Jerron Schmoll studied plant science with us here in the Department of Horticulture & Crop Science (HCS) graduating with his bachelor's degree in Agronomy (1995) and master's degree in Weed Science (1999) before embarking on a career full of "windshield miles and flight hours". Today, he's a Product Lifecycle Manager at Corteva Agriscience.
Each year, we host a Spring Soiree to recognize the remarkable achievements of our students, staff, faculty, alumni, and friends; this year Jerron was selected to receive the 2025 HCS Distinguished Alumni Award for bringing distinction to himself & the department at-large through his actions, commitment & leadership! Take a look into a day in his life...
What initially sparked your interest in plant science?
I grew up helping both my grandfathers farm and helping my mom garden, so farming and plant science was something I was very familiar with from a young age. But it was Dr. Kent Harrison’s Intro to Agronomy course [today known as HCS 3100 and taught by Bruce Ackley] that helped me decide to major in agronomy. I really liked the applied science aspect of what Dr. Harrison was teaching us in that course.
What does a day in your life as a Product Lifecycle Manager at Corteva Agriscience look like?
Well, like most jobs in ag, what the day looks like depends upon the time of year. Spring through fall is a lot of notetaking on new hybrids and varieties as well as communicating with the research and sales teams about what they are seeing. Fall is harvest data analysis and decision making. In the winter we spend a lot of time with our sales force sharing information on new products that we are bringing forward and working with them to decide which products to produce at what volumes for sale in future years.
What have been some highlights of your career so far?
The thing that I usually tell people is that I’ve been very fortunate in my career—we operated a regional office north of Columbus for almost 10 years (roughly 2007-2016). There were a number of management positions that operated out of that office and I was lucky enough to advance into a couple of different positions that allowed me to work in various geographies in the entire Eastern half of the country. In addition to our traditional corn-soy customer in the central corn belt, I’ve worked in dairy country in the north and rice/cotton country in the south. I’ve learned so much about different cropping systems and growing practices (and once and a while I’d venture off into a crop like carrots - thus the pic - Pioneer doesn’t sell vegetable seed but always like to see something new if I can when I’m on the road). The truly fortunate part was though I’ve put in a lot of windshield miles and flight hours in my career, it worked out that I could cover these geographies without relocating—that’s something rare in our industry.
How did your time at Ohio State help prepare you for your career?
My BS was great training for fundamental agronomy skills, but I have a fairly technical job now, so my MS in Weed Science was really critical in helping me learn how to analyze and interpret data and really dive into understanding the biological significance of the data. The teaching experience I gained as a grad teaching assistant was also super valuable as we spend a lot of time communicating with stakeholders in the product management role.
What were your thoughts on winning the Distinguished Alumni Award?
I thought the whole evening was super cool and it was great to see so many students and staff recognized. Some of the folks who received awards were around when I was at the University - like Dr. Dave Barker who received the Selfless Service Legacy award. It was very humbling to be a small part of a great evening where so many people who have contributed to the department were recognized.
Any advice for students considering studying plant science or pursuing plant science related careers?
Network. Connect with people who are doing a job you think you would like to do. Have a meal with them, go ride around for half a day and see what they do. You are investing a lot of time in studying and classes—but invest a little time in learning exactly what that training is preparing you to do. It’s a great way to rule out things you might think are interesting but maybe aren’t exactly what you thought once you dig in a little deeper. On the flipside, once you find something you truly enjoy and have invested time to learn about, your enthusiasm, passion, and knowledge about a role will really help you standout when you are finally interviewing for the job you want! Internships will help you do the same thing—take advantage of those!
Eager for more news from our Spring Soiree? You're in luck - check out all the articles here.