Horizon Farm Credit recently announced the hiring of Cheryl Steinbacher as Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Training. She will be based in the association’s Westminster, Maryland headquarters.

As the human resources and training department lead, Steinbacher will oversee all human resources and employee training procedures for Horizon Farm Credit, while working with staff across the organization to communicate company-wide policies. “We are excited to bring Cheryl on board as the head of our human resources department,” says Bob Frazee, CEO of Horizon Farm Credit. “Her past work experiences and diverse skill set make her a great addition to the Farm Credit family.”

“I am both excited and honored to join the senior management team at Horizon Farm Credit,” says Steinbacher. “Farm Credit is such a meaningful organization and I look forward to helping the association not only grow, but thrive.”

Steinbacher graduated from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor of science degree in human resources and organizational development. She then attended Vanderbilt University, where she received her masters of education. Prior to joining Horizon Farm Credit, Steinbacher worked for Cardinal Bank in Tysons, Virginia. She was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana and enjoys traveling during her free time.

LISTEN TO Ryan's EPISODE HERE OR FIND US ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST LISTENING APP!

Summary

On this episode, Meaghan Webster interviews Horizon Farm Credit Loan Officer, Ryan Clouse. Ryan has been supporting our customers for over 22 years, but his background in ag runs deeper and started at their family’s Christmas tree farm, Clouse’s Pine Hill Farm. Ryan gives us the scoop on why real Christmas trees are a great choice for holiday décor and tried and true methods to keeping your Christmas tree looking good and lasting long into the winter season after you bring it home. This episode is the final episode for 2021 and we look forward to agvocating with our listeners again when we re-launch in early 2022.

Meaghan Webster:

Welcome back to the Farm Credit AgVocates Podcast. I’m your host Meaghan Webster, Content & Digital Marketing Strategist at Horizon Farm Credit.

Before we jump into today’s interview, I want to bring you all up to speed on our plans for the podcast going into 2022 and beyond. Today’s episode will be the last one of 2021. Since May of 2020 we’ve been sharing at least two episodes a month, which is both fun and exhausting! We want to make sure we’re providing the content you want to hear, when you want to hear it, so we’re going to take a break to re-center and plan some new content for 2022.

So what does this mean? Glad you asked! You’ll want to stay subscribed to this channel to make sure you continue to get all of the new episodes when we re-launch in early 2022. Our name will stay the same but you may see some new cover art, you’ll definitely see some new topics and guests, and new episodes will drop on Wednesdays rather than Mondays. Don’t forget – you can sign up for email alerts about the podcast at mafc.com/podcast, and if you have a suggestion for a guest or a topic, email us at podcast@mafc.com. That’s it for now – thank you so much for being a listener and we can’t wait to agvocate with you in the New Year.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming!

Have you noticed that the holiday season seems to get earlier and earlier each year? Even though you can start the overwhelming process of shopping for gifts earlier, one thing that seems to stay consistent (thankfully!) is when we start to look for our perfect Christmas tree. I think this is my favorite part of decorating for the holiday season. Michael and I rearrange the living room and make way for the tree. We get out the ornaments and set the scene before we head out to our local markets in search of the perfect tree. Then we bring the tree home, pour ourselves a glass or two of eggnog and get to work.

I’m excited for our interview today because I’m hoping our guest can give us some practical tips and tricks to make the most of our beloved Christmas tree this year! Today’s guest is one of our very own, Ryan Clouse! Ryan is a loan officer in our Winchester, VA office and has been with Farm Credit for over 20 years. Although well versed in Ag, Ryan’s expertise with trees was grown at home on the family farm. Ryan’s family’s Christmas Tree Farm, Clouse’s Pine Hill Farm, has been making the holidays magical for over 40 years. Thanks for joining me today Ryan!

Can you tell our audience a little bit about yourself, your role with Farm Credit and what your background in Ag is?

RYAN'S ROOTS IN AG

Ryan Clouse:

My role here at Farm Credit has been as a loan officer in the valley region, serving the Martinsburg, Winchester and Woodstock offices over the years. I service the rural home and part-time Ag communities and deal some with the secondary market responses over the year. I have been with Farm Credit for over 20 years.

Meaghan Webster:

Obviously, with work, you have a really solid background in Ag, but can you tell us a little bit about your family's farming business?

Ryan Clouse:

I was born and raised in the Winchester area. My family had cattle, hogs and corn for a while, until we finally settled on the Christmas tree industry. There was a growing need for Christmas trees in the area. We had some experience with the neighbors planting Christmas trees as an FFA project on the property and found that it worked pretty well for our lifestyle. We were always more plant based agriculture than livestock based.

Meaghan Webster:

How long have you been growing Christmas trees?

Ryan Clouse:

Clouse's Pine Hill Farm started in 1977, so it's been in existence for close to 45 years. My parents, Ron and Roberta Clouse started it. My brother, wife, kids, and I have been a part of it over the years, doing different components of the business.

Meaghan Webster:

Are your kids interested in continuing?

Ryan Clouse:

They help selling the Christmas trees and showing people around during that time of the year. They have involvement in other school activities and they'll be heading off to college pretty soon.  They like living on the farm and having access to it all. We certainly like the great outdoors, so having that free space has been huge for our family and also for our customers to enjoy that time.

Meaghan Webster:

I can imagine that it would be a very magical experience growing up on a Christmas tree farm, especially around the holidays. I also recognize that it's a business and needs to be managed.

What was it like growing up on a Christmas tree farm?

Ryan Clouse:

My involvement with the Christmas trees really focused on the shearing, mowing and then harvesting and selling of the trees. I was eight years old was when I first got involved in the shearing process. Tagging around with your parents and picking up on what they were doing is just something you do on farms. You get a better sense of what it takes to be involved when you're there side by side.

There's a lot involved in the trees, aside from shearing, mowing and selling. It does take more time and effort than a lot of folks realize, which is why Christmas trees are not a huge growing industry. It's a pretty steady business overall in the United States and it is something that we see more demand for. At some point we will see the Christmas tree business pick up new farms as people enjoy that great outdoor experience.

Meaghan Webster:

I've heard that there's been some really neat innovations in plant breeding for different smells and shades of tress.

What have you noticed that has changed over the years when it comes to how the public picks out their Christmas trees? What kinds of trends do you see?

CHRISTMAS TREE INDUSTRY TRENDS

Ryan Clouse:

The fir species as a whole has gained a lot more popularity due to its strong needle holding capabilities and the scent. The innovation for them has really been more of the introducing varieties that grow well in your environment. There's a lot of specifics going on in the breeding process.

You need to know what plant grows well in what climate or if it grows well in sub-climates on an individual farm. We are finding individuals are trying to pick the best of the best, so we try to then grow those plants as future seed stock. That’s what you're seeing as far as the overall trend in the industry.

There are some items out right now that are trying to improve the scent through some modifications on the genetic level, but that's going to be for the actual grower and will be a few years off. Christmas trees take 10 years to grow, so you have to find the best species and then take the better plants of that species for your environment. It’s a process that is not going to happen overnight. It's not like soybean or corn where you can get those genetics in process in four or five years.

Meaghan Webster:

There's a much longer timeline here.

Why is it important to buy a real tree? I know there are lots of opinions around whether you have a fake or a real tree, but I really want to talk about why is it important to buy a real tree.

Ryan Clouse:

In agriculture, it's a lot about connecting where your food and fiber comes from. With the Christmas tree experience, you're putting folks in a wide open area where they can run and spend time with their family together.

When they take the tree home and set it up, there will be conversations about the experience. They will talk about picking it out, cutting it down and getting it home. It's a lot of the experience and that's what we find is important to everyone because it gets that emotional tie to that area.

KEEP IT REAL CAMPAIGN

Meaghan Webster:

I like the Keep It Real campaign that I came across before we talked. They talk about the local connection and knowing your farmer, but also the sustainability and the environmental benefits of the real tree.

Can you speak to any of those factors?

Ryan Clouse:

That's something just as with other types of agriculture, we are proponents of the sustainability. We want to see the soil and water be as healthy as possible. There is nothing better than a Christmas tree with the grass growing underneath, helping with that process. They provide an ecosystem for animals in the area, like the deer, rabbits, squirrels, and insects. It’s something that we overall want to focus on.

When you can see the environment in its natural state, you're getting a sense of what it takes to make that happen. Seeing that goes back to that emotional tie.  It's something that they have and they want to continue that tradition of helping out a local, family farm. Our farm has had folks coming for 20 years. They brought their kids and are now coming back with their grandkids. It’s neat to see the generations of the family coming out to enjoy that environment.

Meaghan Webster:

I was excited for this interview for a couple reasons. Picking out my tree each year is probably one of my favorite things that we do every Christmas. The first year, we didn't have a truck to get it home, so I had to fit it in the trunk of my Ford Taurus. My now husband and I were trying to fit the tree into my trunk, without it falling out the entire way home was one of my favorite memories.

What tips do you have for us to pick out a solid, healthy tree that's going to last long through the season? What should we look for in that perfect tree?

PICKING THE PERFECT TREE & MAKING IT LAST

Ryan Clouse:

The color of the tree is going to give a good indication of the health of that plant. Whether you're picking it from a choose-and-cut or a precut operation, you can tell if it's a good, strong tree from the healthy green color. Sometimes there's a blueish tint depending on the variety, but that's the first thing that you want to look at.

Then you can check the needle holding, by bending the limbs to see if it bends and springs back. That's a good sign that the tree is properly hydrated. Making sure that it has ample water to hold in the stand is the key to any tree’s success. You really need a stand that holds bout a gallon worth of water. Some of the larger trees will go through two - three quarts of water a day as they're acclimating to the warmth of the house.

Meaghan Webster:

That makes a lot of sense to me, making sure that they're well hydrated and that color looks good. I know when I look for mine, I try to look for one that's pretty full.

Once we've picked that perfect tree and we're ready to take it home, what's the best way to keep it alive and looking good all season long?

Ryan Clouse:

The absolute number one key to keeping that tree looking the best all season long is the water. In our house, I'm the designated tree waterer and every morning when I get up, I check the water.

The first week or so, trees will have an insatiable appetite for water. You need to make sure that you’re checking the water because if you don’t have adequate water in there, the trunk will form a sap layer and it will not take up any more water.

Keeping it out of the direct sunlight and keeping it in a cooler part of the house, not directly by a wood stove, furnace, or a vent is the best. Bigger trees are generally going to hold more water and have more resistance, but smaller trees don't have as much moisture, so they dry out quicker.

Meaghan Webster:

Having a good spot where it's going to stay a little bit cooler out of the sun and give it lots of water.

Is there anything that we definitely shouldn't do? Sometimes they sell the packages of nutrients that you can put in with the water. Do they actually make a difference or is that something we could probably skip on?

Ryan Clouse:

Good old H2O is the best thing for it. My daughter did a project for a science fair and we tried some things out and we did not see a big difference. If you use aspirin or some of those extra nutrient packets, they may help, but not any more than using water and making sure that they're maintained.

The only thing that I've seen that has had a huge difference is putting ice in the water. I sold a 15 foot Douglas fir tree to a local barber shop. Every time I checked on it there were no dry branches or needles on the ground. I figured that it had to be because of the ice water. He’s still having great success with that method.

Meaghan Webster:

Wow, I'm going to have to try that this year. I haven't heard of that one.

I think there are a lot of reasons that people choose not to keep it real or go the real option. Besides being traumatized by Chevy Chase's experiences in Christmas Vacation, the most popular complaint I have heard is the concern about bringing bugs into the house with the tree.

Is this a real fear with Christmas trees or is that a myth?

Ryan Clouse:

There are insects in the trees. It’s their habitat, so that’s just part of it. There are beneficial insects in the environment. Praying Mantis and spiders are present in the areas. When we harvest the tree, we shake them out. We try to get all the old needles out and anything else that's in there.

We do pull out what we can see, but when you're talking about an eight foot tree that's really thick, it's hard to pull every single non-needle or non-branch item out of there. We're not going to say it's never happened, but that’s part of the Christmas tree experience. Those experiences are what you’re going to talk about over the holiday dinners.

Meaghan Webster:

I'm not a big spider fan. I'm not sure if I'd rather have the squirrel from Christmas Vacation or if I want spiders. I think they both could be equally traumatizing.

After the holiday season is over, how do you recommend getting rid of a real tree? Is there one recycling option that's better than others?

GETTING RID OF YOUR TREE AFTER THE HOLIDAYS

Ryan Clouse:

The important thing is for it not to go into the landfill. If you chip it up or let it degrade on its own, it has a positive benefit to the environment. We make sure that what we take out of the ground and what we use in growing, we put it back as quickly as possible. That’s something that with the Christmas tree itself, if you were to leave it on your own, it's going to break down.

It's just going to take a little bit longer. You can put the tree in a neighbor’s farm, or keep it in your backyard till the summertime. You can put peanut butter or popcorn on that tree for the birds and other wildlife to enjoy.

Meaghan Webster:

I love that option. This has been super helpful. I really appreciate all of your tips and tricks. I’m excited to try that ice water trick. I'm definitely going to measure and see how that turns out.

In closing out this episode, I was thinking we could do a fun holiday edition of our “this or that” game. What do you think?

Ryan Clouse:

Sure. Go for it.

"THIS OR THAT"

Meaghan Webster:

I'm going to give you two options and I want you to pick your favorite or what you think is the best without any explanation. Let’s go ahead and get started.

For the Christmas tree, colored lights or white lights?

Ryan Clouse:

White.

Meaghan Webster:

Awesome, me too.

For Christmas tree ornaments, do you do color themed ornaments or ones that you collect each year?

Ryan Clouse:

Ones we collect each year.

Meaghan Webster:

We do a combination of both.

For the yard, do you go with big, fun, blow up decorations or some of the classics, like the manger scene or the deer in the spotlights?

Ryan Clouse:

Neither, because we're too busy making memories for our customers.

Meaghan Webster:

That's a good answer.

Christmas cookies or pie?

Ryan Clouse:

Cookies.

Meaghan Webster:

Good choice and I agree.

Last but not least, gift bags or wrapping paper?

Ryan Clouse:

Wrapping paper.

Meaghan Webster:

Yes, 100%. You have to enjoy ripping the wrapping paper off. It's just not the same with a bag.

Ryan Clouse:

You got it.

Meaghan Webster:

Thanks so much for your time today. This has been really helpful and a lot of fun. We do one sign off question with each of our guests and I want to give you the opportunity for this as well.

WHAT DO YOU ADVOCATE FOR IN AGRICULTURE?

