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Summary

In this episode of the Farm Credit AgVocates podcast, we interview Holly Porter, the executive director of the Delmarva Chicken Association to learn about their new branding and Littr mobile app. You’ll learn where Holly got her start in the agriculture industry and how the organization’s name transitioned from Delmarva Poultry Industry to the Delmarva Chicken Association.

Check out the Delmarva Chicken Association at dcachicken.com and the Littr app at littr.io.

Katie Ward:

Welcome to the Farm Credit AgVocates podcast. I'm your host, Katie Ward, a Marketing Specialist here at Horizon Farm Credit. I'm thrilled to introduce our guest on the podcast today. Holly Porter, the Executive Director for the Delmarva Chicken Association. I've had the pleasure of working with Holly the past few years on partnerships in the agriculture industry in the Horizon region. Holly is also a familiar face at Farm Credit, as she was previously a Marketing Specialist here for 12 years. She also has served as a Marketing Specialist and as the Deputy Principal Assistant at the Delaware Department of Agriculture prior to joining the Delmarva Chicken Association. Recently in her role as Executive Director, Holly led the Delmarva Chicken Association, or as we'll often refer to it today as DCA, through a rebranding and rollout complete with a new name and logo. I'm honored to have Holly hang out with us for a little bit today to talk about the rebranding process and the poultry industry on Delmarva.

As a fellow marketer, I'm sure we're going to have a lot of exciting things to talk about. So without further ado, welcome to the podcast, Holly.

Holly Porter

Thanks, Katie. I really appreciate being here and really excited to be back working with Farm Credit. I had the pleasure of sitting in your role so many years ago and enjoyed every minute of it. Farm Credit is a wonderful organization. I have many, many friends still with Farm Credit.

Katie Ward:

SO ASIDE FROM THE BRIEF INTRO THAT I GAVE, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU WANT TO TELL OUR LISTENERS ABOUT YOURSELF BEFORE WE DIVE INTO THE BIG DISCUSSION?

Holly Porter:

As said, I worked at Horizon Farm Credit for 12 years and I think that it's fitting when we talk about advocates because when I started at Farm Credit, I'm not sure that I really recognized my love and my passion for Ag as much as I do now. All of that really starts because at the end of the day, I'm a farmer's daughter. My dad is still a part-time grain farmer here in Caroline County, where I was born and raised. I think that to be an advocate, sometimes having that background and that passion is really what has been so important to me in my role and the different roles that I've had as well.  I've enjoyed many of the leadership opportunities that I've had, many of them starting when I was at Farm Credit and my opportunity to partake in the LEAD Maryland program, which was really career changing for me in a lot of ways. Then when I was at the Delaware Department of Agriculture, I was actually able to lead their LEAD Delaware program. I was a participant in Maryland and one of the Assistant Directors at LEAD Delaware, so there's definitely a lot of synergy and a lot of back and forth when you work within the Ag community, especially here on Delmarva. Those have been really career changing opportunities for me I think.

Katie Ward:

We've interviewed quite a few people on the podcast so far who have participated in either LEAD Maryland, LEAD Delaware or the VALOR Program down in Virginia and everyone has had the same thing to say that the program really kind of launched their career path as well as their passion for Ag. As a current LEAD Maryland fellow, I have to agree.

DO YOU WANT TO TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT YOUR ROLE AT DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BEFORE YOU WENT TO DCA?

