Agriculture Specialist 1-3 Meat and Poultry

Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO); Opelousas (LA); On-site; USD 40,000 - 43,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Job summary

The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry is seeking a dedicated professional for the Meat & Poultry Inspection Program in Opelousas, LA. The role involves inspecting meat facilities, verifying product safety, and collaborating with state and federal agencies.

Responsibilities include conducting inspections, reviewing formulations, and enforcing regulations while maintaining documentation and providing technical guidance on program policies.

Qualifications

• Three years of experience in administrative services, inspecting or enforcing compliance with agricultural laws, rules, or regulations, or inspection of weighing and measuring devices.
• A bachelor’s degree in forestry, agriculture, biology, chemistry, environmental health, IT, mathematics, or business field.

Responsibilities

• Performs regulatory inspections of wholesale meat and poultry establishments to ensure compliance with Federal and State regulations; coordinates required inspections and ensures they are completed accurately, timely, and efficiently.
• Verifies product compliance and safety by reviewing formulations, collecting samples for pathogens and adulteration, and coordinating transport to labs; takes enforcement action as needed.
• Evaluates establishment operations and facilities; conducts sanitation audits and product quality inspections under various agreements.
• Supports regulatory programs and investigations by maintaining documentation and coordinating with parish, state, and federal agencies.
• Provides technical guidance on meat and poultry inspection regulations, foodborne illnesses, product specs, and program policies; supports facilities in the LDAF program.

Skills

Following Policies & Procedures

Learning Actively

Making Accurate Judgments

Displaying Professionalism

Thinking Critically

Education

Bachelor’s degree in forestry or agricultural/biological/chemical/ environmental/ health/ physical science, IT/math/business

Job description

Job #AHFS-51422-9.11.26-TW

This position is located within the office of Animal Health & Food Safety, Meat & Poultry Inspection Program, in Opelousas, La.

Parishes served include St. Landry, Avoyelles, Rapides, Vernon and Evangeline.

The Department of Agriculture and Forestry is looking for dedicated professionals—make a difference.

This position performs work for the Office of Animal Health Services’ Meat and Poultry Inspection Program, within the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry. The program inspects all animals harvested and processed for human consumption by Louisiana facilities, inspects and approves the premises of regulated facilities to ensure compliance with federal and state requirements, operates a federally accredited laboratory performing analyses on meat food samples, reviews and approves all labels of meat and poultry products to assure that accurate product information is supplied to the consumer. This position reports to an Agriculture Specialist District Supervisor.

Selected Core Competencies

• Following Policies and Procedures: The ability to follow, reinforce, adapt, or develop policies and procedures to maintain compliance with federal and state legal requirements, State Civil Service rules, and organizational policies.
• Learning Actively: The ability to pursue learning, seek feedback, and integrate new knowledge to improve personal and professional performance.
• Making Accurate Judgments: The ability to assess options, weigh risks, and make sound decisions using available information and logical reasoning.

Selected Preferred Competencies

• Displaying Professionalism: The ability to uphold workplace standards through consistent conduct, responsible communication, and consideration for others.
• Thinking Critically: The ability to analyze information objectively, identify connections across sources, and form logical, well-supported conclusions.

LDAF cares about the well-being of its employees! We offer a fully employer-funded Employee Assistance Program (EAP), providing valuable support and resources to help you and your household members thrive at work and at home. The EAP is also free for all members of your household.

Three years of experience in one or a combination of the following:

• Administrative services
• Inspecting or enforcing compliance with agricultural laws, rules, or regulations
• Inspection and testing of weighing and measuring devices

OR

A bachelor’s degree in forestry, an agricultural, biological, chemical, environmental, health, or physical science, or an information technology, mathematics, or business field. The official job specifications for this role, as defined by the State Civil Service, can be found here .Job Duties:

Job Duties

• Performs regulatory inspections of wholesale meat and poultry establishments to ensure compliance with Federal and State regulations; coordinates required inspections and ensures they are completed accurately, timely, and efficiently, including ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections of livestock and poultry intended for human consumption.
• Verifies product compliance and safety by reviewing product formulations for restricted ingredients, collecting samples for foodborne pathogens and economic adulteration, coordinating sample transport to state and federal laboratories, and taking appropriate enforcement action to address regulatory non-compliance.
• Evaluates establishment operations and facilities and recommends changes or improvements; performs sanitation audits, product quality inspections, and other inspections under cooperative and cross-utilization agreements involving seafood processing and USDA-regulated establishments, as applicable.
• Supports regulatory programs and investigations by maintaining documentation for the annual State Self-Assessment “at least equal to” requirements and working with parish, state, and federal agencies on investigations involving meat and poultry regulations.
• Provides technical expertise and guidance regarding meat and poultry inspection regulations, foodborne illnesses, product specifications, and program policies and procedures, including support for establishments participating in the LDAF Grading and Certification Program; performs other duties as assigned.

Functional Requirements

Reaching above shoulders

Walking and standing (8 hours)

Light to moderate lifting, 20 pounds with occasional lifting of up to 40 pounds

Occasional bending or kneeling

Occasional demands maybe required for moderately strenuous activities in emergencies over long periods of time

Sit over a long period of time at workstation or in a vehicle for travel

Drive a vehicle to perform duties

Assignment may require daily use of sharp instruments (e.g. knives)

Occasional excessive heat and humidity

Slippery and uneven walking surfaces

Occasionally working in moderately cold temperatures for short periods of time

Required to wear appropriate safety protection (e.g. hard hat)

Position-Specific Details

Appointment Type: Full-time- this position may be filled by probation or by promotion of a classified employee of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry serving with permanent status. Applicants who are not permanent employees of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry will be required to serve a probationary period up to 24 months.

Career Progression : This position may be filled as an Agriculture Specialist 1, 2, or 3, depending on the level of experience of the selected applicant(s).

Compensation : *Below positions have a Special Entrance Rate in the Career Progression Group*

Agriculture Specialist 1 has an SER of $1,538.47 Bi-weekly.

Agriculture Specialist 2 has an SER of $1,646.40 Bi-weekly.

The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry is an Equal Opportunity Employer and State as a Model Employer (SAME) to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

For further information about this vacancy, contact:

Tiffany Waddell - HR Analyst
Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry
5825 Florida Blvd., Suite 1001
Baton Rouge, LA 70806
[e-mail]

The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry strictly prohibits workplace harassment and discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, religion, national origin, military service, sickle cell trait, protected genetic information or other non-merit factor. LDAF also strictly prohibits employment decisions based upon or influenced by such factors.

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