Ryan Clouse:

Agriculture is a lifestyle. It's something that keeps our community vibrant. We talk about the food, fiber, and keeping it local around here. It's important that you get to know your farmer, so they can tell their story about what it takes to make these products. It’s important to remember that buying local sustains individual farms and many other support industries in that area as well.

Meaghan Webster:

Build those memories and buy local.

Thank you again for your time, Ryan. This has been awesome.

Thank you to everybody out there listening. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you rate, review, subscribe, take a screenshot and share it with a friend. You can get all of the podcast notes for this episode and other episodes at mafc.com/podcast. If you'd like to help us plan for 2022, you can email us at podcast@mafc.com. You can send us any topics or guest suggestions that you'd like us to cover into the New Year.

Thanks again for listening. We hope you have of a happy and safe holiday season. We'll see you in 2022.

LISTEN TO Jim's EPISODE HERE OR FIND US ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST LISTENING APP!

 

Summary

On this episode of the Farm Credit AgVocates Podcast, we interviewed Dr. MeeCee Baker, President and CEO of Versant Strategies in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In this episode, you’ll learn how MeeCee transitioned from teaching ag education for 20 years to advocating for Pennsylvania agriculture with Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and eventually leading the charge at Versant Strategies. MeeCee has overcome many barriers in the industry and works hard standing up for the ag community in PA.

Kurt Fuchs:

Welcome to the Farm Credit AgVocates podcast. I'm your guest host Kurt Fuchs, Senior VP of Government Affairs for MidAtlantic Farm Credit. I'm excited to have with me today, Dr. MeeCee Baker, a daughter of Pennsylvania, and a true advocate for agriculture. MeeCee owns Versant Strategies, a premier governmental relations firm focused on agricultural, environmental and rural issues. Versant has represented dozens of clients in the Harrisburg and DC marketplace ranging from small farms and businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Full disclosure, we have worked with MeeCee and her stellar team at Versant Strategies for several years now and can attest to the impressive support, connections and guidance they provide to their clients. We've had it in our minds to have MeeCee on the podcast for a while now, but it seems especially fitting to be conducting the interview here in March during Women's History Month. You'll come to find out during our discussion, MeeCee has blazed quite the path throughout her impressive professional career. She is certainly an example for young women interested in pursuing a career in agriculture.

MeeCee, thanks for joining me today. I am really excited to have you on the show.

MeeCee Baker:

Kurt I'm honored. Thank you so much for having me.

Kurt Fuchs:

Let’s get right into the nitty gritty. You weren't always in government relations, in fact you began your career in agriculture education.

What led you towards that career at a time when female Ag education teachers were essentially a rarity?

THE START OF A CAREER IN AG EDUCATION

MeeCee Baker:

Thank you for that question. I just wrote an article for a national publication about that experience, so a lot of it is very close to mind. Like many people, I started college and animal science wanting to be a Veterinarian. When those grades came in after the first semester, it was obvious that I would not be calling myself at two o'clock in the morning to pull a calf because I just did not have the grades.

From there I moved into, at that time what was called Animal Husbandry because I thought well, I can't be a Veterinarian, but I could be an Extension Agent and I pursued that. I moved from animal science over into the Ag and Extension Education department. I was walking down the hall one day and Dr. Don Evans stopped me and said you want to be an ag teacher; your mom's a teacher, and you have the farm, do you ever think about that?  

I hadn't because I was not allowed to be in ag education in high school, even though it was the early seventies when we made course selections. At that time, there were no girls allowed in Juniata County and we were a bit behind times. I never thought of it, but it was that one question walking down the hall that made me change the course of my career.

I loved being in ag education. Penn State was just wonderful at that time and I had a lot of great mentors and professors, including some that maybe your listeners know like Dr. Jim Diamond, who continues to mentor me today. I just loved that experience. I did my student teaching at Oxford in Chester County and then moved on from my first position, which was at Quarryville.

Kurt Fuchs:

Well, that's fascinating how you came to ag education.  I guess it's a sad commentary that even in the seventies, it wasn't necessarily an option for you in high school to take ag courses.

Thankfully that's not the case anymore. Judging from the interactions I've had with FFA’s within our region, there are a ton of young women engaged in FFA, which is fantastic.

MeeCee Baker:

About 50% of the FFA membership is female and about 75% of the leadership is female. I went on to pursue my master's and doctorate. My doctorate degree looked at why women entered the profession of ag education or did not, specifically at the population of women who graduated with a degree in ag education from Penn State.

At that time and up until 1990, there were 80 women and that went back as early as the 1920s, which was fascinating. We interviewed all but one individual who refused to be interviewed that were still alive. We found out that people entered the profession because of a mentor and stayed in the profession because of a mentor. They left the profession because they didn't have a mentor or left the profession because of the time commitment. That has switched today.

In my article, I mentioned, I issued another challenge and that is perhaps we need to do a similar study to see why men are not enrolling in ag education. Penn State this year has been a graduated class entirely of females and that is not unusual. At one time when there were very few female ag teachers within a generation, there are now very few men entering the profession. Perhaps it's time that we have our own little boy crisis investigation to see why the tables have turned.

Kurt Fuchs:

Wow, that's a huge demographic shift. That'll be interesting to see if there are efforts to find out what's leading to that shift. The article you're referencing, just so our listeners are aware, we'll go ahead and link to that in the show notes, so folks can access that after they listened to the podcast.

MeeCee Baker:

Yes, it’s called The Friday Footnote and it was a two piece series with me; I was the first female to be National President of the Ag Teachers Association, Karen Hutchison from Delaware, who was the first female to be the National President of the State Supervisors of Ag Education and Jacque Deeds, who was the first female to be the National President of the Teacher Educators or the folks at Colleges in Ag Education. So we all three have different perspectives of our experience.

Kurt Fuchs:

Ag education and FFA are pretty synonymous and in 2019 you were recognized by National FFA during their 50 years of Women in FFA celebration at their National Convention, which was in person. Now, I know in conversations that you and I have had over our professional relationship, your family has quite the history with FFA.

Could you share that story with some of our listeners?

FFA- A FAMILY TRADITION

MeeCee Baker:

My mother was an agricultural education student back in the 1940s and she graduated in 1942. As best as we can figure, her Ag teacher would submit the rosters, which was not unusual at that time, with just a first initial and last name and she would be D. Gilson. My mom bragged about winning the carpentry award and specifically about beating out her first cousin to win that when she'd graduate.

She liked to talk about our Ag teacher and she said he'd like to exaggerate stories about when he was in World War I and tell the boys and girls, they grew cabbages as big as bushel baskets. It's funny how you remember these stories that mom told with such vivid detail.

There were three girls in at that time; her cousin Margaret, and also Mary. There were three women in the ag education program and she was so proud to win those awards when she graduated Tuscarora Valley High School in 1942. I never realized that it took mom six years to graduate until very recently, but she actually went to the Pennsylvania Farm Show building, tried out to be a welder while she was in college, got picked because of her skills that she learned in school and on the home farm and went to Letterkenny and welded during the war.

She was there for two years and then went back to Westchester and finished her education. It's just incredible that she had those experiences and sometimes when you think about our sacrifices today, and I think about the sacrifices that greatest generation had, including my mother and my dad who was in the bottom of a ship for four years in the South Pacific, it humbles you for sure.  

Ag education skipped the generation with my sister and I, but then my daughter Libby was very fortunate to become a State Officer in Pennsylvania and was a National Star in AgriScience. It was neat to see it come full circle with my daughter and from my mom.

Kurt Fuchs:

An impressive collection of women in your family and to your point about the greatest generation and the sacrifices that they made, and that in many cases, such a humble generation, that they don't talk about it. They just did it and thankfully a lot of those stories continue to emerge and we're able to recognize the great sacrifices that they made.

MeeCee Baker:

That's right. I'll just give you one quick story about my dad, not to leave him out, but he boxed Joe Lewis on the ship because my dad was the biggest guy in the ship and he never really talked about that. It was one of his shipmates that actually brought it up and talked about that story.

He went from the ship to Thomasville, Virginia where he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers’ farm team, and then got called up to the majors around the same time that Jackie Robinson was called up. He was a knuckleballer and there's not too many of those around anymore. He ultimately came home to the real farm, but he never talked about that.

When you would ask him why he didn’t tell those stories, he would say that he is living for today and living for me, my mom and my sister. It’s a little different with that generation and we have lots of lessons to learn from them.

Kurt Fuchs:

Well, thank you for sharing that.

The follow-up question is whether or not he passed along the knuckleball skills to you?

MeeCee Baker:

If you look at my hands, I have really long fingers and you have to hold the ball a certain way to throw a knuckle ball. People will say as long as you're living, Bob Baker's hands are going to be still around, though certainly not as skilled.

Coincidentally, while we're talking about women's issues, I desperately wanted to be in little league and be a pitcher. My mom played for a women's traveling team during the war as well. She played for a group called the Kaufmann Maids and she likened herself to Rosie O’Donnell because she was the second basemen and I am air quoting A League of Their Own. I desperately wanted to play little league, but again I wasn't allowed because girls weren't allowed to play little league back then. That's another more recent phenomenon.

JOINING THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PA DEPARTMENT OF AG

Kurt Fuchs:

I'm glad that's also changed.  Now, after 20 years blazing a trail in Ag education, you switched gears a little bit and you joined the Executive Office of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

How did that opportunity come to pass?

MeeCee Baker:

My sister, Beth was a little different than me and she has since passed away, but she went from Westchester to Hahnemann, which was a Medical School in Philadelphia and then worked in Philly at the City Workers Clinic where she met then-Mayor Ed Rendell and Beth was interested in politics, but mostly she loved sports. She would see the Mayor come through and they would go on and on about sports back and forth.

When he started his campaign for Governor, he would ask her questions about ag and rural issues because of where she was from. She finally said to talk to my sister, she's engaged in that day in and day out. The Governor's people called me and they asked all types of questions. At that time, I had never been involved in a campaign, I just answered their questions. I can remember pulling off the road at very specific places and giving an answer on whatever the issue of the day was.

When the Governor won I received the call asking what I wanted.  I thought what do you mean, what do you want? I really didn't know people worked campaigns to get jobs. After some thought, I thought that it would be a really interesting new chapter. I was fortunate to come into the Executive Office of the Department of Agriculture, under Secretary Dennis C. Wolff. My job was education and outreach to simplify it.

One of the things that we did that I'm probably most proud of is we put together something called the Marketplace for the Mind, and it was a collection of lesson plans that you could download. I wanted them to be downloaded and then you are ready to roll. We linked them to state academic standards, so if you were a science teacher and you wanted an Ag oriented lesson plan to match that state standard, all you had to do is type the standard in, and you would have a selection of lessons to choose from. At one time we were downloading about 10,000 lessons a month, so that was a really neat experience.

As administrations come and go, the marketplaces is no more, but it was certainly a really fun project to work on. The other fun project was the development of a Veterinary Tech program at the local career tech center at Dauphin County Technical Center. Secretary Wolff was really invested in that and wanted it to have a large animal emphasis. Those were two of the fun things we did while I was there.

Kurt Fuchs:

To think, even though that program isn't still around, the impact certainly I'm sure continues to be felt from the students that were able to utilize those programs and resources.

MeeCee Baker:

Yeah, I would like to think so. There’s agriculture education in agriculture or for those of us that are in the profession, the students that are taking high school education. Then there's the education about agriculture and that marketplace was targeted to those people that needed some basic education about agriculture.

I was just talking to an animal science professor last week and asked what keeps you up at night? His response was that some of the students that are coming from agriculture, don't have a basic knowledge of animal science. Those are things that we can do, like the marketplace, to help combat that so folks know where their food is coming from, and in turn, are better educated consumers are then better educated voters, so we can avoid some of these policies that just don't make sense.

HOW VERSANT STRATEGIES WAS FOUNDED

Kurt Fuchs:

Well, amen to that.

Now did your time at the Department of Ag lead directly to Versant Strategies? Or how did that come to fruition?

MeeCee Baker:

It did and I am very fortunate to have had a conversation with our former Appropriations Chair here in Pennsylvania, John Barley, who was the founder of Star Rock Farm, and then also founded this firm. If you know, John, you know that he's pretty forthright. He put that question to me, when the lights go out, administrations change, you get an appointed and you get un-appointed, so what are you going to do?

That initial conversation led to more. He wanted to take his firm in an agriculture and rural direction and wanted to make it bipartisan, so I came on and joined John. He had another partner at that time and that partner then eventually left. Secretary Wolff came on for a time and then John and I had the firm together. About five years ago, John decided that it was time for him to get back to Lancaster County and do all the wonderful things that he does. He made it so that I could buy the firm from him and then grow it from there. I'll always be very grateful for John having those early conversations and bringing me on board.

Kurt Fuchs:

Is it safe to say, I know it's always bad when we assume, but is it safe for me to assume that female led lobbying shops in Harrisburg or any other state capitol or DC is probably still not the norm?

MeeCee Baker:

No, not at all. The road was very bumpy when I was a high school ag teacher. There was a group called the Yellow Dog’s Society that is defunct now, but when a young woman would walk on the stage at the State Conference, the yellow dogs would howl at her. It was tough and this has also been tough.

It has not been easy, but I've kept my nose to the grindstone. I think age has probably softened me a bit, which is probably good. I knew that there were two things that I wanted to do really well, and that was help people get connected to decision-makers and then advocate on their behalf. To do that effectively you have to be able to teach and to tell a story.

Those same skills that were honed in the classroom make us successful as we can be here in Harrisburg. It is a rarity, but I will say that I think all of the time that I've had leading up to this has allowed us to realize the success that we have realized. We’re not trying to be one of those hard charging, heavy hitting firms. There's a place for everybody here in Harrisburg. We try to do things a little bit differently and our stock and trade is to be able to tell that story and make the connections with those grassroots stories out in the field.

Kurt Fuchs:

I can attest that you do that extremely well and have helped Farm Credit to do just that in Harrisburg and throughout the state.

Are you willing to share any particular wins that stick out in your mind either for their significance to agriculture, their challenging nature, or maybe even just the unique personalities involved?

MEECEE'S MOST MEMORABLE WINS

MeeCee Baker:

I would say the first win that I think has had probably the biggest impact on the economy of the Commonwealth is the ability to buy wine by the glass at state wineries. When we came on, you couldn't do that. Allowing people to buy wine by the glass has just morphed into events. I will just go back to Juniata County, Juniata Valley Winery that's owned by George Hazard and folks in the ag industry and in central Pennsylvania. I have known George for years and we set up few different positions, but he bought a beautiful property.