Holly Porter:

Sure, so I started at the Delaware Department of Ag as a Marketing Specialist and I was working on a mix of projects. At that time the concept of urban agriculture was really starting to take off. We were doing a lot of work in the Wilmington area, and we were also doing a lot of work and trying to connect the population in Delaware, which again is primarily within the Wilmington area with the farmers and the agricultural products that farmers have in the Kent and Sussex areas. One of my most exciting things that I worked on once I moved into the Deputy Principal Assistant role, which is really just a long title to say that I did a lot of policy work. I worked with the legislature and some other policy work as well.  One of the exciting things that I got the opportunity to work on was a Farm and Food policy. It was a lot of fun, not only because of the work that came out of it, but even more so with who I worked with. I partnered with Allison Karpyn, an expert in public health and public policy. I guess I was sort of the leader or the expert in agricultural policy. The two of us partnered together and interviewed 30 to 40 people all across the state, those who were involved in agriculture; those who were involved in public health and nutrition in urban agriculture and everything in between. I think we came up with a really good white paper with steps that we thought needed to happen in order to really connect those who are looking for food. Whether it's within food deserts or whether it's restaurants or other businesses with the farmers that are providing to that.

That was really fun. It did not necessarily tie in with chicken, but I think it gave me a broader perspective of all of agriculture in the state and a lot more digging into policy work, whether that's legislative regulatory, or just creating opportunities, marketing opportunities within to connect those.

Katie Ward:

I do think that you can't really have agriculture in Delaware without chickens. Although you weren't directly working in the poultry industry, I'm sure that was still a big part of your conversations that you were having with both farmers and consumers in the state.

Holly Porter:

We really did and we included the chicken industry in several of those interviews and those conversations because as you said, we produce a lot of chickens here on Delmarva and we want to make sure that it's a healthy, good, nutritious protein. It was really important to make sure that. Oftentimes when there's discussions of food policies, a lot of the focus is on fruits and vegetables, which again are very important, obviously for good nutrition and health; but chicken is also a great protein and a great part of anyone's diet as well. It was important to make sure that the chicken community was part of those discussions as well, especially with being right here in the state.

Katie Ward:

So that really launched you into the policy side of agriculture and your career.

HOW DID YOU THEN END UP WITH DELMARVA CHICKEN ASSOCIATION?

Holly Porter:

There's a combination of things that really sort of led me to DCA. First of all, starting with some of the networks and the folks that we had met.  It really started back at Farm Credit, when I became the Marketing Specialist in the Delmarva area. That's obviously where I got to know Bill Satterfield and what was formally known as the Delmarva Poultry Industry. I got to know several folks from either chicken companies or chicken growers, and working under a Secretary Ed Kee, who was of course very involved with the chicken community. He introduced me to a number of other folks within the industry, several of which were board members of the Delmarva Poultry Industry. So when they were looking for what was originally the Assistant Executive Director position, which was just a transition position, knowing that Bill Satterfield was going to plan to retire, I had a couple of people that suggested my name knowing that I had both marketing and policy backgrounds, which is so important and such a big part of what DCA does. There was a couple of people that suggested that it might be a position that may interest me. Then on the other side, I think there was some folks that had talked and put my name sort of out there to the board members of then DPI. It worked out well and I think having some of those connections first, as well as really truly understanding the chicken industry, especially once I moved into the policy role at DCA, because of course chicken is about 75% of Delaware's Ag farm income. So that's very big business in Delaware. It's big amongst all of Delmarva, but definitely very big business in Delaware.

Katie Ward:

All of your previous jobs kind of set you up for this position with DCA, which as you mentioned, was formerly Delmarva Poultry Industry.

CAN YOU GIVE A BIT OF BACKGROUND ON DPI AND FOR THOSE LISTENERS WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR, WHAT THE ORGANIZATION IS?

Holly Porter:

So DCA or formerly DPI, and I will admit, for so many years it was DPI, so every once in a while, it's still hard for DCA to roll off the tongue. Our mission is to be the advocates, to be the voice of our chicken community here on Delmarva. When I talk about the chicken community, I'm talking about our chicken growers. There's about 1,300 family farmers that raise chickens here on the Delmarva Peninsula. This also includes the chicken companies, which is what we call our Integrator Companies. We have five of those companies here on Delmarva from Allen Harim, Amick, Mountaire, Perdue Farms, and Tyson Foods. Then the third piece of our chicken community is what we call our allied businesses. Those are businesses that the chicken community has an impact on, whether it's folks like Farm Credit, it’s lenders, its insurance, its construction, and the truck drivers. It’s the folks that are providing them with maintenance service, it's the businesses like nutrition, pharmaceutical and all of those businesses in between, which are also important. It’s because of the chicken community, that's what drives many of their businesses.  We have somewhere between 1,600 and 1,700 members in those three categories.

