We Are Ag Leader: Christin Achenbach, Sales Administration Manager & International Sales Processing
At Ag Leader, we value quality. Guided by our four core values – Excellence, Approachability, Ready-Willing-Doing, and the Courage to do What is Right, each of our departments strive to produce products they are proud to stand behind, never compromising on quality. Because we operate in a culture of continuous improvement, our product failure rate is less than 1.5%. While we are proud of that achievement, it also drives us to improve that number each day.
That commitment to quality also extends to the people we hire. As a part of the Ag Leader family, our employees value ethics, relationships, trust, and integrity while thriving in an atmosphere that is not only innovative and welcoming but encourages ideas and creativity.
Meet Christin Achenbach
Part of the Ag Leader team for 11 years, Christin Achenbach is one of those employees. As the sales administration manager and lead for international sales processing, Christin oversees Ag Leader’s Order Processing Department and coaches her team to provide almost immediate responses to questions and orders received.
“I am very passionate about providing top notch customer service for our dealers,” Christin says. “We set a high bar of expectations and strive to meet those expectations every day.”
AL: Tell us about where you grew up and how that influenced your career path.
CA: I grew up on a Century Farm in Victor, Iowa. My family had a cow/calf herd, market beef, farrowing swine operation, chickens, as well as raised corn, beans, and alfalfa/hay. I can’t remember a weekend from my childhood where we weren’t in the farrowing house clipping teeth, cutting tails, notching ears, and giving shots to baby pigs.
Growing up, my family would attend church on Saturday night at 5 p.m. Somehow all six of us would make it out of the farrowing house at 4 p.m., take turns showering in a house with one bathroom, and still get to church on time!
My summers were spent making hay and straw and filling the mow with a bale hook/pulley system. I also grew up participating in 4-H. I showed cattle and pigs from 4th grade until my senior year. My dad was also active in 4-H committees and was a swine superintendent.
I have always had a passion for agriculture and farmers. I was fortunate to be able to grow up on a family farm operated by my parents where both of my grandpas worked alongside them.
AL: Does your family still farm today?
CA: My dad passed away in 2005 due to injuries from a car accident. My family got out of the livestock side of the business and continued to crop farm. Today, my mom still lives on the family farm, and a local farmer rents the farm ground.
My husband Todd and I built a house on my family’s farm in 2016. While it saddens me to not have my children grow up on the once thriving livestock/crop farm I was a part of, I am so thankful they get to grow up riding in tractors, lending a hand where possible, and gathering eggs from my mom’s chickens. It is a small glimpse into the hard work required of farm life.
Pictured from L to R: Cayson (13), Todd, Jeter (4), Lyla (7), Christin, and Mac (10) Achenbach.
AL: What do you enjoy most about working at Ag Leader?
CA: My favorite part about working for Ag Leader is the people. I love working for a company where your coworkers are also some of your closest friends. It is such a close-knit group of people that once you have worked for Ag Leader, you are always part of the Ag Leader family. I feel it is such a close knit group is because of the like-minded, hardworking values most individuals represent. I absolutely love telling people I meet that I work for Ag Leader, and I am proud and thankful to work here.
AL: If there was one thing you want farmers to know about Ag Leader and the products we create, what would it be?
CA: One of the individuals who reports to me made the statement once that “We give a damn here at Ag Leader.” I couldn’t agree more. We definitely care a lot!
AL: In your time at Ag Leader, can you share an achievement or experience you are most proud of and why?
CA: I was most proud to be a part of Ag Leader’s 25th anniversary in 2017. During the week-long event, there were so many memories made as we celebrated the history and growth of Ag Leader. It was a FUN week!
I am also very fortunate because I get to be involved in Ag Leader’s international business. I have traveled to Europe a few times to represent our company and to build relationships with our European distributors. I feel very fortunate to know so many people in different countries around the world.
AL: What do you like to do in your free time?
CA: In my time outside of work, I am a wife and a mother to four kids (Cayson, Mac, Lyla, and Jeter). My kids are very active in sporting activities, and I absolutely love watching them do the things they love. I love making memories with my family and spending time together. I am also very active in serving at the church I attend, and I volunteer a lot around my local community. I also love to play volleyball, lift weights/strength train, listen to Christian/political podcasts, watch true crime shows, drink coffee (especially with friends), and travel. •
ABOUT THIS SERIES
In the We Are Ag Leader series, we will introduce you to a wide array of people who work at Ag Leader. Our founder, Al Myers, created Ag Leader in 1992 with one mission in mind: To provide a workplace that challenges and motivates individuals to create and deliver innovative products.
Ultimately, addressing the wants and needs of farmers is our number one priority. We exist to enhance the lives of farmers around the world by developing proven precision farming technology that exceeds farmers’ expectations.