There's not a lot to do in Juniata County on a Friday evening, but I'll tell you when George started his winery, and fingers crossed that we'll be meeting in groups again in the summer; they have a band there every Friday night and food trucks come in. People get their glass of wine, get a little bite to eat at the food trucks and bring a lawn chair to relax. It has really turned into a community type event. That’s probably what I'm most proud of is that wine by the glass.

Each session, we were able to join forces to get a few more things such as farmer's markets permits that wineries can go sell at farmer's markets. There was always an issue with noise and you would have a neighbor that would be unhappy. The noise ordinance was so strict that if you even opened your door to the winery, and you were playing a radio that would be amplified noise, and somebody could hear it outside on your porch or outside your premise, you could be cited as a noise violation. Somebody could pretty much shut your winery down.

A couple years back, we were able to come to a compromise and rectify that situation. The wine by the glass, I think is probably what has had the far reaching implications for the economy and was really proud of that. More recently in not only with legislative issues, but also in regulatory affairs, it takes a little finessing from time to time.

At the beginning of the pandemic, we were able to work with the Department of Agriculture to make sure our pest management folks were deemed essential. You might not think of that individual as being essential, but food processing facilities have infestations and homes have infestations. If you don't have somebody that can go in and even in medical facilities, something can get out of hand pretty fast. We were able to help them early on.

We work with agencies and then we also help people find money, which is always fun to find grants that are a fit. One of our clients is a distillery and it’s Pennsylvania's oldest distillery and they make a lot of eggnog during the holidays and they wanted to buy a Homogenizer to increase their capacity and potentially buy more cream. We all know that dairies were dumping cream last year, so this seems like a win-win. We were able to go to a funding agency and find $5,000 to help them offset the Homogenizer they bought. Those are three examples of wins, three different examples that I can say that we're proud of.

MEDAL HONOR AWARD FROM THE PHILADELPHIA SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING AGRICULTURE

Kurt Fuchs:

Well as an avid fan of value-added beverages, let me thank you on behalf of all the other consumers for your work with the wineries and the distilleries. Switching gears a little bit, an award that you had received that I found particularly interesting was the prestigious Medal of Honor Award from the Philadelphia Society for the Promotion of Agriculture. Now, I have to admit as a boy from the Eastern shore of Maryland, I wasn't really familiar with this organization until I started coming up into PA for work.

Can you tell us a little bit about that organization and the award itself?

MeeCee Baker:

The organization is the longest agricultural organization that has continued to be in existence. It is really an impressive group and they have an agricultural education mission, and they meet pretty much on a monthly basis, switching to virtual this year, of course. It's a really neat way to connect people in agriculture around the region. The speakers are really impressive and they have a lot of connection with the vet school at University of Pennsylvania. It pulls people from Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.

I was very honored with the gold medal. I was shocked actually, very humbled and I think I might've even gotten a little emotional when it was given to me. I was really honored to have that. It was a look back on some of the accomplishments in my career.

Kurt Fuchs:

Well, just from this short interview we can already attest to the deserving nature, so congratulations, that’s just fantastic.

MeeCee Baker:

Thank you.

A WORD OF ADVICE TO YOUNG PEOPLE IN AG

Kurt Fuchs:

As a highly successful woman whose careers been marked by leadership, drive and service to agriculture, do you have any advice for young women who are considering or interested in careers in agriculture?

MeeCee Baker:

I would say probably this advice would be for young men and young women that are interested in this career. My best advice is advice that Jim Diamond gave me several years ago and that is to be the best at something, find an area of expertise that you can develop.

I always tell my daughter be the go-to at something. When I say the go-to, you want to be the person that folks call when they need an answer about a particular topic. When they call you, don't say that you don’t know and that Fred knows, you call Fred, find out and let those folks know. You make that call, get the information and get back to people. I think that goes throughout your life and not just into your career.

I have folks that don't know exactly what I do here in Harrisburg from my hometown. They just know I work in Harrisburg, but they don't know if I work in government, out of government or what I do, but they'll call and ask for help.

I just had a woman that cleaned houses call recently and she was wondering if she might qualify for the PPP loan program because she lost customers this year. I knew that I couldn’t give her financial advice, but I directed her to the website that you can go to take a PPP quiz. I think that being able to help people and having some expertise and this is kind of a side note, but I jokingly say that I pretend everybody likes me all the time, it just goes a lot better that way.

That’s probably a lesson that has been learned over the course of my life, but lobbying is a competitive sport. You’re against somebody 90% of the time, 10% of the time maybe everybody's in agreement, but 90% of the time there are winners and losers, you team against their team. I am not easily offended and I pretend everybody likes me all the time.

I think those are probably three pieces of advice would be to become that go-to, get back to people; if someone comes to you for information, try to help them as much as you can. Secondly, pretend everybody likes you all the time and, third try not to be offended. With today's society, especially in the last year, we've all been trapped at home. We watch TV, we're on social media and everybody seems to be on a hair trigger.  I think over the next year, we need to think about not being so reactive and try to sit and listen a bit more.

ADVICE FOR PEOPLE NEW TO ADVOCACY

Kurt Fuchs:

Three excellent pieces of advice.  I think even beyond the professional advice, but just advice for good living and for successful relationships. That's excellent, thank you.

What advice would you give to someone who is a casual advocate or new to advocacy, that’s never reached out to their State Representative or Senator before? Do you have any initial advice for someone in that situation?

MeeCee Baker:

I probably have two things I would mention. I recently read a great book that I would recommend to your listeners called Our Towns and it was written by the Fallows’. A husband and wife couple flew this teeny little plane across the country to small towns or what they consider small towns. Some of them were a lot bigger than the 500 people that are in Port Royal, where my hometown is. They looked at what worked and what didn't work and why some of these towns were really thriving.

The number one thing they came up with was they didn't let national politics get in the way of local progress. Again, these small towns that were successful did not let national politics get in the way of local progress. The first thing is I would not discount someone because they are in the opposite political party. I certainly wouldn't discount figuring that they're not going to be an agreement with you because you have differing political views. 

I like to always say, and you've heard me say this Kurt, I’m not a D or an R, I'm an “A” for Agriculture. I am a D, but I'm an A for agriculture and there's an old Steelers Wheel song that says “clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with you,” and 80% of the population, maybe 90% of the population when you really sit and listen to each other, we're in the middle. I would just caution to not let that national political fuss really get in the middle with you going visit.

The second thing I would say is don't go in first with an “ask,” get to know that individual first. I always say help before you ask. There's lots of things that you can do to help your local Senator, Representative, or Congressperson. You can offer a tour of your facility and many of your folks in MidAtlantic Farm Credit have farms, so offer the person to come in.

National Ag Day is coming up here in a couple of days and you could invite your elected official out, take a few pictures, put it on social media, and show them what it takes to do what you do day in and day out. If you have a small agribusiness, invite them to come out, let them know what keeps you up at night and how they could potentially help. I think forming those positive relationships are so essential before you go in and ask. You certainly don't want to go in the first conversation shouting at a staff member or pounding on the table. I have talked to staff members on both sides of the aisle this year and everybody's getting shouted at.

When someone calls in and says thank you, it really goes a long away. National Ag Day is coming up and a lot of electives don't even know there's a National Ag Day. Perhaps we're harvesting grapes, check and see if the Senator would want to come out for an hour and help with the harvest. Take some pictures and maybe put it on social media. All of those things are really helpful establishing that relationship.

I'm going to go back to my advice to the students is to be that go-to person, especially with staff. Staffers are having an issue and they will call for the lots of reasons, that often times  has nothing to do with a client that we have, but staff on the Hill know that we could answer an ag or rural issue question. We'll get a call and we'll say that we know you don't have anybody with this interest, but can you tell us what the technical piece behind this is; what is the science of this? We get those calls from regulatory offices, as well as legislative offices. The teachers in us are always happy to explain something and then give them some references, make a connection.

We recently made a connection with the Dean of the College of Agriculture on an issue. It was on glyphosate and they had a great conversation with the staffer, who was really well-informed. They had an expert in the field, obviously with the Dean that was able to talk to them.

Kurt Fuchs:

MeeCee, those are incredible pieces of advice. Just adding on to your previous suggestions for folks possibly pursuing careers in Ag. I agree being that resource is critical to being a good advocate.

MeeCee Baker:

I would just end with saying that never underestimate the power of a nice thank you note. There's a lot of negativity in the world, so a nice handwritten thank you note with three sentences, it doesn't have to be elaborate, goes a long way in your personal and professional life.

MEECEE'S LIGHTNING ROUND

Kurt Fuchs:

Now, here's where we get to the fun part MeeCee. Not that the serious conversation that we've had wasn't fun, but when I have the opportunity to host the podcast, I like to include what I call the Lightning Round.

I'll give you five pairs of related items and all you need to do is pick your preference between the pair. Does that makes sense?

MeeCee Baker:

Absolutely.

Kurt Fuchs:

Okay. Are you ready?

MeeCee Baker:

 I'm ready.

Kurt Fuchs:

Okay.  Primanti Brother’s Sandwich or classic Philly cheesesteak?

MeeCee Baker:

Philly cheesesteak

Kurt Fuchs:

Sheetz, or Wawa?

MeeCee Baker:

Sheetz

Kurt Fuchs:

Red wine or white wine?

MeeCee Baker:

Rosé, is that a choice?

Kurt Fuchs:

Absolutely.

Utz or Herr’s?

MeeCee Baker:

Utz.

Kurt Fuchs:

Blue jacket or varsity jacket.

MeeCee Baker:

A blue jacket, especially if it's blue corduroy.

Kurt Fuchs:

That's right, I figured that was an easy one. That was a gimme.

MeeCee Baker:

That's an easy one. And then the potato chips, I should’ve said my hometown of Hartley's. I should have asked for option “C."

Kurt Fuchs:

Oh, okay. Well, we can amend the results.

MeeCee Baker:

There you go.

WHAT DO YOU ADVOCATE FOR IN AGRICULTURE?

Kurt Fuchs:

Our final question, thank you for indulging me on that lightning round. I think it's a nice way to just kind of loosen up a little. We like to sign off with our final question.

What do you advocate for in agriculture?

MeeCee Baker:

Understanding of the science behind agriculture first and foremost, and then also advocating for the people behind the science, behind the agriculture.

Kurt Fuchs:

Excellent. Well, you do a hell of a job at it, so thank you for that.

MeeCee Baker:

Thank you.

Kurt Fuchs:

MeeCee, I can tell you that once my baby girl is old enough, this episode is going to be required listening. I want to thank you for your time today for providing a glimpse into your impressive story and for your agricultural advocacy. It's been really great having you on, so thank you.

MeeCee Baker:

Thank you. I would like to just end with saying that my dad was a big baseball player and I can remember throughout my childhood people saying, “Oh Bob, you should've had a boy.” He always would say, I like my girls just fine and his goal in life was to make sure my sister and I were educated and would be able to take care of ourselves the rest of our life.

I owe a debt of gratitude to him. I know you're going to be a dad just like my dad and he built a great foundation for Beth and I.

Kurt Fuchs:

Well, I'll tell you if little Josephine turns out half as successful, I'll be pretty damned pleased.

MeeCee Baker:

Oh, she will be for sure. Thank you, Kurt.

Kurt Fuchs:

Thank you. To our listeners, don't forget to rate, review, subscribe, and share with a friend. You can get podcast notes and subscribe to email alerts at mafc.com/podcast.  Send any topics or guest suggestions to podcast@mafc.com. Again, thanks for your time, your attention, and please stay well.

Take care everybody.

Listen to Debbie's episode here!

 

 

Jenny:

Today, I'm joined by someone I work very closely with, and honestly, someone I look up to. Her name is Debbie Wing, the Executive Vice President of Communications with the Farm Credit Council. Debbie joined the Council in 2016 after having a very impressive career, namely with FEMA - she spent several years there, making her an expert in communicating in a crisis, something we've all had to navigate recently.

When we started this podcast, you immediately came to mind as one of the communicators that I look up to and love working with. So I'm glad you were able to do this. For our audience today:

COULD YOU JUST INTRODUCE THE FARM CREDIT COUNCIL AND HOW YOU WORK WITH SYSTEM ASSOCIATIONS LIKE HORIZON?

Debbie:

Absolutely. The Farm Credit Council is the national trade association that represents Farm Credit institutions, mostly before Congress, the Executive Branch, stakeholders in Washington, DC, a lot of agricultural stake holder groups, and also with the national media. And, we provide that mechanism for members to involve themselves in grassroots development on positions of different ag policy related issues, like when we advocated for the Farm Bill most recently, and other federal legislation that would really impact Farm Credit.

We work closely with our Farm Credit associations, like Horizon Farm Credit, to make sure that we have that collaborative, cohesive, and unified message all across Farm Credit, so we're talking with one united voice within Washington, D.C. We also work closely with an association if we have an inquiry from a member of Congress or a national media outlet and they're looking for that customer perspective. We recognize that our customers are our best spokespeople, so we try to place and match up these audiences so they can really hear that customer perspective and they can hear the Farm Credit story firsthand.

Jenny:

You all do a really good job of telling our customers’ stories for us, and I think one thing that some of our customers may not realize about Farm Credit is our level of involvement in DC. I am glad that you were able to touch on that and tell everyone how you all advocate on behalf of the entire industry and our members.

I'm curious because I know in your background you studied politics, correct? I'm curious where that stems from, because you've found a way in your career here at Farm Credit to marry your communications expertise with your political interests.

COULD YOU JUST GIVE US SOME BACKGROUND ON WHERE [YOUR INTEREST IN POLITICS] CAME FROM?

Debbie:

I always have had an interest in politics, political science from an early age, and that's one reason I chose to come to the DC area. I went to school in this area for both my undergrad and master’s degrees. And then while I was going to school and then shortly thereafter, I had the opportunity to work on some presidential campaigns on Capitol Hill in a Senate press office, and to work for some other political organizations and communications.

I always worked in the communications area, and then I worked for different lobbying groups, as well as public relations firms. And I just always had an interest and I always thought that the advocacy, that public affairs-type approach, really energized me. I love mission-based organizations and I love a challenge of how you can take a complicated issue and synthesize the message and really make an impact and get that message across. And thinking of creative, new ways to really hone your message and then look at different mediums to send your message out to the different audiences.

So it's been a great. I've been very blessed with my career and opportunities. And the best part is I get to work for wonderful organizations and work with people that I really enjoy and I look up to, and I have had great mentors, as well as great just colleagues and partners.

 Jenny:

I know before you joined Farm Credit Council, you were working for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Prior to that and here at Farm Credit, do you have a background in ag?

DID YOU COME FROM ANY SORT OF AGRICULTURE BACKGROUND AT ALL BEFORE JOINING EITHER OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS?