We are run by a Board of Directors. We are a nonprofit 501 C (6), so we're not a not-for-profit or a charity, but we are a nonprofit that does advocacy work. That's really the 501-6 piece of it. We are lobbyists in the state of Delaware and in the state of Maryland and we do a lot of legislative advocacy work in Annapolis, Richmond and Dover, as well as on the local level too, because local county planning and zoning are so important as well. We’re really trying to be the voice for those farmers, those allied businesses and those companies that are not able to attend hearings in Annapolis regularly. Their job is to be out in the chicken houses, raising the birds, or in the buildings processing and so forth. So that's really a big part of our role.

We also want to make sure that we're educating our growers and making them the most efficient and the best that they can be. We've done workshops, we have a large national meeting every year that is focused on poultry health, on processing and on live production. We bring in speakers from all across the country and actually this year worldwide, educating our members on everything from different poultry diseases to different tactics within, processing centers, or robotics which definitely more automation is coming down the road. Those are really our main goals and mission is just to be that voice, to be the advocates and to help in education and to really just strengthen and make sure that folks know the importance of our chicken community here on Delmarva.

Katie Ward:

I'm just blown away at the size of your membership. I don't think I realized that you had almost 1,700 members.  That’s large, especially for the size of Delmarva. It's not geographically a big area, but that just goes to show how many players are in the game for the poultry industry and specifically chicken on Delmarva.

Holly Porter:

Absolutely. We have the five companies that themselves employ over 20,000 people. That's a significant number of jobs here in our very rural Delmarva area. When we talk about economics and we talk about numbers, we talk about a $3.5 billion dollar value. What it boils down to is jobs. When you have over 20,000 just tied to the companies, you have 1,300 family farmers and you have hundreds and hundreds of others in our allied business. Its lot of jobs, it's a lot of people that are tied to the chicken community. I often joke that when I was younger, there was the seven degrees of Kevin Bacon in tying together and I say on Delmarva, I really think there's probably only about two degrees of separation from anybody that lives or was raised on the Delmarva Peninsula to the chicken community in some form or fashion.

Katie Ward:

I think you're right about that. I grew up on the Eastern shore of Maryland as well. And although I wasn't raised on a poultry farm, there was one right across from my house. I luckily understood the workings of a poultry farm, but I think it's important that you all advocate for the industry in those state capitals and cities where people aren't as familiar with the industry.

GOING A LITTLE DEEPER INTO THAT, CAN YOU EXPLAIN YOUR SPECIFIC ROLE WITHIN THE LEGISLATURE? I KNOW THIS IS ACTUALLY QUITE A BUSY TIME FOR YOU AS MARYLAND GENERAL SESSION IS JUST BEGINNING THIS MONTH.

Holly Porter:

It's extremely busy and, and actually not just Maryland, all three of our States are starting session. Delaware has a short three week session in January and they break for their Joint Finance Committee hearings. They will pick back up in the March - April timeframe and will run until the end of June. Virginia actually started last week as well, and they’re on their short 30 day session. They have a long session on even number years and a shorter session on odd number of years. Then of course, Maryland has a 90 day session that started last week as well. It is hot and heavy and of course everything this year looks completely different than in the past, everything is virtual. Quite honestly in a normal year, you probably would not have caught me at home. I would have probably been in Annapolis preparing for hearings later this afternoon. Everything is a virtual and it's definitely a little more challenging. We don't have quite the access to our legislators that we've had in the past, but we're making do. Really our job is to follow all three of the legislatures, to follow the bills and to see what bills may have direct impact on the chicken community. Also, to keep an eye out on bills that maybe not impact us directly, but may have impacts on our partners and others within agriculture. The Delmarva economy is based on a three legged stool, and that really is the chicken growers, the chicken companies and our grain farmers. Our grain farmers are the ones that provide the feed for the chicken in our areas.  Agriculture on Delmarva is very much linked and tied together. Of course being within the Chesapeake Bay region, it often makes things a little bit more exciting in all three of our states with some of the different rules and policies. Colleagues of mine in other state associations, and there are a number of other state associations similar to ours in other states, that have chicken and they may not have some of or see some of the bills that we see here in our area. It's definitely a busy time and it's an important time because again, farmers are there on their farms or in their chicken houses, they're raising what will eventually be my dinner at some point. They don't have the time to engage, to pay attention, to see all of the bills, to understand what the impacts may be. That’s where it's important for associations like us to be there and to make sure that we're paying attention to those things because eventually those impacts could hurt the farmer when they're out on their farm or in their chicken house.

Katie Ward:

I know I’ve seen many of your testimonies in the past, with my previous job at Farm Bureau, and then now at Farm Credit and really you and all of DCA do such a great job of sharing the stories of your growers and your integrators and allied partners. Most of the members who sit in on the state legislature don't fully understand how poultry farms work and it is their job to protect the Chesapeake Bay and to also protect the industry of agriculture in their state. It’s a very fine line that they want to make sure that all of the environmental procedures are being followed, but then also that the farmers are able to grow safe and reliable products, whether that's poultry or any other grain or commodity that we have in our three states on Delmarva. You do such a great job of sharing those true stories and allowing the legislature to see the full picture of how poultry is raised and produced.

Holly Porter:

You really hit the nail on the head. I mean, we know that less than 2% of the United States population, are farmers or agriculture and we've seen as the years go on, more and more people that are removed from it. Folks who may have been 50 years ago that your grandfather or great-grandfather was involved, but that is getting wider and wider away. It’s so important for people to understand first and foremost, farmers are feeding us, they are putting food on our tables, so that for those of us who don't want to be farmers, we can pursue other occupations. I think that’s important for anyone to understand, but especially our legislatures. When you have more urban areas and you have more legislators from those urban areas, that disconnect is just so strong and they don't necessarily understand that farmers are people, farmers are small businesses, and farmers are very diverse.

It’s just important to not only talk about numbers, economics and jobs, but to also talk about the people and about how these folks are raising birds. What it is they do every day, their day to day care for animal welfare, all the way up to the companies and the work that they do for taking care, for the veterinary animal welfare. Then, even how these companies are working with their employees, those 20,000 employees. What they are doing as good businesses to make sure their employees are happy or healthy, and taken care of as well. At the end of the day, it all comes down to people and it comes down to food.  That's really what agriculture is all about. It’s just as important to share that as best as we can. This year, I was really pleased to be able to partner with the Grain Producers Association of Maryland to offer a virtual farm tour. Of course, we really love to get folks out on farms, but it's a little trickier with our chicken farms because of biosecurity measures. The biosecurity really have nothing to do with the humans. It's biosecurity to make sure that our chickens are protected and that they don't have any illnesses, but it was a little bit more difficult to do that this year. We did a virtual farm tour that we shared with the Maryland House, Environmental and Transportation Committee. I think that was a different perspective and a great opportunity. Every time that we can bring in the people to talk about what folks do, I think it helps for legislators who have to make some really important decisions to understand the truth and what is and isn't going on.

Katie Ward:

I know that's much appreciated by everyone, not even just the legislature, but the other stakeholders who are involved in those tours, whether they're in-person or virtual, they still can learn something and take something away that will help them in making those future decisions.

THAT LEADS ME INTO THE NEXT THING I WANTED TO BRIEFLY DISCUSS IS THE APP THAT DCA RECENTLY LAUNCHED, CONNECTING POULTRY, GROWERS, AND GRAIN FARMERS WITH LITTER. DO YOU WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT?

