It doesn’t take one long to realize that Josh Griffin is a passionate person.
Josh is passionate about his faith. He’s passionate about his family. And he’s passionate about his work. All of those passions led Josh to where he is in his life and career now as a Product Line Manager for the fertilizer enhancer segment at Verdesian Life Sciences.
Josh, born and raised in Paris, IL, right on the Illinois/Indiana border, has agriculture in his blood, growing up in a farming family and community. At Eastern Illinois University, he played offensive tackle for the Panther football team. After graduating with a marketing and communications degree, Josh began his career with Crop Production Services as a sales agronomist at their Oakland, IL, facility. After working for Crop Production Services for two growing seasons, Josh went to work for United Suppliers as a Link Series Specialist, being responsible for conducting trials and creating demand for specialty products across southern Illinois, southeast Missouri and southwest Indiana.
Even during those stops, Josh was familiar with Verdesian products having sold one of the first pounds of MicroSync Granular Micronutrients as a distribution rep. After he was hired with United Suppliers, his very first agronomic training was on NutriSphere, AVAIL and the Take Off technologies. After the merger of United Suppliers and WinField, he moved into a Crop Protection District Sales Manager role for WinField United, calling on customers across south central and central Illinois.
“Having been around Verdesian since my career in ag started, it has been neat to see things come full circle,” he says.
Today, his role in Marketing is a slight shift from his previous sales roles — but he relishes the challenge.
“Switching from sales to marketing has been interesting,” Josh says. “Working directly with farmers and retailers has been my day-to-day duties since I have started my career. It has been an interesting experience seeing the business from an entirely different perspective now in Marketing. Nonetheless, I find joy helping farmers grow more bushels and be more profitable because I know the impact that what they grow not only has nationally, but internationally as well. We help play a small part in feeding the world. How cool is that?”
The opportunity to join Verdesian in July 2021 also meant the chance to follow another one of his passions: church planting. Josh and his family moved to the Greenville, SC, area last year to help start a church there.
“We also take advantage of the beautiful Carolina weather,” he admits.
Josh and his wife, Ciara, have a four-year-old daughter, Adlee, and a one-year-old son, Noah, with Baby No. 3 on the way in March 2023. The Griffins are actively involved in local community organizations, thoroughly enjoy traveling, and cherish the time they spend outside with family boating, swimming, hiking, and much more.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed working with and working for Verdesian,” he says. “We truly do have world class people and exceptional products making Verdesian a win-win.”
