Grain Merchants Job Description: Career Information, Training and Required Knowledge, Employment Outlook and Salary Expectations
Submitted by: Cheska Davenport
Job Overview: Grain merchants are persons who purchase grains from farms and in turn sell them to retailers and consumers. They are primarily concerned with the market value, quality, processing, storing and shipping of the grains they bought, and in essence they serve as liaisons between farmers and the consumers of grains.
Education, Knowledge and Training Required: Grain merchants can land on the job even with only a high school diploma at hand, but they have to be knowledgeable about the business in order to become successful. Most aspiring grain merchants would have to take up degrees in business administration, marketing and management, or in economics in order to become accepted in higher positions in the grain business industry. They should also have knowledge in agricultural economics, accounting, finance and business law. They must also have the knowledge in marketing strategies in order to gain clients and have a steady string of farmers who would supply their grains.
Skills and Abilities: Aside from the knowledge and expertise, aspiring grain merchants should have good business skills, and this includes the ability to build rapport with both the farmers and their clients. Having a good relationship with these people will be the key of a merchant’s success as he or she would not run out of suppliers even in times of shortage and high demand for grains. By building good rapport they will be able to get good grains at low prices, thus they can generate bigger profit without pushing for higher selling rates in the market.
Tasks: Grain merchants are usually stationed where grain is stored, placed and sold. They usually meet up with farmers and find suppliers for their grains, and from there they negotiate about the pricing of grains to be purchased and sold in the market. They do their buying at the local grain elevator, and from there they have the grain transported to various markets for consumption.
Merchants are also in charge of deciding about which grains make the most profit for the season, as well as the time when it is most profitable to purchase grains. Once they bring the grain to the market, they decide at which prices to sell the grain. They also conduct research by means of news updates, journals, marketing strategies and reading current economic trends in order to learn new ways and techniques on how to buy and sell grain. They should also be knowledgeable about the quality of grains in order to select which grains to purchase and how to price them.
Earnings and Job Outlook: Most grain merchants earn on a commission basis, but there are those who earn for straight salary. The salaries of grain merchants depend on the number of their suppliers and their employers, as well as their experience in the industry. Seasoned employers usually earn $86,550 per year, while others earn an average of $46,680 per year.
Cheska Davenport is a career search strategist who focuses on creating power resumes and providing job search advice that aim to help individuals achieve their target goals in the job market.
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