Holly Porter:

The littr. app was really fun for me. I think this was because it's sort of bringing back my marketing roots in a lot of ways. I do so much work with advocacy, policy and legislature that it was really fun to work on this app and to work with a team of app designers who know nothing at all about the chicken industry or litter. We had a lot of fun, as you can only imagine when you are creating a matching tool, a match.com for litter essentially, which is what it is. We definitely had a lot of fun, but really the reason behind this is we've worked quite a bit in Maryland over the past six, seven years now on the Phosphorous Management Tool Regulations (PMT) regulations, which once they go into full effect will impact those farms who may be in the past, have been able to utilize litter and commercial fertilizer on their fields. Once they get over a certain phosphorus level, they will no longer be able to add litter or phosphorous at all, but add litter in particular, they will have to switch to commercial nitrogen use. What we were hearing was that we have farms that are looking for litter because they recognize that this is not a waste, litter is not a waste. I can't emphasize that enough. It is a valuable fertilizer, it is a slow release, organic, locally produced fertilizer that has so many benefits to soil health. We kept hearing a number of farmers saying, I'm looking for litter and I can't find it. We heard chicken growers saying I have litter and I don't know what to do with it and where to go with it. Somewhere there seemed to be a disconnect and we could never could quite understand where the disconnect was going and what was causing that. We in the state of Maryland have a couple of hotlines and they had a couple of options that people could call in, but we said, you know, there should be an easy way to do this. That’s when we started talking about developing some type of app with the concept of either a match.com or a Zillow or realtor.com because of the listing idea. We had a lot of discussions within one of the groups that we belong within the Delmarva Land and Litter Collaborative, and they really felt this was a great idea. They encouraged us to apply for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant, which we did in April and we were pleased to receive that grant. I really started working on it probably about the June - July timeframe. One of the key things that we did with this app is we made sure we had stakeholder input. I do not have litter and my little 0.02 acres does not utilize litter. While I had a general understanding about what was needed, I'm not the stakeholder, I'm not going to end up being the user. Very early on we developed surveys that went out to both chicken growers and to grain farmers, just to get a better idea of what would be needed and what would be important. We also pulled several of those grain farmers, growers, and then some of the third-party providers, custom applicators, and brokers together as part of a focus group to again, to make sure we were asking for the right fields, that we were getting the right information in the app that would be needed in order to make these connections. We worked with those stakeholders and again, we worked on the app throughout the summer and well into the fall. We then brought many of those stakeholders back together and we asked them to help us do the beta testing. We had something designed and we wanted them to use it, to make sure that the functionalities were working and that it made sense. We gathered even more feedback and then I was pleased to see that we could officially roll it out on both Google Play and the Apple store by the end of December, which was our target goal, knowing that many farmers right now are already thinking about planting season. I saw someone said the other day, we're only nine weeks away from spring planting, so we're really tickled with it.

I will say again that the fun part for me personally is it's not only building the app, but now we have to market it. We have to let people know the app is available. We've been doing a lot of work again with a lot of partnerships and I really appreciate all the partnerships from the Farm Bureaus to our State Departments of Agriculture, to grain producers, soybean boards, and Farm Credit. It’s just really a lot of people sharing this information, getting the word out and within just a couple of weeks of having it up and running, we have well over a hundred registered users. As of yesterday, I think we had about 10 to 11 different listings out there as well. The listings are grain farmers that might be looking for litter. They are growers that may have litter available and then they are also those brokers, haulers, and those third-party custom applicators that are really important. We recognize there are many grain farmers that while they know the value and see the value in litter, they may not have the equipment that they need in order to spread the litter onto the field. Working with somebody that has that equipment is going to be an important piece of it as well. We’re really pleased to see the rollout and see it doing so well so far.

