July 2014 Articles

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Just Rambling, July 2014

Just Rambling:
In last month’s Ag Trader USA, I wrote about poultry integrators, and their lack of appreciation for growers. I stated that I was not aware of any recent appreciation events held by any of the poultry integrators in Louisiana, but that if I was wrong, to please let me know, and I would acknowledge my mistake. Shortly after receiving the June issue of Ag Trader USA, Mr. James Wagley called to tell me that Pilgrim’s Pride in Natchitoches had held recently an appreciation dinner for all of their growers in Natchitoches. I commend Pilgrim’s Pride for this action, and I hope that Foster Farms and House of Raeford will follow their lead. Thank you, James, for letting me know about the Pilgrim’s Pride event.

When I received my June issue of Louisiana Cattleman, and was looking through it, I saw the “In Loving Memory” article about Commissioner Robert Fulton “Bob” Odom Jr. Mr. Odom served as Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture from 1979 until 2008. This article described the life of Mr. Odom, how he served agriculture and his country, and listed the many awards he received. He was truly committed to serving agriculture. My best memory of Commissioner Odom was in 1996 when, after several meetings about problems facing growers, he arranged a trip for several lenders to fly with him to ConAgra Corporate Office in Deluth, GA to meet with Mr. Russ Braggs, CEO of ConAgra Poultry. This trip took place in late February of 1996, with Commissioner Odom sending his plane to pick up myself and other lenders. Upon landing in Georgia, we were met by company personnel to carry us to the corporate office of ConAgra. As we arrived, we were directed to the corporate board room where we met Mr. Russ Braggs and his associates, Mr. Glen Foreman and Mr. Ray Turner, Corporate Vice Presidents. Mr. Braggs introduced himself, as well as Mr. Foreman and Mr. Turner, and we, in turn, introduced ourselves. After our introductions, Mr. Braggs turned to me and asked what problems pullet growers were having – he knew I was both a Farm Credit lender and a pullet grower. I immediately told him that the pullet growers were not facing problems like the broiler growers, and I began to tell him some of the problems. He opened his calendar and asked me, along with the others, if we had the dates of March 13, 14, and 15 open. Commissioner Odom and his Deputy Commissioner stated that these dates were open for them, and if the rest of us had something else scheduled on those dates, we immediately made a mental note to cancel it; after all, if Mr. Braggs and his vice-presidents were willing to come to Louisiana to address grower problems, we would definitely have those dates open. Mr. Braggs told Commissioner Odom that he would fly to Baton Rouge on the 13th of March, and that he would like to meet with him and the governor. Then, Mr. Braggs said he wanted Commissioner Odom (a certified pilot, himself) to fly them both to Farmerville on the 14,th in order to visit the ConAgra plant located there. I was to pick them up at the airport and be their guide for the day, which I did. I scheduled visits with growers throughout the day, and I served as their chauffeur, as well as their source of information. Mr. Braggs had Mr. Foreman and Mr. Turner fly into Monroe and rent a car to follow us; they did not ride with Commissioner Odom, Bud Corison – his deputy commissioner, or myself. At every farm, Mr. Braggs would talk privately with each of the growers himself – no one else allowed. He wanted feedback from the growers without them feeling intimidated by other ConAgra personnel. Later that night, we had a dinner for all the growers in Ruston, and he entertained questions from the floor against his vice presidents’ wishes – and even they had to answer some. He even wanted me to facilitate the meeting, which I did. The next day, he and Commissioner Odom went to Natchitoches, LA to meet with growers that grew for the ConAgra plant there. Their routine was basically the same for Natchitoches as in Farmerville, except another lender facilitated the meeting. Mr. Braggs had been brought out of retirement (he had worked in the grain division of ConAgra in Europe, not poultry production) to help solve problems in the poultry division. He and Commissioner Odom developed a strong relationship, and this relationship was advanced by Commissioner Odom to help the poultry growers with ConAgra at both of their processing facilities in Louisiana. Through this relationship, Mr. Braggs was made aware of the problems facing growers (remember he was new to poultry) and solved many of these problems. He established grower/lender/integrator committees at each location, and had the Country Agent as an ex-officio member of these committees. These committees were to be used to improve communication and to address problems between all parties involved. This idea had never been tried in our area. He also established out-time pay for hen, pullet, and broiler growers. The out-time pay was based on a set number of out-time days for each type of grower, and it compensated growers for extended out times. Again, this had never been in effect before. He also offered every grower up to a 10 year contract, whether you had new houses or older houses. My pullet houses were 17 years old, and I was extended a 10 year contract along with any other grower that wanted it. These changes not only applied to the Farmerville and Natchitoches plants, but also to the ConAgra processing plant in El Dorado, AR. Without Commissioner Bob Odom, these changes that helped the growers would not have happened. This is just one example of how Commissioner Bob Odom helped Louisiana agriculture. Commissioner Odom became a good friend of mine, and I witnessed myself how important Louisiana agriculture was to him. He served the agriculture industry well and he will always be remembered for his service. Van Bennett