Nursery Inspectors

Introduction

The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) works hard to protect and promote Wisconsin’s agricultural industries and consumers. As an agency, we strive to serve the people of Wisconsin by assuring safe, wholesome food; consumer protection and fair business practices; animal and plant health; a clean environment; and strong agriculture and commerce. To successfully attain these goals, we recognize that our success hinges on the diverse, high quality, dedicated staff we employ.

DATCP currently has an opening for two Nursery Inspectors (Northwestern region and southeastern region) positions within the Division of Agricultural Resource Management, Bureau of Plant Industry. The typical work hours are 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday, with occasional evenings or weekends. These are field‑based positions and may be assigned a fleet vehicle for work‑related travel.

Selected applicants can choose a headquarters in one of the following counties:

• Northwestern position counties: Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Chippewa, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Rusk, Sawyer, St. Croix, Taylor, Washburn
• Southeastern position counties: Jefferson, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Rock, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha

Qualifying candidates are not required to live in a county headquarters location. However, reimbursement for commuting to or from the employee’s assigned headquarters is not provided (e.g., mileage, meals, parking, lodging, etc.). Routine travel within an assigned territory and throughout the state for assigned work and emergency response is required.

When applying please select all counties in which you are willing to be headquartered.

Employee Benefits: This position offers the State of Wisconsin’s excellent benefits package, which includes 19.5 days of paid time off to start, 9 paid holidays, accrued sick leave, multiple insurance options and an exceptional retirement plan! To help you understand what your benefit package would be worth, please check the Total Rewards Calculator here. By working for Wisconsin State Government, you may also be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Please click the link for details.  to see what working for the State of Wisconsin is all about!

This posting may be used to fill future similar vacancies.

Duties of these positions include inspecting nursery plants, Christmas trees, logs, seed, sod, firewood, and other forest and agricultural commodities for plant health and export certification, collecting regulatory samples for laboratory analysis and diagnosis as necessary; enforcing plant pest regulations to achieve compliance, particularly those involving plant pest quarantines, nursery and seed laws; identifying and assessing plant pests diseases and invasive species on a wide range of horticultural, forest and agricultural products;

and providing timely and objective regulatory outreach to the state's plant industry community via one‑on‑one or group trainings and presentations, trade‑show exhibits, phone conversations, personal communications, social media, webpages, radio, TV and print media.

Duties also include assessment of plant pest risk and plant pest response activities. This position may serve as a department representative on committees or as a liaison with external organizations, functioning as a technical expert and resource. Interactions with federal and state agency partners, plant industry groups and independent researchers will be used to provide recommendations to managers on policies, administrative rules and/or program direction.

The classification of this position is Plant Pest and Disease Specialist – Senior
, which is in schedule‑range 15‑03 with starting pay between $32.00 to $36.00 per hour ($66,560 to $74,880 annually) based on qualifications. This position is not represented by a collective bargaining unit. A 12‑month probationary period is required. Pay for current state employees will be set in accordance with the State Compensation Plan at the time of hire.

At DATCP, we strive to deliver efficient and…