Katie Ward:

That's such a great tool to bridge the gap between all of the different stakeholders and users of the litter, so I applaud you all on that app. I know when you presented it to our Delmarva Farm Credit staff last week, a lot of them were anxious to tell their members because they have had, whether it be grain farmers or poultry growers, reach out to them even asking where they could get or sell litter. It is such a great tool for growing on Delmarva and since we've already got it, why not use it? That app is definitely going to help a lot of growers and producers in the future.

NOW DIVING INTO THE REBRANDING DISCUSSION, DO YOU WANT TO FIRST START OFF WITH A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE OLD BRAND AND LOGO DELMARVA POULTRY INDUSTRY, AND EXPLAIN THE LOOK AND THE NAME AND THEN WHY YOUR ORGANIZATION AND BOARD WANTED TO CHANGE THAT?

Holly Porter:

Sure, so the Delmarva Poultry Association or I'm sorry, the Delmarva Poultry Industry, I'm confusing myself now. We started in 1948 and we were not DPI then either. We were actually the Delmarva Chicken Festival and that's really was our history and how we got started. Our role back then in the 1940s is when A&P Supermarket was trying to find an award-winning breed of chicken that would be good for chicken dinner. Keep in mind, it's really hard to imagine, but in the early 1900’s, people did not eat chicken like we do now. Chickens were really raised for eggs and when the chickens got old and they could no longer be used for eggs, they went into a pot and usually became chicken soup, but those birds were old, they were chewy, it wasn't like the chicken that we have today. They really didn't have chicken nuggets back then either. A&P was really trying to do a contest to try to produce a good, young chicken that would have a good taste. It was actually a part of the University of Delaware, they were really featured in doing some of that research. A group of folks wanted to have a festival to highlight this and to highlight the chicken cooking contest as well. That’s really how we got started so many years ago. Several years after that they did change the name to the Delmarva Poultry Industry and the logo that we used to have is very reminiscent of that cooking contest of that festival. We had the cute little bird that had the chef's hat on its head, because that was really how we got started. That was the work that we did. At that time, a big part of our mission was to promote eat more chicken. It was a big part of our mission. We wanted more folks to start eating chicken on a more regular basis and that was a lot of the work that we did. We didn't do nearly the legislative work. We didn't have quite the same in the education piece or the consumer piece for that matter. Our consumer work was just encouraging people to eat chicken.

Katie Ward:

IT WAS MORE ASSOCIATED WITH THE FOOD AND THE PREP AND THE COOKING?

Holly Porter:

Correct. Years and years went by, things have changed over the years and our chicken festival ended. The last one was actually, I believe in Queen Anne's County, Maryland. It ended a number of years ago. It was hard to find enough locations and volunteers to really make this two - three day festival occur. We also had a retirement within DPI. Connie Parvis, who had been the head of this festival for so many years. The timing sort of worked, and I think the other important piece is people are eating chicken.  We’re up to the point where the average consumer will eat 90 pounds of chicken a year.  So I think we could check the box that we definitely helped encouraging the promotion of eating chicken.

In 2018, while our former Executive Director was still here and we were transitioning, the Board of Directors decided to do strategic planning. They really wanted to take a look at DPI, both now and looking at in the future. We went back to many strategic plans, which we asked for input. We got some survey work and asked for input from our membership. We asked for input from other stakeholders as well. We formed a focus group of members to really dig into where are we and where do we want to go? Part of that strategic plan was a big discussion about rebranding and not just necessarily a new logo or a new name, but just the whole scope that goes behind rebranding the voice, the look, the recognition. Part of that rebranding was again, to make sure that we were reaching our target audiences, whether that was internally for new growers coming on or externally for people within the public. Now we're starting to talk more to consumers again, not necessarily about eating food, but how we're raising food and what we're doing, especially on the environmental side.

Katie Ward:

The education aspect of it has certainly grown.

Holly Porter:

Right, absolutely.

