed the world.
“Longer tenured employees value the connectivity CGI has with our producers, community and employees alike. They appreciate the vital role they play in our success and know we couldn’t have come this far without them,” said Tracie Hall, Columbia Grain’s Director of HR. A thoughtful, targeted approach allows Columbia Grain to attract individuals yearning to help bring essential sustenance to the world and share their knowledge with like-minded people in every corner of the globe. Columbia Grain offers opportunities across the northern tier of the U.S., including at grain elevators, pulse processing plants, agronomy centers, logistical operations, and HR.
“We value every member of the Columbia Grain team who demonstrate daily our core values of innovation, reliability, respect, and have the dedication to work hard to cultivate growth for our farmers, our supply chain management and for their own self-enhancement,” said Jeff Van Pevenage, CEO.
Here are just two examples of how Columbia Grain is cultivating careers to build a future:
Jason Daugherty has been working for Columbia Grain for eight years. He works in Montana on the operations team and is involved in planning and managing construction projects and maintaining assets, inventory, safety protocols, and more. About his time at Columbia Grain, Jason says “I will have been with Columbia Grain for 8 years in July. During that time, I’ve seen a lot of exciting change and look forward to being a part of the company’s continued growth in the future.”
Jeff Van Pevenage joined Columbia Grain in 1990 while finishing college. He spent time trading durum, oats, and barley, managing seed and pulse businesses and Snake River barge operations before being promoted to the executive team. In 2006, he became Head of the Pulse Division for all of Columbia Grain. In 2008, he became a Regional Vice President. In 2013, Jeff became Senior Vice President of Columbia Grain and in 2016, Jeff was promoted to President and CEO of Columbia Grain.
Columbia Grain is promoting career development through the CGI Legacy Program, which supports local Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapters through a sustainable, hands-on grain marketing program. Their initial Legacy Program with Idaho’s local FFA chapter at Nezperce High School was a success. In this program, FFA students originated soft white wheat donation bushels from local farmers and received in-classroom marketing education. Further, the FFA chapter used funds generated through the program to send students to leadership conferences and events to better develop future leaders in agriculture.
Columbia Grain International is cultivating careers from education to executive management.
About Columbia Grain International
Since 1978, Columbia Grain International™ (CGI) has been Cultivating Growth™ as a global leader in the origination, processing, logistics, and distribution of high-quality bulk grains, pulses, edible beans, oilseeds, and organics for U.S. domestic and worldwide export markets. Headquartered in Portland, OR, CGI’s reliable supply chain spans the western region of the U.S., ensuring abundant ingredients for all of its partners, thanks to their trusted relationships with their farmers throughout the fertile croplands of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota, well known for its high-quality wheat, feed grains, canola and pulses. CGI is an owner of Montana Specialty Mills, who operates an organic and non-GMO oilseed crushing facility in Great Falls, Montana, a mustard seed facility in Conrad, Montana, and most recently Montana Craft Malt —providing specialty malt barley from Montana farmers to the craft brewing world. Today, they are vertically integrated, operating assets including grain elevators, processing plants and agronomy centers to support their farmers, which stretch the northern tier of the United States. With multiple touchpoints across the food supply chain, CGI provides trusted solutions and cultivates high-quality ingredients from their local farmers for a farm-to-table philosophy that nourishes the world, safely.
