13 Agriculture Recruiters, Headhunters and Executive Search Firms

ACCUR's Robert Mondavi Winery case (opens in a new tab), posted in 2023, reports a completed search for a director of winemaking who works with the grower relations and viticulture teams to select outside vineyards. A second wine case, posted in December 2024, describes a retained search for a general manager to run a North Carolina wine estate's vineyards, winemaking and hospitality. Its case studies are filed under beauty, wine and spirits, and luxury goods, with no agriculture category.

The agriculture and food production page says the firm recruits C-suite executives for private equity firms with portfolio companies in food production, and lists roles from CEO and CFO to regional and district managers. It shows client logos from food and beverage companies, among them Danone, Mars and Godiva, and from private equity firms including Blackstone and Huron Capital, without saying which searches it ran for them. Its separate list of leading agribusiness brands does not say they were clients. ACCUR offers retained executive search, a professional search drawing on its candidate database and, for long-term clients and specific openings only, contingency search. It reports Forbes recognition as a top executive search firm for a ninth consecutive year in 2026, across the firm.

Alpha Apex Group reported firm-wide figures on its agriculture page in October 2026: 2,000+ placements worldwide and a 43-day average time to fill full-time hires. The page does not identify these as agriculture measures and names no agriculture client or case; the client logos it shows, such as Meta, AWS and Orlando Health, are from other industries.

The page offers executive search for agricultural leaders and specialist recruitment across crop science, agtech and sustainable farming, including research, operations and management roles. It says support continues after placement to help with onboarding. Agree the role, search model and fee directly.

CFR Global Executive Search is an alliance of independent executive search firms, founded in 1999, which says it has members in 24 countries. Its food and agribusiness group is led by Jorge Segovia, an agronomy engineer who has specialized in food and agribusiness search with CFR since 2015 and has run executive searches as founder of LYCANS Group in Mexico and Latin America. The page says his team works on C-suite, director, manager and key executive searches for companies in agriculture, livestock, seafood, processed food and alcoholic beverages.

The pages read name no agriculture client or placement. The firm's search process (opens in a new tab) includes assessment services when an employer is considering several candidates and a follow-up with the new hire and employer after the start.

Herd Freed Hartz's placement news reports retained searches for the chief executives of Midwest Dairy (opens in a new tab), which represents over 4,000 dairy farms (posted in 2024), and Dairy West (opens in a new tab), which represents dairy farm families in Idaho and Utah (posted in 2025). Its food and agriculture page lists other clients and roles, among them a CEO for Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, a chief operations officer for Darigold, a general manager for Territorial Seed and a chief operating officer for Beta Hatch.

The Seattle firm describes itself as a retained executive search firm with 25 years of searches, and its food and agriculture practice works with food manufacturers, agricultural producers, cooperatives and trade associations nationwide. The page names product categories from coffee, hay and hops to dairy and cheese, timber and seafood, and describes roots in the Pacific Northwest.

Keller's agriculture page lists nine agriculture placements by title and type of company, without naming the clients. Among them are a vice president of crop production for a large grain and oilseed farming operation, a chief operating officer for a fertilizer and crop protection manufacturer and a director of agronomy for a seed and plant breeding company. A food manufacturing case (opens in a new tab) posted in July 2026 describes placing the first general manager of a peanut processing plant in Suffolk, Virginia, a new role above five department managers. The page also carries three client testimonials signed with a first name, initial and title, such as Raphael H., a chief executive officer: "The executive we hired has already made a real difference".

The page says first candidates arrive in two to three weeks and, if the hired executive fails to meet expectations within 365 days of starting, that Keller "may conduct a new search at no additional cost". It also says it treats the client's workforce as off-limits for its own sourcing. Keller recruits across many industries.

Kincannon & Reed announced in September 2026 that it had placed Andy Paston as chief commercial officer of Stokes Seeds, a North American vegetable seed supplier. Its other 2026 announcements include the president of the Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association (opens in a new tab) and the chief executive of Climalock (opens in a new tab), a maker of insulated containment systems for agriculture and other markets. Its homepage reports 240+ executive placements worldwide over a two-year period and says 93% of the candidates it placed remained with the client through the first year.

The firm describes itself as a retained executive search firm (opens in a new tab) working only in food and agriculture, from inputs, agtech and animal health to processing, distribution and agribusiness investment. Its principals are former industry executives, and it also offers assessment, executive coaching and board director recruitment. Clients quoted on its who we serve page (opens in a new tab) include a start-up for which it placed several of the leadership team and an international animal nutrition business describing its search for a European president.