The Board of Directors approved the strategic plan in 2018 and we started to get to work. One of the first action items was to have a discussion on rebranding. We hired an outside consulting group who are experts in public relations, marketing and rebranding. As much as that is my background as the Executive Director, it's certainly is not where my focus can be at this point in time. We knew we needed some outside help to take a look at this. We also formed an internal committee of other marketers, other folks in public relations, communications to help us in try to define what is our brand and what should our brand be and where should we be going? I believe you may have participated in a few of those meetings as well and was very much appreciated that.

Katie Ward:

Yes, I loved being on that committee. It kind of was a mastermind group of industry creatives, and it's always good to bounce ideas off of other people and kind of open your eyes to new perspectives.

Holly Porter:

I think it's difficult when you've been in a silo or been in one direction for so long to be able to think outside of the box. That was an important piece of making sure that we got some additional stakeholder feedback. Of course the first thing that we needed to do was as we started to get feedback. We did some focus group work, both within the industry, as well as outside, trying to pull some of those consumers to get feedback as to what did people think of us? Who did they think of us? What were the things that came to mind?

Katie Ward:

WAS THAT REALLY EYE OPENING TO YOU OR WHERE THE RESULTS KIND OF WHAT YOU EXPECTED?

Holly Porter:

I think for the most part, it was what we expected. I think that internally for those who are within the chicken or Ag community, there's a lot of recognition of who we are, externally maybe not so much. I think the other piece was, and we saw this even from our survey work originally with the strategic plans, oftentimes there is, confusion with the name Delmarva Poultry Industry. That term industry, sometimes confused people. Oftentimes industry is used to be more representative of say our chicken companies. There were people that will say, you're an organization that's only representing the chicken companies here. We were like, no, that’s not the case. Or with the allied businesses, it was like, where do we fit in? Like, you know, again, you're here to represent the chicken companies or the chicken growers?

Some of that feedback I think was, was a little bit eye opening. Early on there was definitely an interest in changing the industry part, what that meant. I think the other important piece is, the discussion of chicken versus poultry. What we have here on the Delmarva is the meat chicken industry. That is what we focus on. We do know there are some other layer operations, which is your table eggs for the most part. There's a couple of those here in the Northern part of the Delmarva. We have one or two small turkey operations, but nothing large by any means. Our concentration here on Delmarva is the meat chicken industry. We wanted to make sure that was really clear to people as to who it is we're talking about, what it is we're talking again, trying to help with some of that confusion, because how we raise our meat chickens is very different than how layer chickens are raised. When we start getting into the discussion of cages and cage-free. Our meat chickens have always been cage-free. They are in a house, they are free to move about the house as much as they want, so some of those things were really important and making sure that we're really defining who it is that we're representing as well.

 Our Board of Directors had two different discussions, two different meetings, and looking at what that name change should be based off of the feedback. The name change was the first thing that was voted on and really helped us in then saying, okay, now we want to take a look at the logo. The old logo was very representative of the chicken festival and the chicken cooking contest of which we don't do it. It really was no surprise that we said we really need to change the logo. We needed to update the look of the logo. Within the chicken community it’s a very iconic logo. Outside of that not too many people recognize it. As a marketer, I will tell you one of the things that often bothered me is that in our old logo, said DPI and that was it. If you didn't know what DPI stood for, you really didn't know who we were. We went back to work with our team, both within the focus groups, as well as within the stakeholder team we have put together, as well as with our outside company in looking at some designs, to really try to  understand what we were looking for.

We had several mock-ups that were put together, and we shared those with several stakeholders. We shared them at Delaware Ag Week. Unfortunately when we shared them was also when the Chicken Day was canceled due to Coronavirus, so go figure. There was a number of other people that participated in Delaware Ag Week, both chicken and grain growers, and others. We shared some of these mock-ups and we got some really good feedback. Some of the feedback was great because some of the colors that were originally used people were quick to say, that’s not good, those colors don’t work, and it was helpful. We then took those back to the Board of Directors and really got their feedback and their input. We tweaked it a little bit and ended up with where we are now. There's a couple points to our new logo that I'm excited about. I am probably a little bit more geeked out over from the marketing perspective than others. A couple of things that were really important to us was to make sure that we were recognizing our heritage, that's really important within the Delmarva chicken community. Folks have been in this business for years, families have been in this business for years. The meat chicken industry got its start right here in Ocean View, Delaware when 500 chicks were sent instead of 50 and they needed to know what to do with that. Our heritage is so important within our Delmarva region and so that was important when we put in there EST 1948, because that's how we got started. We’re the same organization that we've always been, just with a new look and name.