 Debbie:

Actually, Jenny, I don't have an ag background beyond those organizations. I did grow up in a small rural area and I have a lot of family members and friends who were very closely involved in agriculture. So that definitely is a big piece of me and I care deeply about rural communities and agriculture. But this was my, like you said with National Rural Electric Cooperatives and then with Farm Credit Council, that was really my first entree into working as closely with agricultural organizations. But it's something I care deeply about and I feel like it is a piece of my upbringing.

 Jenny:

You joined Farm Credit in 2016, which was our centennial, Farm Credit turned 100 that year.

WHAT DREW YOU TO THE COUNCIL AND TO THIS ROLE SPECIFICALLY?

Debbie:

When I was with the Rural Electric Cooperative, one of the organizations we worked closely with was a Farm Credit Council member. Just speaking with them and learning about the mission of the Farm Credit Council, I was just very attracted to this mission. Like I said, I really enjoy mission-based organizations, and I really fundamentally like supporting these rural communities. I think telling the Farm Credit story and recognizing you can make an impact, and our mission is just so valuable and just so sincere and genuine and good, and it's a great story to tell and it's something I felt very strongly about and felt passionately about.

And when you can work for some organization with a mission that has those qualities, it's a lot easier to advocate on behalf and tell that story. You can really see the fruits of your labor and that's something I always enjoy seeing. And mostly, it was the fact that those people, our board members and our customers, when you meet with them and you talk to them, it's just really hard not to be energized and to really feel good about what you're doing. I walk away from all those opportunities feeling good about yourself and what you're doing.

 Jenny:

I couldn't agree more. That's definitely my favorite part of this job as well - my fellow employees, but our members and what they do. They're super inspirational, all of them.

Prior to even the Rural Electric Cooperatives, this is one part of your career I find very interesting. And this has really become apparent in how you've handled this COVID-19 crisis, but you actually have spent time at FEMA, which I cannot imagine how incredible that experience was.

COULD YOU JUST SHARE WITH ME WHAT YOU LEARNED AT FEMA AND HOW YOU'RE APPLYING THAT TODAY?

Debbie:

Working for FEMA for 10 years in the communications shop, I had a host of different jobs, from press secretary to head of strategic communications, and also the speech writer. It was incredibly rewarding and also one of the most challenging positions I've ever had.

I was there during the 2004 hurricane season, which I think a lot of people forget how challenging and difficult that season was because it was quickly surpassed by 2005 with Hurricane Katrina. And it was, just again, an onslaught of disasters after disaster. But one of the big takeaways from FEMA is you always want to be prepared, as much as you can, and recognize you're probably never going to be as prepared as you should be. But being prepared with a plan, a crisis communications plan or just a communications plan so that your organization and your employees all know what their role is in the midst of a crisis situation. Making sure not only do you write that plan, but you exercise, you test that plan to make sure everybody does know exactly what they need to do, what their role is, how they will receive information, ensures it becomes seamless in the midst of a disaster.

Then, following up after a disaster, it's a lot of military speak, but “after actions” is what we would call them. It’s looking back and seeing what did you do well, and then what can we do better and how can we learn from our mistakes, or what can we learn from our exercise of the implementation of the plan? Then updating that plan, don't just write a plan and feel like you're done and stick it on a shelf. But actually pull that plan down, constantly look at it, update it, and make sure that you're, again, educating those who have to carry out this plan on that.

That was one of the big things that I did learn. Then also knowing that this is the here and now, you're dealing with this issue right now. So we're in the midst of the pandemic right now, but also keeping the eye on the ball of what are other issues that are not going away. They may just be put on the back burner, but keeping track of what important issues are going to affect agriculture? What's coming down the pike? What has just maybe been set aside? And not forgetting about that, continuing to focus on that as much as possible while dealing with the here and now.

You can get so caught up in a current, huge disaster or crisis situation, but really maintaining the sense to keep business going and serving your customers and just keeping your eye on issues that may be on the horizon.

 Jenny:

That's amazing advice and definitely very applicable today. I know that's something my team is doing.  We're keeping a running file of everything that we have put out or have done during this time to debrief. When we are able to meet up, what worked well, what should we have done differently? That’s great advice to hear.

Along those lines in the midst of this crisis, you have a national view of this in your role at the Council. How are you seeing the ag community come together at this time? There are many challenges that they're facing, the economic crisis is one of them, but also with the food supply chain issues.

HOW ARE YOU SEEING THE AG COMMUNITY COME TOGETHER AT THIS TIME AND SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER?

 Debbie:

We’ve seen a lot of different and great ways that the agricultural community has come together during this current COVID-19 crises. They have come together to support and co-sign letters to advocate for legislation to help to provide some relief for an already struggling agricultural economy. Farm Credit specifically has helped to support agriculture and demonstrate how our customers have been affected by putting together panels where our customers can come and speak about specific issues. We've had customer panels focused on livestock, specialty crops, fruit and vegetables, and we're getting ready to do one on the dairy industry. It’s an opportunity to do this by webcast and to invite members of Congress and their staff, as well as members of the media and other ag stakeholders and Farm Credit folks across the country to really listen to these customers and the challenges that they have faced with the current COVID-19 pandemic, from logistics supply chain to not being able to get their commodities, to potentially meat processing plants, and to combat negative media stories and let folks hear the producers’ side of the story. I think that's been a nice way to get our story and message out.

I've also seen a lot of great things that producers are doing as far as how they are adapting to and pivoting with the pandemic and with their businesses. I mean, we've seen Farm Credit customers put together produce boxes that they're selling from the road with contactless delivery. We've seen delivery of different products like wine or other types of commodities. We've seen distilleries that have pivoted their business to make hand sanitizer.

I think it's been really great to see the creativity of Farm Credit customers and how they've adapted to this new COVID-19 world and seeing how they can continue their business as much as possible during the current environment.

 Jenny:

I've definitely taken advantage of the delivery wine service. One of our local wineries, Old Westminster Winery here in Carroll County started to doing that and that's been fantastic.

You're right, it's been really energizing to see these customers get innovative and creative with how they're adapting to this. It's quite remarkable. That is one shining light, I'll say, that this crisis has kind of brought, is that creativity out in many. It's refreshing to see that.

You mentioned before that you really promote and recommend everyone having a plan for a crisis situation and revisiting that regularly. What are some other things that you would recommend producers start thinking about now so that if they do ever end up facing another crisis, hopefully never again a pandemic at this scale. But crises happen often on a much smaller scale, whether it be to one individual business, or a community.

WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT YOU WOULD RECOMMEND PRODUCERS CONSIDER NOW IN ADDITION TO THAT PLAN?

 Debbie:

One thing you touched on is one thing we can be assured of - there will be another disaster, unfortunately, but we have to be prepared as much as possible. And I think some suggestions of ways that customers could be prepared looking forward is making sure they have a business continuity plan. As our organization, we looked at our plan right when this pandemic came about. We really wanted to make sure that we were set up for success and we had everything in line and in place, and we have since even updated our plan.

I think this is a great opportunity to say, "Hey, did we have a business continuity plan? Do we need to develop one? And do we need to update it?" Then, just making sure for the future that you do have that plan. And again, from a business continuity plan, if you just have one and no one else has seen it or no one knows what it entails, make sure you share that plan amongst your organization.

Then also succession planning. A lot of people don't like to talk about that, but it's really important and to make sure that there is a plan. And again, that it’s shared with those who need to know, because you don't want to be caught off guard. And I think those are just some great preparedness steps to take and those are things that you can do right now to ensure that you have the continuity of operations and it's a very fluid situation.

 Jenny:

That’s great advice. What are some of the things that we can do to support agriculture right now during this crisis? Like I said, we see in the news a lot about the issues with the food supply chain.

Do you have any recommendations for how we can support our producers and agriculture during a crisis?

Debbie:

Going back to storytelling, it's great to hear from customers exactly what they're doing and the challenges that they are seeing and faced with, and then how they're overcoming those challenges. And then also how Farm Credit is helping them to overcome those challenges. A great example is through the SBA's Paycheck Protection Program. Farm Credit worked tirelessly to make sure that their customers were able to receive those loans for their businesses, to keep their operations going. But there's a lot of other ways, besides other relief, that Congress and the administration will give to agriculture.

I think always making sure that we're out there talking about our customers, how much we care about our customers - what we do for our customers and things that we provide our customers. It's all about that storytelling and getting that message out, and I think it helps for a variety of reasons and audiences. We have a great story to tell. There's a lot of noise out there, but good stories are always welcomed. The more you continue to tell your story, people will hear you, and it will resonate.

It’s also great for these audiences to hear positive things about Farm Credit, because there is some negative stories about agriculture and the food supply chain, and people are asking, “Is it broken?” It's really good to hear that farmers are still producing and doing their best to make sure that they can get their products to the end user. But they need to hear from those customers and telling that story either through podcasts or through other testimonials that are written or in video. There's a lot of different mechanisms, and thankfully with technology now, we have those mediums to tell those stories. There is a big appetite for content and to hear these stories. This is how we build reputation, management and equity for Farm Credit is to continually telling these stories.

That’s what I would offer is one of the best ways to do this. There are plenty of stories out there. Let's continue to tell them and make sure that we're telling our own story so others can't tell it for us.

 Jenny:

That's great advice. I'm with you on the storytelling camp, that's also a huge part of our job at Horizon, my team's job and we love doing it.

I appreciate your time, Debbie and I have to thank you and your team and the Council for everything you do to support us, not only during a crisis, but all throughout the year.  I have one more question for you before we sign off for the day:

WHAT IS IT THAT YOU ADVOCATE FOR IN AGRICULTURE?

 Debbie:

That’s a great question, Jenny, and I think there are so many things to advocate for. I think one of the things that I've learned through this current COVID-19 pandemic is that there's a lot of misunderstanding or just lack of understanding of how people get their food. Where does their food come from? They think they go to the grocery store and it's just there and they purchase it and go home. But I think that we've had the opportunity to really explain and provide a much better understanding and appreciation for producers and for agriculture.

I'm very much an advocate for making sure that people really understand how they get the food on the table to feed their families and feed the world. And I think that's a very important piece that folks have really, again, recognized and appreciated from this as we've seen a lot of meats not filling the shelves as they once were and they are just harder to come by. I think it does just provide a much better understanding for the benefits and the greatness of these producers.

Jenny:

That is a great topic to advocate for. I think so many things are an agricultural product that people don't even consider, actually. We’re working on a piece right now explaining how toilet paper is actually an agricultural product, if you think about it. It comes from trees. The forestry industry is part of toilet paper. That whole storyline when this thing started, that got me thinking about that. I don't think people realize where even that comes from.

 Debbie:

Great point, and what a hot commodity that certainly was. That’s very strategic and creative of you to tie the current stories and headlines into something that goes back to agriculture. I commend you on that effort.

Jenny:

I'll be sure to share that blog for you or with you when it's done. Well, Debbie, again, thank you very much for your time today. I know you guys have a lot on your plates, but again, thank you and the Council for everything you're doing.

 Debbie Wing:

Always great to talk to you, Jenny. And again, I'm very appreciative of the opportunity to speak with you all and I can't tell you enough how much I really do appreciate the collaboration, the partnership of you and Horizon, and I'm appreciative of the opportunity to work on behalf of agriculture and Farm Credit.

LISTEN TO Andrea's EPISODE HERE OR FIND US ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST LISTENING APP!

 

Jenny:

Welcome back everyone to the Farm Credit AgVocates podcast. I'm your host Jenny Kreisher, Director of Communications at Horizon Farm Credit. Our guest today is Andrea Haines, owner of ALH wordandimage. Andrea is a professional photographer and writer based here in Frederick County, Maryland. Though she'll capture everything from weddings to newborns, Andrea's real passion resides in agriculture, and you can often find her covering events from local fairs or ag dinners or out in the field snapping awesome photos of Holsteins or Jerseys. We have the pleasure of working with Andrea on several projects throughout the year for which we are very grateful. So welcome to the podcast, Andrea.

COULD YOU TAKE US BACK TO THE BEGINNING AND JUST TELL EVERYONE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND IN AGRICULTURE?

Andrea:

I'm a dairy farmer's daughter and being the oldest of four kids in that family, I'm very similar to a lot of ag kids in that I grew up with 4-H and FFA careers. 4-H for me, I really liked doing the dairy projects, but I also had market hogs and beef cattle.

Jenny:

That's awesome. I know you went to DelVal and you got a degree in dairy science.

WHAT WERE YOUR CAREER PLANS AT THAT TIME? WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WOULD END UP DOING IN AG?

Andrea Haines:

Initially I thought I would come back and be a dairy farmer, but the home farm was actually going into retirement at that time. And my father and a few 4-H leaders that I'd been working with had really good insight. We all know the struggles of dairy farmers these days, but he didn't want me to have the same struggles that he had growing up. He challenged me to try to think of a different career and look at all of my options while I was at college and really just be an advocate for the industry. So I later on added a minor in communications to my degree. That's how I started.

Jenny:

As one fellow communicator to another, I know the power words have. That's something that never ceases to amaze me about what we do.

WHAT IS IT THAT MADE YOU PURSUE WRITING AS A CAREER? WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO GET THAT MINOR IN COMMUNICATIONS?

Andrea:

It's two things actually. I really got the same inherited bug of riding that my father has. My parents and my grandparents were definite ones for that. Just riding around with them in the countryside and listening to their stories or even stopping in and visiting your neighbor or another farm and seeing how they did certain things - I really enjoyed that.

As far as the writing goes, and when I made my decision to be a writer or journalist, was through an internship that I obtained in college. The internship was one that actually wasn't really available. It's a funny story. It was with Farmshine newspaper in Pennsylvania, and I was on the college show team. I went down to the trade show part and I asked the editor there, I said, "Do you have any internships available?" And he said, "Well, no, we don't typically do that, but why don't you come on a summer and we can find some work for you to do." He was very kind.

Jenny:

Oh, wow. That's pretty great. Good internships are hard to come by. So that's pretty awesome.

Andrea:

It definitely is. Initially that really prepared me for future jobs. I really had a great experience that summer. It actually ended up into two summers. I went back another summer and we learned, or he taught, a lot of different things about editing. And I might be dating myself, but wax layouts on pages and just really the older way to do it. It’s really transpired into something pretty amazing now.

Jenny:

THROUGHOUT YOUR WRITING CAREER, WHAT HAS BEEN ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE ASSIGNMENTS?

