Agricultural Environmental Specialist

About This Job

Job-AES-51957-6.9.2026-KGB

Ready to make a meaningful impact on Louisiana’s workforce and organizational culture? Join the Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry as an Agricultural Environmental Specialist! This position serves in the Office of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry. This posting is for 2 vacant positions serving Hammond and the surrounding areas.

The position performs complex and advanced-level duties for the Office of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences within the Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry and entails responsibility and professional agricultural inspection and enforcement work in a variety of technically specialized and professional regulatory programs, including but not limited to pesticide, horticulture and quarantine, seed, industrial hemp, agricultural chemistry programs, and structural pest control.

Grow your career with opportunities in leadership, professional development, and specialized advancement opportunities.

Why Join Us?

• Contribute to a mission-driven organization that serves communities across Louisiana
• Enjoy competitive pay and excellent benefits
• Be part of a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive team

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.

Selected CoreCompetencies

Communicating Effectively: The ability to convey information, ideas, and emotions using structured communication methods that promote understanding and engagement.

Making Accurate Judgments: The ability to assess options, weigh risks, and make sound decisions using available information and logical reasoning.

Thinking Critically: The ability to analyze information objectively, identify connections across sources, and form logical, well-supported conclusions.

Selected Preferred Competencies

Accepting Direction: The ability to be open and willing to follow guidance or instructions.

Demonstrating Initiative: The ability to assess situations independently and take proactive steps to address them without being prompted or instructed by others.

Displaying Expertise: The ability to demonstrate specialized knowledge, skills, and experience to apply subject-matter expertise in diverse and evolving contexts.

Driving Results: The ability to set and pursue goals, maintain focus amid competing demands, and deliver results.

Managing Projects: The ability to plan, implement, and close out project initiatives by coordinating people, resources, and timelines to achieve defined outcomes.

Minimum Qualifications

Three years of experience in agriculture, chemistry, natural resource management, structural pest control, or inspection or enforcement for compliance with agricultural, environmental, or public health laws, rules or regulations; OR

A bachelor’s degree in forestry, an agricultural, biological, chemical, environmental science, or engineering field.

Job Specification

The official job specifications for this role, as defined by the State Civil Service, can be found here.

Job Duties

Job Duties and Other Information

• Informs dealers, manufacturers, farmers, growers, or bookkeepers of laws, rules, and regulations concerning seed, fertilizer, pesticides, beans, sweet potatoes, nurseries, etc.
• Conducts field inspections for the purpose of certification of soybeans, wheat, rice, seed, etc. to ensure that the fields do not contain other varieties than specified and do not contain noxious weeds.
• Collects certified seed samples from bags and bins of dealers, farmers, and growers for testing by the state seed analyst to ensure that they germinate according to specified percentages and do not contain noxious weed seeds.
• Assists in the inspection of nurseries (wholesale) in order to detect the presence of fire ants as well as apply approved insecticides to nursery property to eradicate fire ants by operating a jeep, tractor, or seeder.
• Assists in inspecting wholesale and retail nurseries and greenhouses in order to identify seeds or pest-infected plants.
• Performs grade inspections and inspects sweet potatoes by load, cannery, or shipping plant to ensure that they are weevil free.
• Inspects sweet potato fields and seed bins to ensure that they are weevil free and properly cleaned.
• Makes corrective recommendations to growers who deal with plants that are diseased or weevils that are found in potatoes.
• Collects representative samples of pesticides and transmits to lab to ensure product content as per label.
• Spot-checks pesticides with farmers and dealers to ensure that they are labeled and registered.
• Checks nursery stock, flower dealers, arborists, horticulturists, landscape architects, and contractors for proper licenses.

Functional Requirements

• Moderate light lifting, 30 pounds, with occasional lifting of up to 50 pounds
• Reaching above the shoulders
• Climbing stairs and occasionally ladders
• Sit for a long period of time at a workstation or in a vehicle for travel
• Drive a vehicle to perform inspections and investigations
• Requires considerable walking over irregular ground and standing for long periods of time

Environmental Factors

• Occasional excessive heat and humidity
• May be required to wear appropriate safety protection
• Working indoors and outdoors
• Working around routine neighborhood residential hazards
• Occasionally working in moderately cold temperatures for short periods of time
• Exposed to grain dust, bad odors from farm animals, chemicals, fertilizers, and other agricultural materials

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 Agricultural Environmental Specialist 1, 2, or 3.

Compensation: The salary offered will be determined based on qualifications and experience.

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.

How To Apply

No Civil Service test score is required in order to be considered for this vacancy.

To apply for this vacancy, click on the “Apply” link above and complete an electronic application, which can be used for this vacancy as well as future job opportunities. Applicants are responsible for checking the status of their application to determine where they are in the recruitment process. Further status message information is located under the Information section of the Current Job Opportunities page.

• Information to support your eligibility for this job title must be included in the application (i.e., relevant, detailed experience/education). Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of completed education and experience sections on your application. Applications may be rejected if incomplete.

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

***email_hidden***

Louisiana State Government represents a wide variety of career options and offers an outstanding opportunity to make a difference through public service. With an array of career opportunities in every major metropolitan center and in many rural areas, state employment provides an outstanding option to begin or continue your career.

