What is Your Relationship with Agriculture?

I have food, some clothes, and even a roof over my head… but I have so many problems.

At one time, agriculture was the entire source of my family's income.

That has changed dramatically, but my reliance on agriculture has never wavered.

As my podcast guest Natalie Kovarik pointed out, having food and then clothes solves the most basic of challenges, yet opens the floodgates to even more. 

Everyone has a relationship with agriculture.  It is as simple as eating food and wearing clothes.

In the simplest form, those two distinctions are what agriculture provides to this world: food and clothing.

Yet even with the equation being so simple, it gets extremely emotional.

The emotion of what food we eat, what clothes we wear, how it's grown, where it's grown, and so on.

That list doesn’t include any of the emotions tied to doing the work, such as the emotional drive needed to wake up early in the hot or cold elements, or the feeling of caring for animals and knowing there is only so much you can physically do to care for them.

The emotional toll tied to strenuous and challenging financial circumstances out of your control is nearly unprecedented in any other industry.

So why do people do it?

Because our world has needs.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Natalie never set out to be a voice for agriculture.  Yes, she was raised on a farm, a beef cattle ranch in Southwestern Montana, and yes, she and her husband have a ranch in Nebraska.

But she found work in a different space as a pharmacist.

Like many people, Natalie and I were both raised on farms and then found our professional lives in different places and spaces.

While I now appreciate the values and lessons learned on a farm, I couldn’t endure the emotional toll for another generation to be involved on a farm day to day.

Our world has heard the ringing of the bell get louder and louder for a century.

Children of a proud industry fleeing for greener pastures and paychecks of certainty, rather than the abyss of capital-heavy generational debt and sacrifice.

In the distance of every enterprise, the purveyors know the bell is tolling; they simply hope it's not tolling for them.

Most agriculture enterprises have lost a significant portion of their operators in the last twenty years. The dairy industry alone has seen a 50% reduction in licensed operations since 2003.

The Yellowstone/COVID Paradox

In the Summer of 2018, the popular drama series Yellowstone premiered (ironically filmed and set not far from Natalie's childhood home), setting off a trend that picked up fury in the COVID isolation/quarantine culture of 2020.

I can't say with statistical certainty, but rather anecdotal evidence, that these two events would create a revolution—an Ag revolution.

And with that, new and bold voices to promote, explain, and advocate for agriculture.

Natalie and her co-host Tara Vanderdussen share via the Discover Ag Podcast and have used the long-form platform and social media to bring exposure to hundreds of thousands.

We would have more people turn to agriculture as a career substitute and become some of the most iconic figures in our society, i.e.,  Ballerina Farm.

Western and farming culture would dominate the influencer sphere, and viewers would yearn to appreciate and understand the way of life on ranches and farms, i.e., YouTuber Millennial Farmer.

With these new eyes, enterprises are morphing into influential lifestyle brands and voices for an industry that, in my childhood, was mocked, jeered, and ridiculed. 

This opportunity has created growth in tourism and revenue from products, wearables, and usables from farms—products often unconnected to the farm operation itself. Farms have created a revenue stream to offset the massive volatility and capital requirements of agriculture.

The challenge is that what we see as the image of what farming can be and the gap between where we are today and self-sufficient sustainability are vast.

The average farmer receives $.08 of each $1 spent by consumers.

A Hidden Villain

What many don’t understand is who controls agriculture.  It’s not the farmer.  It’s not the consumer.  It’s the processor, the middleman.

The entity responsible for marketing, distribution, processing, and the final sale controls the $.92 of each dollar not going to the farmer.

The villain in this case is the party that is more determined to raise the price of food than farmers, and can safeguard their profits in nearly every way.

While they aren't exempt from the normal challenges of business, they largely don't have to face and suffer the tolls that farmers do.

Processing and distribution costs and constraints are among the main reasons we have seen a resurgence in on-farm sales.

People like me sell directly to consumers.

This has allowed the farmer to control the price they receive for their products, and it also gives the consumer more control over the price they pay and the origin and production style of the food they buy.

This was how Natalie started telling the ag story; she was helping a friend sell off farm beef, and then during the COVID pandemic, she started telling the story of her farm life.

Morphing into a partnership with Tara and telling the story of many farms.  The challenges they face and the real stories of agriculture.

Leadership

Like any other industry, agriculture faces a leadership challenge. The challenge is internal: generational hand-offs, a new generation exploring agriculture for the first time, recruiting workers who are willing to endure the hardships and difficulties, navigating financial volatility, and pioneering even more advanced technology.

Then there are the external factors: regulation, security, food insecurity, polarization, viral misinformation, emotional and trade wars, and finally, micro and macro economics.

Few, if any, industries face the complexities of agriculture.  Yet few, if any, offer the values of agriculture.

Knowing you are providing a service and product that truly accounts for survival.

Multigenerational family enterprises where kids can learn to work alongside parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles.

I am grateful to have a place in agriculture, whether owning animals or being able to speak, coach, and advise those who daily work to provide services or run farms.

It drives me.  It drives me because I know the sacrifice and the reward.

Summit

We are just 4 weeks away from the Summit, and I would love for you to be there.

Yes, to fill the room, but more importantly, to get and give value.

Transformation happens when you are surrounded by others, doing the work on your own, but not alone.

Like Robby Emery shared, ‘you can find love online, but you can’t make love online!

Because it takes being in person, at a table, and in a room with real people to make the amazing happen.

On May 7th and 8th, I will host the 2nd annual Impact Driven Leader Summit.

This year, we have an unofficial theme, and it’s culture.  Culture Matters, Winning Culture, Connecting Culture, and Creating Culture.

Be a part of the event and learn from some of the best culture-focused leaders in the country.

I can't wait to see you in May. Register Here

Did you catch this podcast? If not, listen to it here.