Andrea:

There’s so many to be honest with you. I really enjoy the farm visits. Those are my most favorite, but one that stands out to me, I did a couple years ago was a day in the life of an AI technician. It was pretty fun. I got to ride around Lancaster County with a technician and he showed me a little bit of what he does and then got to also see a lot of different types of farms in that way, too.

Jenny:

Actually that's another question I had for you, was how far has your career taken you? Because I know you do a lot in the Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia area.

HOW FAR HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO TRAVEL IN YOUR CAREER?

Andrea:

I usually have gone to Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. That is mostly where my reach is, but I have had inquiries with people in farms in Florida, producers on a wider scale as far as interviewing goes out West. I am very excited. I get the opportunity to go out West in Utah and do some ranch photography, which is a bucket list thing for me.

Jenny:

That’s fantastic. That’s a perfect segue into my next question about you being a photographer. Not only do you do an amazing job telling stories with words, but you do have a knack for capturing those stories in photography, Andrea.

WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO PICK UP A CAMERA?

Andrea:

We all know writing goes a little better with the photos, so I've always done these, what you would consider stock photos for my articles, but it wasn't until I started my job at Hoard's Dairyman in Wisconsin and the art director and the managing editor there really, I felt, saw potential in the way that my eye took to certain photos. In a way, being an artistic person, I feel like most of those people are really introverted type personality people, and I am one of them. I actually really enjoy taking the camera. It's like a button clicks in my head and it's a comfort zone that you go into. It's your job, but you really have to love it. It has really opened up some doors for me in that avenue.

Jenny:

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE PHOTOGRAPHY PIECE?

I know you get to do a lot of ag events and you get to meet a lot of different people. What do you think has been your favorite part of that aspect of your job?

Andrea:

For me, the agriculture. We get to go to a Maryland ag dinner each year and I get to be behind the scenes a little bit with being able to take photos of the products, but also the people that are involved. That actually creates more links in a way that I get to go to more farms or work with people like Farm Credit or fairs. So for me, that's been really the enjoyable part.

Jenny:

HOW WOULD YOU SAY YOUR CAREER HAS CHANGED SINCE THIS PANDEMIC TOOK OVER BACK IN MARCH? WHAT SORT OF CHANGES HAPPENED AT THAT TIME?

Andrea:

A lot of my work generated into writing because we weren't able, as photographers, to go onsite or work with those families or communities that I often work with, or even weddings. The more ag based or essential work popped up in the forefront for me. I was able to really supplement essentially what I love to do. So the pandemic, I think, brought more of what I really enjoy to light. It actually in a weird way has been a positive thing for me and my family.

Jenny:

That's good to hear.

HOW, THROUGH YOUR LENS OR IN YOUR EXPERIENCES TALKING TO OTHERS THROUGHOUT THIS TIME, HAVE YOU SEEN THE AG INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE PULL TOGETHER AND SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER?

Andrea:

The ag community has a sense of purpose I think within itself when we don't even have a pandemic happening. I think with this time, we're seeing a lot more of that ag industry help come to feed our communities and really help serve those individuals or families that are in need of food or product. That's been a really nice thing to see within that.

Jenny:

That is. It's been very uplifting, actually. For those who might not be directly involved in the industry, or maybe they're involved in some capacity, not as a producer,

WHAT CAN WE DO TO SUPPORT THE INDUSTRY RIGHT NOW AS WE GO THROUGH THIS WHOLE PANDEMIC?

Andrea:

From a consumer standpoint, buy locally. I'm not just saying locally down the street, either. There is that sense too, but within the US. I think buying products within our own country is a positive thing. It's going to help us boost our economy. Also remembering to use patience and grace when interacting with people and when things change is a good plan.

Jenny:

Yeah. That's a great reminder for everyone. I did another interview not long ago with Debbie Wing, the communications director for the Farm Credit Council. One thing we talked about is how it's crucial right now for producers to be sharing their stories and stories about their operations and maybe even how they've pivoted their operation during this time to continue to serve their communities as you mentioned before.

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT FOR PRODUCERS TO BE SHARING THEIR STORIES AND HOW DO YOU RECOMMEND THAT THEY DO THIS?

Andrea:

We all know social media is a big one for getting your story out there. Even just going to your local grocery store, a church group, school, being a mom just in my own home setting, the friends that you're around is a good way to really transpire your story. For me, as far as sharing your story, it really puts a realistic twist to things. It personalizes it a little bit more, and it really voids those stereotypes that I think the agriculture industry has going against them.

Some of my biggest influencers were people who didn't go to college or have an extended education past high school. I think that stereotype is really damaging. There are just as many educated individuals using my grandfather, my own father, for example, that are really good at their craft and I think that trust needs to be mended within our consumer producer relationships.

Jenny:

We were talking before I hit record on this one - your most important role is as a mom to your son.

HOW HAS YOUR FAMILY BEEN COPING DURING THIS TIME OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC?

Andrea:

We certainly have been very blessed to have health. I know many people are struggling out there. Being a mom within a pandemic, I think more people are beginning to relate to the teleworking issues that might come with having a child or that you had mentioned your pet. So within that, that's been hard, but we've been very blessed in that we have a supportive family life here. My siblings and my parents and my son's grandparents, have really been supportive of how we've lived and had to do work remotely.

I think with being a mom, it makes me a little bit more relatable with clients because I know with kids not everything goes smoothly all the time. You have to be a little bit more forgiving or patient. I think as far as just having the mom link in there with a business, it makes you also a little bit more relatable. Setting realistic expectations, I think is what I'm getting at.

Jenny:

I feel like that would make you a fantastic newborn photographer, too. I know being located here in central Maryland, there's a lot of talk about schools being up in the air for this coming fall.

DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS OR TRICKS FOR PARENTS OUT THERE THAT YOU'VE FOUND TO BE HELPFUL WITH YOUR SON IN KINDERGARTEN?

Andrea:

I think being realistic in setting expectations for yourself. Not everyone's perfect. Not everything is perfect. We're all trying to adapt to a situation that is different. Taking that family time to recharge and giving yourself a break is definitely important. I think it helps whatever job you have, strengthen your ability to do that job better when you're coming back refreshed or recharged.

Jenny Kreisher:

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU HAVE FOR SOMEONE WHO MAYBE LOVES PHOTOGRAPHY OR WRITING AND IS THINKING OF MAKING A CAREER OUT OF IT?

Or what's something that you wish you knew when you decided to go out on your own? What advice would you have to yourself now or someone like you?

Andrea:

I think two things stand out for me. One is definitely being able to take critique well. Not taking it personal if your work gets changed a little bit, or if you need a little bit more guidance in a certain area, because you really are there to help your client achieve what they need. So that definitely early on was a lesson for me, a wake-up call. But, I think it helped me to be a little bit better at my job now.

The second would be to surround yourself with people smarter than you. I know that sounds weird, but always have that ability to learn. You can never learn everything. Knowing it all is not a possibility. I think challenging yourself to be better and do better and learn more, whether it's continuing education classes or being in the room and feeling like you don't have all the answers is really humbling, but also a good tool within what I do.

Jenny:

That's great advice, Andrea. I have one more for you as we wrap it up here today. I appreciate your time, but the last one is the question we ask everyone before we sign off for each podcast. And that would be:

WHAT DO YOU ADVOCATE FOR IN AG?

Andrea:

That’s a loaded question. I like it though. I think for me, everyone has a story to tell. I advocate because I want there to be a story for future generations to tell. We're all on the same playing field within the ag community and we should be working together for the industry. So really trying to tell the story and really trying to provide that future so others can enjoy it. It's really important to me.

LINKS:

Website: https://www.alhwordandimage.com/

Instagram: @alhwordandimage

Jenny Kreisher, marketing specialist with Horizon Farm Credit, successfully completed the Leadership Carroll program on June 13. Kreisher was one of 40 selected to complete the nine-month professional development program, created to educate those who work in Carroll County about the many resources and organizations that are located within the county.

“Leadership Carroll provided me a wonderful opportunity to learn more about what Carroll County has to offer, and meet others who serve the people living and working here,” says Kreisher. “Every month offered a new experience I wouldn’t have been able to have otherwise. I recommend it to anyone who works in Carroll, or who calls this great county home.”

Leadership Carroll is offered through the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Carroll County Community College. Since its beginning in 1990, it has been providing existing and emerging leaders within the community a combination of leadership training and education of the community, including an overview of the opportunities and issues facing the county.

For more information about Leadership Carroll, and how to apply for the next class, visit the Leadership Carroll website.

LISTEN TO Kenny'S EPISODE HERE OR FIND US ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST LISTENING APP!

 

 

On this episode of the Farm Credit AgVocates Podcast, we interview Kenny Bounds, Delaware Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and Farm Credit retiree. Kenny tell us how his lifelong career of advocating for agriculture started and has evolved through many different positions all centered around supporting our local farmers.

In this episode prepare to be inspired by Kenny's passion for supporting local rural communities, learn about organizations to get involved with, and determine whether or not you'd like to have breakfast with Mr. Bounds during his lightning round.

Kurt Fuchs:

Welcome to the Farm Credit advocates podcast, I'm your host Kurt Fuchs, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for Horizon Farm Credit. You may recognize my voice by such familiar programs as episode two of the AgVocates podcast, where I had the pleasure of chatting a little bit about my role here at Horizon with your regular host Jenny Kreisher. I enjoyed the experience so much that after months of begging and pleading, signing waivers, and a little bit of bribery, I've been given the microphone and the awesome opportunity to interview a mentor of mine, Farm Credit retiree, and current Delaware Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Kenny Bounds.  Kenny has served farmers and advocated for agriculture in the region, his entire career. First, throughout his nearly four decades with Horizon Farm Credit, and now in his current role with the Delaware Department of Agriculture. He has been a consistent voice in support of the regions poultry industry, instrumental in developing multiple Ag leadership development programs and helped innumerable farms and agro businesses achieve success through his efforts at Farm Credit. Although I've had the distinct pleasure of knowing Kenny for nearly 20 years now, I learned something new every single time we chat. So I'm particularly excited about the conversation ahead and being able to share it with our audience. Kenny, thanks for taking the time from what I know is an extremely busy schedule to visit with us this afternoon. It's good to have you on the program

Kenny Bounds:

Kurt, it’s great to be here. I always look forward to my time with my Farm Credit friends and I certainly valued my time with Farm Credit and, and still consider them a major partner in the success of agriculture in the region.

Kurt Fuchs:

Well, Kenny, one of the things that as I was preparing for this interview is I was trying to remember the first time we met and stop me if I'm remembering this incorrectly, but I believe it was probably 2002. I was interning with the State Executive Director of Farm Service Agency, with Steve Conley in Maryland and you, and he were meeting up for a lunch. Does that sound right?

Kenny Bounds:

That does sound right. Kurt, that goes back a long way. And I spent a lot of water over the dam since then, and we certainly have done many things together and with other partners like Steve and the Maryland Department of Ag, Delaware Department of Ag to work on agriculture issues. But yeah, I have that same memory.

Kurt Fuchs:

Its’s hard to believe that was almost 20 years ago. Now it's a pretty wild. Kenny, can you tell us a little bit about how you got started in a career in agriculture?

Did you come from a farm family or pursue a production ag degree in school? Or how did that come about?

Kenny Bounds:

I didn't come from a farm family. Although my father grew up on a farm, but there were a seven siblings and no one continued on with that small farm operation. But I did work for many different farmer in the area near Hurlock, Maryland, where I grew up. My first jobs that I remember, and I was really young with this. I back in the days when you had to hoe weeds and I remember being out pulling weeds and hoeing weeds, picking tomatoes and cucumbers. As I got a little bit older, I went on to work for a grain and hay farmer, driving, combined driving trucks, and then worked for a hog farmer who also had grain. I spent one summer working at a pickle plant and Hurlock. And then, probably toward the end of my college career when I was still doing summer jobs, I worked for the State of Maryland at a migrant seasonal farm worker advocacy program, sort of liaison between the farmer and crews looking for work. So I had a lot of agriculture experience going into college then ended up as an agronomy soils major at the University of Maryland College Park.

Kurt Fuchs:

What steered you towards Farm Credit?

Did you start right out of school with Farm Credit or how did you begin your, your time there?

Kenny Bounds:

Well Kurt,  I've got to be honest as I was approaching graduation, my wife was a year younger than me and she was still in college and I wanted to go back to grad school with soil chemistry. My department chair, Dr. Jim Miller, who I will always remember and admire fondly for steering me to Farm Credit, sent me over to Baltimore, Maryland, where at the time one of the regional banks was there and he said, you need to go see those Farm Credit folks. And I thought, I am not a finance guy, but I'm going to follow Dr. Miller's advice, he's never steered me wrong. And every time I saw Dr. Miller, the rest of his life, when we saw one another, I would thank him for sending me to Farm Credit. It was a great fit for me. He read me like a book and I never did end up back in school for post-graduate work toward a soils degree.  I did get to use my soil experience multiple times in my career, just not into fashion that I envisioned at the time. As you mentioned earlier, I spent almost four decades at Farm Credit and loved almost every day there. So it ended up being a pretty phenomenal career for me from, from a personal standpoint, I couldn't have asked for a better place to be.

Kurt Fuchs:

My comparatively short stint here at Farm Credit. I would agree wholeheartedly with those sentiments. Although I am disappointed that I can't refer to you as Dr. Kenny Bounds, I’m glad that you've been able to serve Ag in a different way.

Kenny Bounds:

Still call me Doctor Kurt, that’s fine.

Kurt Fuchs:

Okay. Very well Doctor. So you mentioned your long tenure there at Farm Credit. I know you didn't spend all those years in one position.

Can you tell us a little bit about the variety of positions you held throughout your time there and maybe walk us through that journey?

Kenny Bounds:

Sure, back in those days, the district banks that were sort of the regulatory banks overseeing the local offices, had a trainee program where they would bring college graduates in and put them in this what they call it, field representative position, and then send them out into field to different associations, to gain experience in the role as a loan office. And then went into association had a job opening, they would send that trainee there to apply for the role and see if it was a fit for the loan office and for the association. My first assignment was really in Denton, Maryland, where I ended up spending a lot of time later. And I was there for about six months as the first trainee and right out of college. And, you know, I had had some econ classes of course, but not Ag finance that was not my strength at the time.