Insurance Coverage

More information can be found at https://info.groupbenefits.org/

Parental Leave – Up to six weeks paid parental leave

More information can be found at https://www.civilservice.louisiana.gov/Parental-Leave/Default.aspx

Holidays and Leave – State employees receive the following paid holidays each year:

• New Year's Day
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,
• Mardi Gras,
• Good Friday,
• Memorial Day,
• Independence Day,
• Labor Day,
• Veteran's Day,
• Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
• Additional holidays may be proclaimed by the Governor

State employees earn sick and annual leave which can be accumulated and saved for future use. Your accrual rate increases as your years of service increase.

Retirement – State Of Louisiana Employees Are Eligible To Participate In Various Retirement Systems (based On The Type Of Appointment And Agency For Which An Employee Works). These Retirement Systems Provide Retirement Allowances And Other Benefits For State Officers And Employees And Their Beneficiaries. State Retirement Systems May Include (but Are Not Limited To):

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System (www.lasersonline.org). LASERS has provided this video to give you more detailed information about their system
• Teacher's Retirement System of Louisiana (www.trsl.org),
• Louisiana School Employees Retirement System (www.lsers.net), among others

To ensure compliance with the LDAF Nepotism Policy, do you have any immediate family members or relatives who are currently employed with the LDAF? Immediate family member is defined as children (blood, step, adopted), spouse, brother, sister, father, mother, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, mother-in-law and father-in-law. Relative includes immediate family members previously defined and also includes grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, uncle, aunt, niece and nephew.

• Yes
• No

If you answered "yes" to the above question, please list the name of your immediate family member and/or relatives currently employed by the LDAF. If you answered "no" to the above question, enter N/A.

Are you currently a classified employee of Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry serving with permanent status?

• Yes
• No

Do you have a valid Louisiana driver's license?

• Yes
• No

If you are qualifying for this position with one of the degree options, provide the level of degree, major as given on your official transcript, school name, and date earned for each degree you have completed. Example: (Bachelor's in biology at Louisiana State University, May 2012) If you are not qualifying under a degree option, enter N/A.

The incumbent of this position may drive a state-owned vehicle during working hours. Office of Risk Management prohibits drivers with three or more moving violations in a one-year period from operating a state-owned vehicle. Based on this information, will you be able to operate a state-owned vehicle?

• Yes
• No

Do you possess a High School diploma or GED equivalency?

• Yes
• No

DIn: Demonstrating Initiative - How well do you take action and solve problems on your own without waiting for direction?

• I wait for direction, avoid ownership, and don’t solve problems.
• I meet expectations and help with solutions when asked.
• I take ownership, solve problems, and follow through.
• I take initiative, innovate, and deliver results beyond expectations.

DIn: Demonstrating Initiative - Explain your selection by providing specific examples from your experience. Tip: Use the STAR method (situation, task, action, result) to explain how you have demonstrated this competency. Examples from work, military service, volunteering, education, or other life experiences are all valid.

DR: Driving Results - How well do you set goals, stay focused, and follow through—especially when faced with challenges or competing demands?

• I struggle to set direction, miss deadlines, avoid challenges, or resist feedback.
• I set basic goals, make some progress, and accept feedback when supported.
• I set clear goals, stay focused, take ownership of results, and use feedback to improve.
• I set bold goals, lead progress, push through setbacks, and help others learn from challenges.

DR: Driving Results - Explain your selection by providing specific examples from your experience. Tip: Use the STAR method (situation, task, action, result) to explain how you have demonstrated this competency. Examples from work, military service, volunteering, education, or other life experiences are all valid.

MAJ: Making Accurate Judgments - How do you make decisions when faced with choices, risks, or limited information?

• I make reactive or delayed decisions and sometimes overlook risks, priorities, or potential bias.
• I try to weigh options but struggle when there’s uncertainty, competing priorities, or unclear outcomes.
• I make timely, well-reasoned decisions by using available information, context, and trade-offs.
• I make sound decisions in complex situations, lead others through ambiguity, and adapt as new information emerges.

MAJ: Making Accurate Judgments - Explain your selection by providing specific examples from your experience. Tip: Use the STAR method (situation, task, action, result) to explain how you have demonstrated this competency. Examples from work, military service, volunteering, education, or other life experiences are all valid.

MPr: Managing Projects - How well do you plan and manage projects to meet goals, timelines, and deliverables?

• I struggle to plan or coordinate projects and often have difficulty managing teams, resources, or communication.
• I complete basic project tasks with support, but I may miss deadlines or struggle to resolve issues.
• I create project plans, manage risks, work well with teams, communicate clearly, and track progress against milestones.
• I lead large or complex projects, plan ahead for risks, guide others, and use lessons learned to improve future project outcomes.

MPr: Managing Projects - Explain your selection by providing specific examples from your experience. Tip: Use the STAR method (situation, task, action, result) to explain how you have demonstrated this competency. Examples from work, military service, volunteering, education, or other life experiences are all valid.

ADi: Accepting Direction - How well do you accept guidance, follow instructions, and adjust when given feedback?

• I resist direction, ignore feedback, and need reminders to complete tasks.
• I follow direction with reminders and often need clarification or support.
• I follow direction reliably, adjust to feedback, and complete tasks on time.
• I adapt quickly, follow through, and help others adjust as needed.

ADi: Accepting Direction - Explain your selection by providing specific examples from your experience. Tip: Use the STAR method (situation, task, action, result) to explain how you have demonstrated this competency. Examples from work, military service, volunteering, education, or other life experiences are all valid.

• Required Question