An agriculture startup in Peoria is introducing new technology that helps farmers reduce pollution caused by fertilizer runoff, while simultaneously increasing crop yields.
The company AgriScience Inc. is also promoting a holistic approach to hiring practices.
Speaking in front of a runoff simulation, AgriScience CEO Robert Littman says his company is proactive about hiring people that don’t necessarily have a PhD, or a college degree.
“We’re looking for people out there with the desire to succeed, the empathy with the farming community,” Littman said. “There’s a lot of people that we’ve hired who didn’t have that.”
But Littman says someone who has that desire is product supervisor Jamarco Moore, who Littman calls his “star employee.”
Before AgriScience, Moore worked for a lawn care business, and he also spent some time in and out of jail. Moore says this job has been a chance to turn his life around.
“I made a lot of bad decisions. You know, but once I realized I’m an adult, I’m grown I have kids. Once you become of a certain age, you should do man-like things, leave the childish things behind.”
Moore demonstrated AgriScience’s groundwater monitoring technology to Gov. Bruce Rauner at Peoria Next last Thurs.