So the major thing I did at that time was moved the buckets around to catch water coming in from the roof. We were putting in an addition on in the office. So I think you know I was well-qualified for doing that at the time. But I went on to Georgetown, Delaware was my first assignment where I was hired as a loan officer. I had great mentors there and those folks are friends to this day and they really helped me learn that job. I spent about six years there in the Georgetown office. The one thing that really impacted my career and to this day, I spend a lot of time working on chicken issues. So the poultry industry is a huge part of the Delaware economy, and the Delmarva economy. And poultry certainly seems to be something that I'll be working on almost every day. But when I started at the Georgetown office, I really didn't know much about chicken, other than my mother made really great fried chicken that I loved. And other than that, I had mentors in some of the poultry companies that really helped me learn this industry and learn it well. I just fell in love with the job and working with the local farmers and people would come in and they wanted to figure out how to get started in farming. And the poultry industry was great way to enable them to do that.  I learned how to get young farmers started in business as an early thing that really kept me interested in the job and one reason why I stayed so long at Farm Credit.

I transferred over to the Salisbury Maryland office as a Branch Manager and then back to the Denton office, as a Branch Manager, where I really spent most of my career there in Denton. While, I was in Denton as the Branch Manager, of we had a lot of lending going on, a lot of grain, a lot of growth in the chicken industry, vegetables, but also we experienced the Farm Crisis of the middle 1980s. And it impacted the entire country. We had had several years of drought, very low commodity prices. And I learned what it was really like to sit down at the kitchen table and spend whatever time it took to help farm families figure out how to weather a storm.

People forget that we had prime rate at around 20% at the time. So any losses you took were magnified by that interest. It took a lot of cooperation between the farm families and the loan officers to figure out a way out of that mess. So while I was that the Denton office and had that experience of the farm crisis and helping people get through that, I was asked to serve on the Delmarva Poultry Industry, Board of Directors, and eventually moved into the role of President of DPI. And that was a perfect fit for the mission of Farm Credit, standing up for our members in time of need. So I was able to come in, get on the Board of Directors at DPI, the trade association for the chicken industry here on Delmarva, and really helped represent growers and companies and allied businesses like Farm Credit and others.

And it was during that time, Kurt that I did an interview with 60 minutes with Mike Wallace on a piece entitled, “Big Chicken.”  And that sort of gave my career a boost, needless to say for the advocacy side and the government affairs side of the world. It was a situation where I could step in there and do the interview as President of DPI. And of course, really what 60 minutes would like to have had, would have been Jim Perdue or Don Tyson or somebody on TV. But I told those guys, Hey, I'll do this interview only my mother will be upset if I mess it up. You know, I don't have a fake label to at risk here. So I did the interview. Just about the same time we were facing some water quality issues in Maryland which remained a challenge in the Chesapeake Bay. But the thing that was different at the beginning of this, Maryland had a governor wasn't particularly friendly to agriculture and really liked to blame agriculture for everything. And my science background, I knew that some of those accusations he was making were just plain false. So I started showing up to give testimony at different Maryland General Assembly committee hearings, and participated in a lot of the negotiations with Ag commodity groups and environmental groups, and eventually expanded my scope of interest to show up and support really anything related to agriculture, not just chicken. So what happened with that was I was successful in doing that and Farm Credit recognized the value of me being there for our customers, and they created a Government Affairs role. And I've got to say, it’s probably a good time to say, I think working for a co-op like Farm Credit is, and a company that's owned and controlled by its borrowers or members, it's very different. It's not just a profit driven motive that you have, you're there to advocate and stand up for your customers because they are your bosses. They are the owners. And, it really is a great thing. So I moved into this government affairs role, which by the way, you have succeeded me in that role quite nicely.

Kurt Fuchs:

Well, I appreciate you blazing the way,

Kenny Bounds:

But it’s funny to think about now. I hung on to my loan customers, as long as I could, even though I really wasn't supposed to be doing loans anymore. I think it took them almost 10 years to get the last loans away from me. I just love that piece of it so much that I was trying to do both, you know it was great. And the Farm Credit board eventually asked me to expand my scope into Virginia West, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and a little bit in DC. So I did that, and then I was probably in that role around 15 years, I guess. And then at the end of my career, when I was looking ahead to retirement in the not too distant future, I wanted to get back a little closer to the lending side with farmers again before I retired. So I took a Regional Manager Job that was in charge of lending on Delmarva, and that was the last formal position I had at Farm Credit. I stayed in that position until I retired.

Kurt Fuchs:

Well, Kenny, I don't know how you managed to do it, but you just condensed over a 30, some odd years of advocacy and working on behalf of your customers into a couple of minutes. So that's quite impressive. And you've mentioned a couple of things that that peaked my interest when folks my age and certainly younger, when you talk about a prime rate at 20%, I mean, I don't think many millennials can even fathom that. Just given where interest rates have been in recent years, just fascinating. And then you mentioned the farm crisis of the eighties, the interview with Mike Wallace and then nutrient management issues in Maryland.

Would it be fair to kind of consider some of those things like a catalysts for your path?

You were clearly on a trajectory of focusing on your customers and advocating on behalf of Ag, but it seems like those things sort of put up a magnifying glass on the need for that type of role being institutionalized at Farm Credit.

Kenny Bounds:

That's right. Kurt and farm families are just hardworking, noble, gracious people. It’s probably a little different now, but at that time, they weren't as used to having to maybe advocate for themselves or pay attention to some of the risks that might come from overregulation and that sort of thing. So Farm Credit saw the risk and chose to let me spend some time trying to address some of those things. And still to this day, as you are quite aware, being in that role, you're there to advocate and tell agriculture story, not make excuses for agriculture because farmers never want that. They always feel like they're going to step up to the plate when they're asked to do so. You give them the right opportunity, the right science to do it right. If they think they're being treated fairly, we're going to step up and do what's necessary.

But oftentimes, you know, they’re busy in the field, in a poultry house, in the dairy, in the hog barn, whatever it might be doing their daily chores. And they're not watching the general assemblies or Congress or other things quite like others of us that are agribusiness professionals might have the time to do so. I think seeing those families come through those challenges of the farm crisis of high interest rates.  Kurt, it took years for some people to work through the debt that accumulated in the farm crisis. And it's a very special thing to see somebody come through that. And then when you saw them come under attack, again, particularly with things that really weren't supported scientifically than absolutely, it was a catalyst to step up and say, “Hey, wait a minute, I'm throwing a red flag here.” This isn't right. You guys need to understand them. Let me tell you agriculture story. Let's talk about some solutions that will work both environmentally and economically for farmers. As the then governor of said, Tom Carper in a meeting with environmental groups and Ag groups where he was pondering in Delaware, what to do with nutrient issues and looking how Maryland had chosen to do what they did. I'll never forget it. I was sitting right beside him. And on the other side was the EPA Region Three Administrator, Tom Carper said to the group, we are not going to make a choice between the environment and a viable agriculture. We are shutting this door and we are working hard until we come up with a solution where we can have both of those things. And I got to tell you, that's the attitude to this day that we keep at the department in our nutrient management program and in all of our programs. We really look for win-win situations where we don't have to make a choice, where there is a loser. People are smart, we can figure it out. Farmers are great people that want to do the right thing. They just need somebody there in the middle to help connect those two things, sometimes.

Kurt Fuchs

I would say that that's a legacy that you brought to Farm Credit that I know in my everyday activities on behalf of the Farm Credit that I still adhere to, because I think it's important that stakeholders from both sides of the issue, understand that a successful profitable agricultural economy in this region is not mutually exclusive from a healthy, thriving environment. You know, both of those can occur at the exact same time and there's a way to do it. And it starts with being able to come together at the table and, work through the issues, just like you said.

Kenny Bounds:

I agree Kurt, it's really satisfying when you can sit down with people and it starts with building trust. You've got to be able to trust the people that you're sitting down with. And sometimes that takes a little while. If it's somebody who's got a differing opinion from yourself and when they don't, learn to be good listeners and also good speakers and strong advocates when a strong voices needed. So it's having the judgment to figure out when to use that strong voice and when the listen.  It gets tricky sometimes.

Kurt Fuchs:

Very good point.

Farm Credit Commerical:

We've got 10,000 reasons why you should study agriculture. The Farm Credit Foundation for Agricultural Advancement is awarding $10,000 scholarships to students looking to pursue a career in agriculture. Not sure if you fit the bill, there's way more to agriculture than farming. Maybe you want to be a veterinarian, a lawyer, or even an ag teacher. The opportunities are endless. Head to FCfoundatioforag.org  to learn more and submit your application by January 8th, 2021.

Kurt Fuchs:

One of your passions, as you previously mentioned, is helping the young farmers get started and helping provide them the tools to be successful. I know one of the ways throughout your career that you've been instrumental in that regard, is heavy involvement with Ag leadership development programs. And I know when you were a sitting president of the LEAD Maryland Foundation, I had the opportunity to go through the program. I'm a Class Four grad, and I know you were heavily involved in the class to the point where we were able to make you an honorary graduate of Class Four, which I’m still tickled about.  

Kenny Bounds:

Me too Kurt.  I hold that as quite an honor to be an honorary member of Class Four. And as you remember, we traveled to China together for an international study tour and all the classes of LEAD Maryland and Delaware and Pennsylvania Rule Program and it’s so great because all the people are great. But you know, don't tell anybody, but class four is still special to me.

Kurt Fuchs:

Your secret's safe with me and all of our listeners to the podcast.

You mentioned that you’re still involved with Pennsylvania's Ag Leadership Development program. You're a co-founder and continue to co-direct the LEAD Delaware program.

In your opinion, why are they so critical to advocacy efforts and to making sure that Ag has a voice years to come?

Kenny Bounds:

That's a really good question. And the obvious thing is to say that we're teaching those up and coming leaders the skills and giving them the confidence and the practice to do a media interview, to do testimony at a public hearing, things like that. Those are the outward things that you see. A couple of things that perhaps people don't think about when they get in the program, they really learn a lot about themselves and what style of leader they are and then how they can interact with others to get their message across. There's no one leadership style or personality style, that this personality type you are a leader and this personality type, you are not a leader. Everybody can be a leader. They just need to find that inner leadership in themselves and learn what their style is and learn how to use that for advocacy.

And then the other thing is building a network relationships really matter. And these state leadership programs and sometimes county leadership programs, but state leadership programs, you have a lot of interaction between the States. And of course we've done that purposefully so that when we have a Horizon type of issue, then farmers in the region might know one another and know who to reach out to. And then across the country, as you know, there are several times when those groups can come together, particularly in Washington DC and meet one another. So all of a sudden your network includes local farmers that you know, your friends and neighbors, other farmers in the state, other farmers around the country, and then with Nuffield Farming Scholarships coming into the United States it now extends internationally. So you can very quickly find someone to help you understand an issue or advocate for an issue, or come up with fresh ideas, literally around the world. So it’s a wonderful thing. I would encourage any up and coming farmer, farm leader to participate in these leadership programs. It's the opportunity of a lifetime.

Kurt Fuchs:

I couldn't agree more, Kenny. I think you hit the nail on the head too, when you talk about the importance of the network and building through these programs. I know for me, when I went through Maryland's program, it put my career path on a whole different trajectory. And to this day, I recognize the importance that the program played both in my professional development, but just as important as you say, my personal development. And so I continued to be active in Maryland and our neighboring states Ag Leadership programs too. So I completely agree. And without sounding like a broken record, that's probably another legacy of, your time at Farm Credit and institutionalizing that as a major focus for our efforts.

Kenny Bounds:

Well, and kudos to Farm Credit to allow that Kurt. They know very well and we just had this conversation within the last couple of days about financial support for our leadership programs and, Farm Credit stepped up for each of our programs when there was a need when those programs were young and fledgling, and just getting off the ground, Farm Credit was there to support those programs and also give of your time and energy. I know how much time you spend with those leadership programs and it's a lot. And it's a good thing though. I really feel like the agriculture community gets a good return for the investment made both by the participants when they enter as fellows, and also the agribusinesses that support the leadership programs. It scares me to think where we might be if we didn't have farmer advocates there to tell our story and now more than ever, I think it's just really important farming, being a very small percentage of the overall population. We've got a great story to tell, but we need those people trained and willing to step up and tell that story

Kurt Fuchs:

Well said, we've got to build that bench and keep those new, so to speak, recruits coming through the pipeline.

Kenny Bounds:

It's a vicious rumor, Kurt, that some of us are getting a little bit long in the tooth and might be adding a few years on. So I think you're exactly right. We need to pass that Baton on to this next generation.

Kurt Fuchs:

And you certainly, you certainly couldn't have been speaking about yourself by any means. Kenny. You retired from Farm Credit in 2015, again, close to four decades of service to Farm Credit in various roles, but you didn't kick back and relax for very long before jumping right back into the fray.

What drags you off the hiking trails and back into the working world?

Kenny Bounds:

Well, Kurt jokingly, I tell people that I was kidnapped by the Secretary and by the Governor in Delaware and put back to work and that my wife might have had a hand in getting me out of the house. But, honestly, I wasn't looking to go back to work, but the opportunity came when Secretary Scuse, who was just coming off his eight years at USDA in Washington and spent his last almost year as Acting US Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. He was coming back into Delaware as the Secretary for his second stint. He was secretary prior to going to Washington DC. And just the opportunity when asked by the governor to join that team, to represent farmers again, and to be able to interact with the Secretary and learn from him and his experience in Washington. It was really something I couldn't resist Kurt. It just hit me right in my wheelhouse and it's really been good. It's been almost four years now.

And on a daily basis, I get to work on agriculture issues and you don't know what they're going to be when you walk into the office in the morning, but you can, well believe you've got a good team behind you at our Departments of Ag in our States. You can find an answer for constituents when they need it or help advocate for agriculture in a way that maybe surprised me a little bit. I don't know why I say that, but because I certainly worked with all the State Departments of Agriculture and they were always advocates, but I always thought, there's this regulatory piece that our Departments of Ag and after all, they are a regulator in the end. But really, my experience was an ah-ha moment for me working there is it's educate, educate, and educate. And then in the end, if there are no other options, so there are times when you might have to regulate, but that's the last tool in the toolbox. And that's really refreshing to see that up close and personal really understand. I had that feeling, but, but now I know for sure that our folks, that our State departments of Ag and the national organizations that represent Ag, they're really looking out for agriculture and they have farmers' best interests at heart.

Kurt Fuchs:

You know, that's an interesting observation because if anyone can provide the perspective of both interacting from the outside and interacting from the inside, with our Departments of agriculture, it's you. And so to provide that perspective is pretty darn interesting. I know we're pretty lucky here in the Horizon region that by and large, the relationships that the Ag communities have with their departments of agriculture is strong. And as you say is at times as much an advocacy effort as it is a regulatory effort. So it's interesting to hear that, that perspective.

So you mentioned every day can be different, presented different challenges. And one of the challenges that we faced here in 2020 unfortunately, has been the COVID-19 pandemic, unfortunately.

