by Sue Mitrovich

     David Masser, a 1998 agriculture systems management (ASM) graduate of Penn State, serves as Vice President of Sales and Marketing of a large potato farming company located in Pennsylvania Dutch country. The operation totals 4,000 acres between three states, from Pennsylvania to Michigan, with a quarter of the land dedicated to spuds.
     Masser's decision to study ASM was made when his acceptance letter from Penn State arrived.

David Masser’s potato inventory is high-tech organization, but he likes his product simple and homestyle: fried, mashed, or baked.

     "I had decided that if I was accepted at Penn State, I was going to pursue the career that really interested me. Growing up, I had extensive experience with ag machinery and ag operations - even product marketing, and I knew, as a young boy on the seat of a tractor, where I wanted to go in life - rather unusual for most college freshmen. What sealed the decision was Penn State's track record in ag placement. It was 100 percent after graduation. Ag systems management grads are still snapped up quickly, hired almost immediately right out of college."
     Masser says he got a taste of "the real world" even before he graduated. The summer after his sophomore year, he interned in Baltimore with Deere & Company and worked on "the industrial side" of the manufacturing giant. Put in charge of a data analysis project, Masser compiled and crunched numbers, determining market share in a specific category of tractor/industrial equipment financing.
     "I traveled with company representatives, job shadowing and meeting dealers, hearing first hand what agricultural sales and marketing entailed."
     After graduation, Masser immediately had work - just as Penn State's placement office predicted. Employed in his home state by New Holland North America in their Product Test Division, Masser put his education to work in a job tailor-made for an ASM graduate.
     "I did a lot of problem solving and some design work on skid-steer loaders in the development phase. The loaders were distributed around the country for testing of components before being put into production. It was a new and satisfying experience - seeing my college coursework put into practical application and assembly line production as well."
     The job proved exciting, but the greater satisfaction of his boyhood's rural life beckoned as Masser married and dreamed of raising kids in a family-oriented, small town atmosphere. An expansion project to increase production capabilities on a family-owned business brought him "home." Sterman Masser Inc.'s new high-tech complex - a 90,000-square-foot potato washing and packaging facility with cold storage capacity - got under way as Masser signed on as the eighth-generation potato-farming businessman.
     In charge of sales accounts and plant operations, Masser, on a typical Monday morning, coordinates prices based on the current potato market. He then distributes prices to his customers, does inventory management on all types of potatoes - russets, whites, reds, and Yukons, which are sold in 1-quart containers to 50-pound units directly to grocery stores primarily on the eastern seaboard.
     Masser's major source of job satisfaction is the "human relations" aspect of a company employing 150 people. "We strive to maintain a very positive work atmosphere for employees and lasting relationships with our company's customers. The challenges created within these goals are what makes this a perfect job for me. I have direct involvement with the customer and great pride in the product."
     His advice to students interested in an ag systems management career? "Take course work that will make you as well balanced as possible. Take full advantage of all opportunities and everything at your disposal - from advertising and marketing courses to business management. Take as many classes as possible - because the ag industry has more opportunities than a bushel of potatoes has eyes!" (Visit www.masserspuds.com to tour the Masser potato farms.)