Spencer Stuart's Agriculture & Commodities practice reports more than 100 senior executive and board director searches over a three-year period. It says nearly three-quarters of its agriculture assignments are for returning clients. The page names no client or search.

The practice covers commodities and trading, animal health, fertilizer, chemical and financial providers, farm cooperatives, food processors and ingredient manufacturers. Beyond search, it works on leadership team effectiveness and strategic or cultural transformation.

AG HeadHunters reports hundreds of completed searches and a database of over 120,000 agriculture, food, energy and other agribusiness professionals. Its one-page overview, linked from its employer page (opens in a new tab) and read in October 2026, reports an average of 45 days from search launch to the new hire's start. Its cost guide separately describes a standard 60 to 90 days for an engaged search, without defining when it ends, so ask which estimate applies to your role. The Nashville firm describes itself as a consulting firm for recruiting and retention in agriculture, recruiting mid-to-senior professionals for organizations from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Its testimonials are signed by title only (a CEO, a president, an SVP), with references "available upon request".

Its guide to costs explains four standard search models and recommends a money-down search over contingency for critical roles. For engaged searches, the guide specifies at least a third of the anticipated fee at launch and two thirds at the candidate's start. It does not explain how the two reconcile if the first payment is larger, so confirm the total and schedule in the proposal. The contained model adds a second third when the shortlist is presented, which the document says suits a large geography, a required relocation or very niche skills. Its worked examples use 30% of first-year base or base plus bonus as typical pricing; neither document states the firm's own rate.

Two anonymous employer testimonials on Agri-Associates' homepage describe its work: one says the candidates were so strong "it was difficult to make a decision", and another came back for a new role more than a year after a successful search. The firm has recruited for agribusiness firms since 1969, and its employer page (opens in a new tab) says it serves firms in grain, feed, seed, animal health, chemical, farm, livestock and biotechnology.

Its homepage lists offices including Kansas City, Omaha, Minneapolis, Denver, Memphis, Atlanta and California, and the firm says contact with one office engages the whole organization. Fees are paid by the hiring company; candidates pay nothing. It also sends recruiting agribusinesses a quarterly newsletter on its strongest candidates. The site's copyright line and news posts date from 2018, so confirm the current team and offices.

AGRI-SEARCH places candidates across ag accounting and finance, agronomy, biofuels, farm and ranch, ag construction and equipment, seed sales and grain. Its homepage showed openings for a plant manager and a field operations manager in Illinois, a regional sales manager for Arkansas and Mississippi, and an ingredients merchandiser in Kansas when it was read. The about page (opens in a new tab) traces the firm to 1995, in Illinois, and it is a member of the Sanford Rose Associates network.

Its FAQ (opens in a new tab) describes the process for a new client: a recruiter gathers information about the company and role, advertises the opening, searches its database and beyond, completes reference checks and forwards qualified candidates. The pages read name no client or completed placement; the about page says fees are paid by the employer but gives no rate.

AgriTalent, founded in 1994, says it is one of the few firms that devotes all its resources to the seed, fertilizer, agricultural chemical, grain, feed, equipment and livestock production industries. Its about page (opens in a new tab) names two recruiters, in Spirit Lake, Iowa and Newton, Kansas, and lists roles from agronomists and seed sales managers to grain elevator managers, hog farm managers, and CEOs and CFOs in feed and grain.

The firm's guarantee, "We Deliver Or You Don't Pay", is a contingency term rather than a replacement promise. The only testimonial on the pages read is from a candidate, and no employer client or placement is named.

MAC's agriculture page describes a dedicated team of senior partners, search consultants and project professionals, with 27 years of combined experience among its designated industry experts. Its process page (opens in a new tab) says it typically recommends three to five candidates within 30 days, gives weekly or bi-weekly status updates and runs a post-offer quality check.

The page says MAC has earned the trust of multiple clients in agriculture but names none, and the testimonials on its site come from other industries.

Summit's agriculture practice page quotes three agriculture clients, each attributed by role and organization type. Its page data records publication in 2018 and modification in 2021; the testimonials are not individually dated. The president and CEO of a national farming cooperative says Summit filled three director-level positions and several managerial roles. A general manager at an agriculture equipment manufacturer and dealer says it placed several people in senior leadership roles, and the CEO of a global agriculture company describes about eight years of senior hires.

The practice covers food and beverage processing, animal health and production, agricultural equipment and technology, and grain and commodities. It fills management, sales, marketing, operations, technician, accounting and executive roles from offices in nine Canadian cities, from Vancouver to Halifax.