July 2013 Articles

Archives by Months

Leadership

LEADERSHIP. Defined as “the ability to guide, direct, or influence people.” An attribute that many have and choose not to use. A skill that many choose not to build upon in their younger years. A desire that should stir in all of us. I recently saw a segment on This Week in Louisiana Agriculture spotlighting the Morehouse Black Farmers Association and a focus of their past field day. This focus was on the younger generation and the importance of educating them about the intricacies of family farming. This, my friends, is pure and simple leadership. They have recognized, as many of us have, that none of us are getting younger, and that future generations will have to feed us in our elder years. So, this association is bringing young children to the farm in an effort to spark interest, invoke thinking, and hope that one of these youngsters will continue the tradition of farming. A very simple and novel idea, but one that brings great reward.
This, action, along with many other occurrences in the past few months, has spurred this writing. We need many others like the above- mentioned association to step up and take a leadership role. There is much moving and shaking in the agricultural industry right now. From the issues surrounding the next Farm Bill, to the animal rights movement spawned by big money groups like HSUS, to issues surrounding our farms and the ways we manage our environmental impacts….there are topics being discussed right now that could forever affect the future of the family farm. THAT is why we need more leaders in our agricultural community to step up and help to “guide, direct, and influence people”. We particularly need those individuals on family farms who possess unique perspectives and an intimate knowledge of the importance of agriculture and the far reaching impact it has on our community, parishs and counties, on our states, as well as on our nation, and world. There is great security in a nation that has the ability to safely and efficiently feed its people, but we must carry that message effectively to those making decisions. That’s right, to our legislators on a local, state, and national level, who make decisions every day directly affecting agriculture, even when they’ve themselves often have no personal experience (or may not have even set foot on) a poultry farm, beef cattle farm, grain farm, tree farm, cotton farm, or any other system of production agriculture I’ve not mentioned.
This reminds me of another opportunity I’ve had lately; an opportunity with a young lady who has a unique passion for agriculture and the family farm, and what it has done for her personally. This young lady is Blair Bennett. In July, Blair finished the requirements and graduated from the Louisiana Young Ag Producers Program (LaYAPP). LaYAPP afforded her the opportunity to learn specifically about the beef cattle industry in our state, while also gaining knowledge about the agriculture industry as a whole. Blair has the knowledge and talents to be a real champion for agriculture, but she can’t do it alone. She is young, and therefore needs reinforcements from “seasoned” leaders to help her continue in her success. When you see Blair next time, encourage her to continue her journey of agricultural leadership.
During Blair’s journey through this program, I helped place her in a few speaking engagements with local community- based groups. Her talks mentioned the fact that our agricultural producers are aging and our numbers are getting smaller, even while our world population continues to grow. She asks the question, “Who is going to feed this growing population?” I think this is an important question that we should all take to heart. The answer cannot be formulated easily, but can be addressed thru how we take leadership roles in educating policy makers, through how we INFLUENCE policy makers to base decisions on factual information from agricultural leaders, in order to design policies in a fashion that will help our farmers feed a growing nation. The policies I’m mentioning do not solely have to do with farm subsidies, but also environmental policy, tax structures, risk management, etc. There are so many other forces pressuring these policy makers, and so it is important for us to be efficient and accurate in our message.
We also have several graduates, myself included, in our region of the LSU AgCenter’s Agriculture Leadership Development Program. This program is a highly successful, two-year program of study that prepares young men and women, dedicated to agriculture, for the leadership challenges of the future. This is a venue chosen by graduates to develop themselves in leadership skills and awareness, and to aid them in becoming confident, effective communicators. I mention this to make you aware of programs available to aid in the development of understanding and involvement in social, economic and political systems. However, even these graduates find it difficult to lead in times when those around us choose the easy, non-controversial, “it’ll all work out” mode of action.
So what will you do? Has this stirred within you any interest in being a leader? If not, maybe you should check your pulse. The current need for agricultural leaders is real. Do you want to try and GUIDE the decisions of others that could have INFLUENCE on your children’s or grandchildren’s ability to positively experience the family farm? Will you arm yourself with factual information in an effort to become an effective communicator with policy makers, DIRECTING them toward the goal of efficiently, safely, and economically providing food and fiber to a rapidly growing nation? If this has stirred your interest, carry it forward. Get involved. It won’t be easy and will definitely require large amounts of patience and perseverance. Debates will be won and lost, but keep your focus on the reward of knowing that you did what you could for generations to follow.
Source: Jason Holmes, County Agent, Regional Livestock Specialist