So how has that impacted your role and your duties at the Department of Agriculture, any silver linings or positive takeaways per agriculture, as a result of, of navigating through, through COVID?

I know it's tough to put up a silver lining on something as terrible and as damaging as COVID-19, but I think sometimes it's the Farm Credit way to try to look at something from a positive angle.

Kenny Bounds:

Thankfully now having the perspective of what over six months, seven months of experience of coming through COVID, there are definitely some silver linings. We had our challenges.  I was just talking to somebody the other day about the fact that it seems like a lifetime ago that we were first coming into COVID and our poultry plants here on Delmarva, particularly were experiencing higher than normal absenteeism and having trouble getting birds processed and supply consumers with their expected walk to the meat case and have every single cut of every kind of meat that you want. For the first time that I can remember, we didn't have that. And there were some challenges, not necessarily in the supply side, although when there were worker shortages in the plants, we had some supply issues, but just around logistics, transportation, perhaps a company was used to dealing with restaurants and schools or commercial type of customers. And they're selling chicken in a case of four, 10 pound bags or whatever it be, and that doesn't fit on the grocery store shelf very well. So that became a real challenge in the plants. And it's actually one of the things that I consider a silver lining. This summer, the Secretary’s Award for Agriculture was awarded to one of our partners in the state agency; it's the Department of Health. This is another really great thing, the government really can function when it needs to. The Department of Health really work closely with the poultry companies and the poultry companies really wanted to do the right thing to protect their workers and keep consumers in supply with good food. And with that partnership with the Department of Ag, Department of Health, Labor, even federal partners coming in CDC, OSHA, APHIS, I mean, all kinds of partners.

Everybody had the same goal in mind, and it didn't take too long, if you think about it, even though we were all sort of frightened there for a little bit, it didn't take us too long to get that supply chain restored into grocery stores. So to me, I think in spite of that little bit of a hiccup, and it was maybe a good tabletop exercise. We can all learn from, hopefully the last, but it really is a success story. In the end, when you think about it and, and there were others, it was, it was more than just poultry. You know, farmer's markets at the beginning of this, we've got some wonderful farmer's markets, and I'm not talking about the individual farmer having a market on their farm property, but the community farmer's markets where a lot of vendors come together to sell their products, those things have been so successful and they're so wonderful.

They've become a social gathering place for folks. So they go out there for the experience of being there, as well as buying all the nice products. But early on that presented a problem for social distancing and all of those things that we were worried about. So we had to keep our markets closed for a while, until we could get a best practices standard in place of how many people can we let in the market and how can we protect the food and how can we distance the clerks from the customers and different things like that. We had to close farm and equipment operations. And of course that also was painful to a lot of people, farmers that wanted to buy equipment at an auction, couldn’t get access to it. Auctioneers were losing business, but you know, those are widely attended. And initially until we figured out how to do that right, we had to close those. Guest workers coming into the state of Delaware to harvest vegetables were a challenge. Many of them were coming out of Florida, right when Florida was having a big uptake in cases. And we had to make sure that we had workers coming in that were checked for COVID when they arrived and also have provisioned for a way to isolate them, if they did become sick and no infect all of their other workers.

So we certainly had our challenges and I guess, laughingly now, because we're doing this on a zoom platform this interview for the readers, our listeners to know how we're doing this. But we've all learned how to communicate via zoom and WebEx and Skype and every other thing. So we've become quite proficient at having meetings remote and virtually.  So I'm not sure if that's a silver lining or a curse.  I’m not sure which of those, but I learned how to do that.

Kurt Fuchs:

Early on it was a blessing. And now when you look at your calendar some days there's three zooms in one day, and you are hearkening back to the days when you can get away from your desk and go to an in-person meeting and shoot the breeze in the hallway and get the real work of the meeting done

Kenny Bounds:

Know if I, I don't know if I will ever complain about having to go to a meeting again, if it's a face-to-face meeting.

Kurt Fuchs:

I agree you bring up excellent points about COVID. And I think the takeaway there is so many moving parts, so many things that were firsts, right? So many things that people had never experienced before, or if they had, they'd been blips on the radar screen. And I think it's a testament to how quickly agriculture responded pivoted, however you want to term it, but the fact that they did so quickly is incredible. And I think when we hear criticisms of responses to COVID and this wasn't done quick enough, or Monday morning quarterbacking on different things, I think it's good to stand back and think about how challenging it was, and yet people really stepped up. And in particular, the ag community stepped up to make sure yes, the meat department didn't look like it did prior to COVID. There were a couple of weeks where, like you say, the cuts that you were used to seeing, and then some weren't there, but maybe there was a new cut that traditionally had gone to a restaurant that was now available because that's what was going through the processing facility.

So a lot of different aspects to it. And I try to be pretty cautious about being critical of the responses to, to this pandemic. And I mean, I think the scholastics and academics are going to have decades worth of materials to study and, and write books about and everything else. And it's interesting times we live in that's for sure.

Kenny Bounds:

Well and I hope Kurt in the end, there will be a better appreciation for our food supply and better knowledge of how food reaches our table and understanding that it doesn't just happen. There's a lot of science, there's a lot of hard work. There's a lot of planning and transportation and infrastructure to give us really the most abundant, affordable, healthy food supply in the world. And we enjoy and as you well know, we are roughly 10 cents on a dollar, roughly out of our budget for our food in this country, it's extraordinary. And that enables us to really have a standard of living and enjoy other things so that we don't have to take all of our dollars and spend on food. But it presents a challenge too. So I think many people in the agriculture industry have been great at telling agriculture story for years now, but I think this single act of COVID appearing, I'm hopeful that it will cause everybody to take pause and say, okay, let me understand this system a little better or how this food chain works. And how does suit leave a farm and arrive at the grocery store? You know, what are the risks to me as a consumer? And then when I walked back in again and I see the meat case fall, and I know for myself, I watched the meat case and, and all of our fresh veggies and everything else like a hawk now.  I'm looking for what cuts are there. And I just marvel that we've been able to recover like we have and restore that supply. And I look at the price. The prices right at this minute in the meat case; meat is very affordable again in this country. So I hope consumers will learn a new appreciation for that in the end.

Kurt Fuchs:

Well I'm going to switch things up a little bit on you here Kenny. I've got one more new segment that you'll be my Guinea pig on before we get to our closing question. This is our lighting round. So I'll give you five pairs of related items and you have to pick your preference between the pair.

Are you ready, Dr. Bounds?

Kenny Bounds:

Well, Kurt, first I wonder what the prize is. There must be a significant award for winning this this lightning round.

Kurt Fuchs:

You hit the nail on the head, Kenny. Winners of the lightening round win a chance at being invited on the podcast again.

Kenny Bounds:

Well, that's a wonderful opportunity. That’s fair enough.

Kurt Fuchs:

Okay, so scrapple or bacon?

Kenny Bounds:

Scrapple

Kurt Fuchs:

Royal farms or Wawa?

Kenny Bounds:

Royal Farms

Kurt Fuchs:

Louis L’Amour or Charles Dickens?

Kenny Bounds:

L’Amour

Kurt Fuchs:

Chicken and waffles, or chicken and dumplings?

Kenny Bounds:

Kurt, chicken and waffles can’t even be on the same sheet of music as chicken and dumplings.

What are you thinking? I am going for the dumplings.

Kurt Fuchs:

That’s a smart choice.

Now your final question, possibly the most important IPA or stout?

Kenny Bounds:

Oh boy, there is a lot of IPA drinkers out there, and I love them too, but I'm a stout guy. I got to go with that style.

Kurt Fuchs:

Well, congratulations, Kenny, you got three out of five.

When I first asked to do a guest host, I said, I got to have some kind of special segment, so I appreciate you indulging me there, Kenny.

Kenny Bounds:

Well, you know me well with the questions you asked Kurt.

Kurt Fuchs:

They were well curated. Okay. So we've got the lightheartedness out of the way. And we'll finish up with a serious question. The reason why we're on the podcast and our sign-off question.  

Kenny is what do you advocate for in agriculture?

Kenny Bounds:

Oh, well, Kurt that's an interesting way to ask that question, indeed, because there are so many specific things that you advocate for and, and opportunities you  try to push forward and challenges that you see and maybe things you even fight that you think are harmful. But overall, I guess if you wrap that all up into a general answer, it's just the opportunity for our farm families to be able to continue to provide us with that safe and abundant food supply that we talked about, in a way that's fair and equitable for them. For government to regulate only when necessary and to promote agriculture as a great way of life, a great business. And, by the way, a very central thing to us in this country to enjoy the food supply we have. So I think I think that probably answers that for me. I probably something else I'm forgetting there. But really, just to give our farm families the opportunity to do the right things and to feed us all with a great abundant food supply.

Kurt Fuchs:

Well said, Kenny well said. And if you, if you wake up in the middle of the night, pondering that question further we can always to-be-continued at the next time we have you on the podcast.

Kenny Bounds:

That's fair enough, Kurt.

Kurt Fuchs:

Well, Kenny, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your time this afternoon. I can't tell you much I appreciate the insight and sharing your advocacy efforts and journey with us. Thank you for your long career and support to Ag and the region and hope to have you on again sometime in the near future. I hope even more that we can get together in person sometime soon and in a safe way and enjoy some value added agricultural beverages in support of the industry and look forward to catching up with you again soon.

Kenny Bounds:

Thanks Kurt, I really enjoyed it. It was great talking to you.

Kurt Fuchs:

Thanks Kenny.

And remember folks, please rate, review, subscribe, and share with a friend. You can get podcasts notes and subscribe to email alerts at mafc.com/podcast. And if you have any topic or guest suggestions for us, send them to podcast@mafc.com.

Thanks for your time and attention, and please stay well.

The Farm Credit Foundation for Agricultural Advancement will be giving away five $2,500 academic scholarships to high school agriculture teachers to use toward an advanced degree or continuing education credits.

Teachers must live and work in Horizon Farm Credit's footprint. The application deadline is September 28, 2018.

"We are thrilled to be able to assist those who are educating the next generation," says Dale Hershey, Chairman of the Farm Credit Foundation for Agricultural Advancement. "Currently, jobs in agriculture make up eleven percent of our country's employment, providing many opportunities for students to learn about the unique paths in the industry. We are excited to see these teachers impact the future of agriculture."

The non-profit Foundation was established in 2015 and is funded by participating association Horizon Farm Credit.

The Farm Credit Foundation for Agricultural Advancement's scholarship program awards ten scholarships, each valued at $10,000, to high school seniors or students currently enrolled in an advanced educational program. The applicants must be planning to pursue a career in agriculture and reside in a county within Horizon Farm Credit's five-state territory.

"As a farmer myself, I am very confident that the future of agriculture is in good hands," adds Hershey. "I would encourage any agriculture teacher considering continuing their education to apply for this unique scholarship program."

The application and more information about the Foundation is available online at fcfoundationforag.org.

LISTEN TO Stuart'S EPISODE HERE OR FIND US ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST LISTENING APP!

 

On this week’s episode of the Farm Credit AgVocates podcast, we talk with Stuart Cooper, Horizon Farm Credit’s Chief Lending Officer. Stuart has a long history with Farm Credit (25 years!), but his passion for customer experience didn’t start there. In this episode, we talk about how Stuart’s career as a hotel manager prepped him for a life in sales, and how his team did a complete 180 as COVID-19 swept across our communities. Not only that, but we discuss what Horizon is doing to prepare for whatever 2021 may bring, and what the future of our industry will look like, beyond the pandemic we’re facing today.

Stay tuned after this interview to learn more about our Member Assistance Program – a valuable resource to help you cope with a variety of curveballs life throws us.

Jenny Kreisher:

Welcome back to the Farm Credit Agvocates podcast. I'm your host, Jenny Kreisher, Director of Communications at Horizon Farm Credit. My guest today is Stuart Cooper, our Association’s Chief Lending Officer. Stuart’s been with Farm Credit for 25 years and today oversees our Association’s sales and customer service teams. I have the pleasure of working with Stuart on many projects because, well, you can't have marketing without sales and vice versa. Stuart’s got a heart of gold and a real passion for helping others, which has never been more evident than over the past several months, as many of our members have struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic. I'm excited to speak with him today in more detail about not only this, but what we anticipate 2021 bringing. I think we can all agree, we're ready to say goodbye to 2020. So without further ado, welcome to the pod Stuart. Thank you so much for joining me today.

Stuart Cooper:

You’re welcome Jenny. Glad to be here today.

Jenny:

DO YOU MIND TELLING US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR HISTORY? I KNOW YOU GROW UP ON THE SHORE, BUT MAYBE GIVE OUR LISTENERS A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON YOUR LIFE AND AGRICULTURE.

Stuart:

I grew up on a poultry and grain farm on Maryland’s Eastern shore. My, grandmother farmed and my father farmed. And today, my brother and I still have a farm in practice and we grow grain, corn and soybeans. I'm fortunate enough to live on the farm as does my brother who lives right next door. And we have the great benefit of being only about 10 minutes from the Ocean City, Maryland. So great place to live.

Jenny:

Well, something that I learned about you not too long ago, but I always find fascinating is how you actually once managed a hotel in Ocean City.

HOW LONG AGO DID YOU DO THAT AND WHAT DID THAT EXPERIENCE TEACH YOU?

Stuart:

Yes, I did. I actually spent 17 years at that hotel with little stint in between. I worked at a commercial bank, but, for the last six years I was there, I did manage it. It was, a great experience. And I had a great boss who taught me a lot about customer experience marketing and just how to run a business. The hotel businesses is a service business and it's much like our industry. We want to provide a great customer experience and having this background certainly helped me with my career at Farm Credit.

Jenny:

I can only imagine.

AFTER THOSE 17 YEARS, WHAT WAS IT THAT MADE YOU REALIZE YOU WERE READY TO MAKE A CAREER CHANGE AND WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO FARM CREDIT?

Stuart:

As I stated, my brother and I were farming and, I hadn't really planned on leaving the hotel business, but I walked into a Farm Credit office, the local office, to get an operating note. And the lady there that, who was the CSR at the time, mentioned there was an opening for a loan officer position, and she thought I would be someone that may be interested in it. And, I did have a background. I have my college degree is in economics and I thought, you know, farming, finance, they kind of go hand in hand. So I went ahead and applied. Unfortunately, I didn't get chosen for the position, but about six months later, they called back and made me an offer. And that was 25 years ago.

Jenny:

Talk about being at the right place at the right time.

Stuart:

You know, I often think the hotel business and working with Farm Credit, it's about building relationships and earning the trust of members, and giving a great customer experience.

Jenny:

Well that passion that you have for our membership and for helping others is something that I'm very fortunate to be able to see every day.

HOW DO YOU INSTILL THAT PASSION AND THAT MINDSET WITHIN YOUR TEAM MEMBERS?

Stuart:

I believe is it's basically two-fold. As a leader, I need to share that passion to my team and encourage them, and that builds on. It's just that building block that continues. And then, they have to have that same passion as well. And most of our employees come from a farming background and they just have a passion to serve farmers.

Jenny:

Yeah. I definitely see that. I know a lot of our employees are farmers themselves and come from that background. And that definitely helps when they have to work with their same community members every day.

Well, it definitely goes without saying that this past year has tested all of us in brand new ways. You and your team have had to completely shift gears once this pandemic took a hold of our communities and our industry.

WHAT DID WE DO TO REACH OUT TO OUR CUSTOMERS AT THE ONSET OF COVID BACK IN MARCH, WHICH NOW FEELS LIKE, A HUNDRED YEARS AGO AT THIS POINT? WHAT DID WE DO TO REACH OUT TO OUR MEMBERS AND HOW DID YOU GUYS SEE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN US AND OUR MEMBERSHIP CHANGE?

Stuart:

COVID has certainly changed the way we do business, but fortunately our staff was proactive and it all really came down to communications. It first started with management to staff and communicating to them reassuring staff that we're going to work with our customers, work with our members, and to just kind of go over the tools that we had to work with as members. The next step was for our staff to reach out to our members. They made phone calls, they sent emails, they sent texts, and they just really reached out to our customers. Then additionally, our marketing department, you included, had a post on our website, we created a pandemic site for our members. And to be clear, and this was not a one and done. We had regular staff meetings, virtual of course, just to get feedback and find out what our membership was experiencing. Then we tailored messages based upon that feedback. At the time it was certainly all hands on deck and a lot of time was spent by staff just to make sure our members were informed of what we can do for them.

Jenny:

We definitely ramped up the email communications, but I also remember talking to a lot of sales team members throughout this time about how texting was pivotal. I mean, it was definitely something used beforehand, but I think the use of cell phone messaging and text messaging and FaceTime was also on the rise as we kind of navigated the whole closing of the offices and limiting customer visits.

Stuart:

It was really amazing to me, not only did our staff encompass these new avenues as far as contact, but our membership did too. I mean the cell phone, Zoom meetings, the virtual meetings, and it continues to be embraced, I still miss the face-to-face contact, but at this point we're providing that safety measure that we need to put in place at this time.

Jenny:

You mentioned before about some of the different tools we have to help our members.

COULD YOU MAYBE ELABORATE A LITTLE BIT MORE ON WHAT SPECIFICALLY WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO OFFER THOSE MEMBERS WHO WERE IMPACTED?

Stuart:

We have the opportunity to do a lot of note modifications for our members. We did offer the option of deferring payments on loans. That was something we had never done before and we put that in place. We extended payments and we also put in place PPP loans. We got that up and running. We did miss the first round of that, but we were able to get up for the second round. In addition to that, we've provided information to our membership on government programs, such as CFAP and SBA loans. And then because we work in five states, there are numerous local COVID assistance programs which we've provided members information on. I am truly proud of our staff and how they came together. When we face this adversity, it is a total team effort. Sales is just the front end piece, but our operations department, our underwriting, the processing - they all had to find new ways of working together, most of them from home. If anything, we actually have processed more loans in 2020 than we have in the last 10 years on an annual basis. There’s something really to say for our team and how they came together to serve our members.

Jenny:

For our listeners, something that we talk a lot about at Farm Credit is our culture. We like to say that all 250 plus of us are on one team. I have to agree with you, Stuart - that one team culture definitely has shown through this year. And it's made me super proud to work with all of, all of them too. There's not one department I think that has gone un-impacted, that's for sure.

Stuart:

No. And it is really a great team effort. It's a one team. We often use that term around here, one team. We need each other to get the work done in order to serve our membership.

Jenny:

We like to recognize how resilient farmers and the ag industry as a whole really are. I think anyone who we work with and who we work for would agree with that.

AS MUCH AS WE'RE ALL LOOKING FORWARD TO TURNING THE PAGE ON 2020 AND STARTING FRESH IN 2021, WHAT DO YOU THINK OUR INDUSTRY CAN EXPECT AS WE HEAD INTO THIS NEW YEAR?

Stuart:

In the ag business right now, we see opportunities where people are making changes in the way they provide products and services from the farm. We still have concerns with the recent uptick in COVID cases, and the states moving back to more restrictive guidelines, we felt, like most of our membership, that this pandemic would be over soon, but it continues. And we're just not sure what issues are going to continue and what issues we may face here in the next six, 12 months.

As you said, our farmers are resilient. And as I mentioned, they've already shifted delivery channels for their products to meet these new demands. I think that's what I've seen and it’s actually a good thing. It's made many of our members and our farmers look to be more efficient and be more innovative, which to me is exciting. And it bodes well for the membership in the industry. You know, we expect to see more of this innovation to take place in the coming years, and they're going to do things to keep their operations viable. And that's what really excites me. And that’s what we as an organization are here to help them with - making those changes that they need to make.

Jenny:

That actually brings up another question I wanted to ask: what are we as an association doing to prepare to help our members into next year? As you mentioned, seeing them change kind of how they're shifting their businesses and we definitely are expecting to see more of that into next year.

WHAT ARE WE DOING AS AN ASSOCIATION TO PREPARE FOR 2021?

Stuart:

It goes back to communications. We're constantly in communication with our members. We're asking them, what do they need? What do they need in their operation; what kind of tools can we provide them; what kind of loan structures can we provide? Our Association is built to help our membership during this time of crisis, and as our mission statement states, we're here in good times and bad, and that's what we want to be. We built the organization to provide this support during this time period. I do encourage our members if they have an issue to reach out to a loan officer or to discuss changes in their operation. Let them know and let us see what we can do to help. Everyone’s business and financial situation is unique. And that's what we specialize in, working with each member to find a specialized solution that’s just right for them. Then on top of that, if there are concerns, we do have a membership assistance program. We offer it 24/7 and it's helpful content for just about any situation. Just go to our website, mafc.com/map. Again, I just remind folks that it's free and it's available to them. And then on top of that we do have other services that we can provide. We can provide referrals to COIs, attorneys, appraisers - different people in the industry that they may need to reach out to during this time.

Jenny:

You mentioned earlier how you found kind of a passion for customer experience back when you were the hotel manager that you've taken into your new role. So kind of switching gears, but also to the same theme of preparing for the future. Something that we talk a lot about at Horizon is member experience. That's a project that you are very immersed in and one of those conversations is about the Farmer of the Future and what they look like. Not only in 2021, but beyond. We’re talking 10, 20 years into the future.

AT A LEADERSHIP LEVEL, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO PREPARE FOR WHAT THAT FARMER OF THE FUTURE WILL LOOK LIKE? AND WHAT ARE WE DOING FOR WHAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING IN THAT REGARD?

Stuart:

As you mentioned, we have what we call an MX committee and it's really a customer experience committee. We're always looking at that customer experience. And as we look to the future, you know, as we know today our farmers are getting older. I think the average age of them is somewhere around 58 or 60 years old. We need to look at that and see what is changing in our industry. I believe COVID has sped up this change, but just as I said earlier, farmers are resilient. I do see changing in many of our farmers today. Especially your younger farmers, they're more tech savvy, they're more educated, they're more sophisticated, they're more connected. You know, the internet has definitely changed the world and made it a smaller place.

Just like any industry, ag is no different. When we think about it, you could be a small-scale vegetable grower on the Eastern Shore and sell the products to someone in California. You could ship it overnight. Our farmers are no longer geographically bound and they can sell anywhere in time. I think that holds true for lending. I think that farmers are presented with a lot of options. They can go online, they can look for these opportunities. So as a company, we need to be more sophisticated. We need to be more tech savvy and our loan officers need to do the same thing. We’re doing a lot of training with our loan officers. We're doing a lot of things with improving and implementing our services here at Horizon.

As you know, we're using the internet and all the options that we have with that to reach out to a customers and garner new business, or to provide information to our current business. So, you know, all those things that we see our customers doing, and we're going to do the same and get ahead of the curve and be available for them. The key is that relationship. And no matter what avenue you reach us through, we want to create that customer experience, customer relationship that we've always provided historically. I still think that the key to moving forward is just perhaps how do we do that in the future and what products and services that we can provide.

Jenny:

You mentioned earlier about the number of opportunities that you see and how exciting that is. And it's true, it's exciting times, and I'm very happy to be a part of that here at Horizon and make sure that we're communicating and keeping in touch with our members the way that they want to be. It’s exciting stuff.

Stuart:

It truly is. And I mean, I can tell you, we have a staff here at Horizon that just embraces the changes. And, and as we said, this MX committee, we have a lot of ideas coming from our younger staff, and I think they can relate to what's happening in the world and in the ag community. And I really do think we're getting ahead of the curve here and we're going to be a formidable company in the future as well. We're going to be here another a hundred years.

Jenny:

Well, that kind of brings me to my next question. And, this is the time of year we always reflect on what we've learned over the past 11 months and how we can apply those lessons to the New Year.

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE BIGGEST LESSON HAS BEEN FOR HORIZON THIS YEAR AND WHAT HAVE WE STARTED TO DO DIFFERENTLY AS A RESULT?

Stuart:

I think, and maybe this is even a personal thing not only a Horizon thing, but it is staying connected. And really, again, going back to that term, communication. I personally learned that I had to really make an effort of staying connected with staff and really listening to them as they deal with our membership, and getting that feedback and making adjustments and making sure our members are getting information they need to make decisions.

Jenny:

WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL STICK WITH YOU MOST, ONCE WE GET THROUGH ALL OF THIS? DO YOU HAVE A MEMORY OR SOMETHING THAT WILL STICK WITH YOU THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER NOW?

Stuart:

Absolutely. I think for me personally, we had the SBA and PPP programs. It only took a couple of weeks to get that up and running once we made the decision to move forward with it, but the amount of time that we spent doing that and how we had a team here that just really came together to focus on getting that done. That's going to stick with me for a long time. For me personally, I saw that when everyone has their heads down and driving the same direction, just what you can accomplish.

Jenny:

I will never forget that like 10 hour WebEx we were on.

Stuart:

Yeah, that was a heck of a day, wasn't it? I do think again, , just seeing our teams pull together, as we mentioned, it is a one team effort here at Horizon.

Jenny:

Absolutely. So as we're winding down here,

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR PRODUCERS WHO MIGHT BE A LITTLE WORRIED ABOUT NEXT YEAR? OR WHAT ARE SOME STEPS THAT PRODUCERS CAN TAKE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE PREPARED FOR WHATEVER 2021 BRINGS?

Stuart:

Like I mentioned a few minutes ago, I think they have to stay connected, too. I encourage them again, to reach out to your loan officer, not only with questions about your lines, but if you have industry questions as well. We have a staff that's knowledgeable about certain industries and we continue to look for ways to help our membership and provide services. We're going to be introducing some new services here soon. And I think, again, it's just an opportunity for them to help them with their operations. Also, reach out not only their loan officer, but if they have others within the organization, their CSRs are always available to help. I would encourage them to reach out and also to look at our website. We have a lot of information that could be useful there.

Jenny:

You've also mentioned earlier about making sure that you stay connected with COIs and your industry partners. We work closely with them every day on a variety of different projects.

WHAT ARE SOME OTHER RESOURCES THAT ARE OUT THERE RIGHT NOW FOR PRODUCERS? IN ADDITION TO WORKING WITH THEIR LOAN OFFICER, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE?

Stuart:

We get a lot of referral business, so I always encourage people to reach back out to their neighbor or the person that referred them. Friends, families, their attorneys or CPAs, there's insurance folks. I just encourage anybody that they do business with, if they're having issues or payment situations or anything like that, just reach out. Let those other industry folks know what they're experiencing, but then again, I would say the number one thing, reach out to us and see what we can do to help.

Jenny:

I really appreciate your time, Stuart. You are such a gem to work with, and I really appreciate you taking your time out of your busy schedule to talk with me on the podcast today. I do have one more question before I let you go back to your day. And that question is the one we ask everyone:

WHAT DO YOU ADVOCATE FOR IN AGRICULTURE?

Stuart:

I guess for me personally there is a connection with growing food. You know, it gives me a sense of satisfaction. As I mentioned earlier, my brother and I still farm. And there’s a satisfaction I get from planting that crop and seeing it grow and harvesting it. And knowing that it ends up as food either for an industry growing chickens or some other product, it just gives me a sense of satisfaction. I think this pandemic has certainly highlighted just how important farmers are. We've all seen the long lines at food banks and different things. So I will always be an advocate for ag and to me, it’s all of ag. It's just not the traditional ag or what we've done in the past. It’s the new innovation, it’s the new production methods, and it’s the new delivery methods. It’s the hydroponic greenhouses, it’s the vertical farming. I think that's just exciting to see that and how the ag industry is changing. I truly think these are exciting times for our industry.  I'm excited as a leader in the Farm Credit System that we'll be making decisions today that will help those farmers of the future and for our farmers to stay relevant and successful.

Jenny:

I appreciate your time Stuart again. Thank you very much.

And thank you all for tuning in. Please rate, review, subscribe, and share this podcast with a friend you can head on over to mafc.com/podcast for all of the notes from today's episode and past ones. And there you can subscribe to get email alerts for all future episodes. And if you have any topic or guest suggestions, please email us at podcast@mafc.com. That's all for today. Thank you all so much. Happy holidays, and we'll see you next time.

Horizon Farm Credit recently launched a Virtual Showcase contest, open to 4-H and FFA youth located within their footprint, to submit their animal projects in an essay or video format.

“We know that most kids are missing out on their fair experiences this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Jenny Kreisher, Director of Communications at Horizon Farm Credit. “We wanted to provide them with a way for them to share their animal projects that they’ve worked so hard to raise this year with the community. The opportunity for winning awards for the essay or video adds a little bit of competition, making it feel more like a real fair show.”

The contest is open to 4-H and FFA youth, ages 8-18. They are encouraged to enter the showcase either via essay or video with their livestock, dairy, horse, poultry, or rabbit projects. All essay and video submissions are due by October 16, 2020 and must be submitted electronically. Each participant is limited to one entry. All winners will be announced on November 6, 2020 live, on Horizon Farm Credit’s Facebook page. The entries will be judged by a selection committee using the contest scoring rubrics found on each contest's page.

The Junior Division is for youth 8-13 years of age and the Senior Division is for youth 14-18 years of age. Visit mafc.com/showcase for more information on the contest and to submit an entry.