The other important piece, of course, as I just alluded to is to make sure that our name was actually in our logo so that it was clear as to who we are. We use the blue and the yellow that are very traditional colors, going back to our roots. A lot of those stemming around the University of Delaware, but again, very traditional blue and gold colors. We also had a sunrise look. A lot of people see that when it comes to farming and agriculture, the sun is rising, it's optimistic. I think farmers are definitely the eternal optimist, a new day is going to bring new opportunities, so that was sort of the starburst or sunburst. Then of course the chicken, a meat broiling type chicken that we have in the center of our logo and that chicken is facing forward.  That's probably a little thing that there very few people noticed, but it was one that definitely was important to me because, our logo before was sort of facing what I would call backwards or towards the past. We wanted this chicken to be facing forward. Finally, having it in a circle and to me, the circle is really important because that talks about our connection. As an association, we are connecting all members of this association and we're connecting all members of the association with other stakeholders. Whether that’s academics, state and federal agencies, the community, or the Delmarva community overall, we want to make sure that we are connecting and a part of those overall connections. That was the deep dive into the logo that most people may not necessarily appreciate, but I think it was really important. As were hearing the feedback and some of the disconnect about who it is we represent, we really want to make it picks up on our heritage. We really want to make sure that folks recognize the longevity of this association. I think that they did a great job in tying that all together.

Katie Ward:

I agree and I think that a lot of listeners, if they're not directly in marketing, communications and branding, they might not realize exactly how much goes into designing a logo and rebranding. That was a lot of really crucial aspects in the design that when I first looked at the logo, I didn't realize, especially the position of the chicken facing forward. That’s really impactful and it’s something that if you just quickly glance at it, you probably subconsciously pick up on without even realizing it. We'll put the old DPI logo and then the new DCA logo up on our website for the podcast, that way anyone who isn't familiar can take a look. We'll link to DCA website too, because there are other aspects of your brand, not just the name and the logo, but new videos and new website.

DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE ROLLOUT OF THE BRAND?

Holly Porter:

Sure, and I think that you really hit it. That's so important for many people it was really hard to wrap their heads around what does rebranding mean? A name change, a logo change are are all just pieces of this bigger brand, this bigger look.

A couple of things that have been really important as we've done the rollout is consistency. Making sure we were incorporating those consistent colors, the fonts that look, that feel, that's all part of the brand. It's all part of any time somebody is to read something or look at something and at first glance, if they can connect right away, you know what that's tied to, that's branding. When you think about Coca-Cola, everyone has in their mind, the red and the white and the look of the logo, you know that’s the brand. You know the Nike swoosh, you barely have to glance somewhere and when you see the swoosh, you know that it’s Nike.

Katie:

And everyone also thinks “just do it” when they see the swoosh, putting the whole aspect of what they represent and what they look like together.

Holly Porter:

The important piece too, is what do we want to convey? We’re trying to have a very professional look, but we're also trying to have some of our tone. Even in our newsletters and our writing, trying to be an inclusive feel, trying to connect people. All of those pieces that are often very subtle, we’re trying to, as we continue to move forward and roll outs that even when you look at our newsletter, it just has a little bit more of a distinct, professional look that again matches that consistency. That’s something that as we move forward, we're looking to probably update even more. When you look at some of our videos, presentations and just any of our collateral material or what we print, it has that consistent look, feel and the tone. We are just really trying to identify who we are and what we're here for and get not only internally recognized, but recognized externally as well.

We've received great feedback, which is good. It is always a little nerve wracking when you're making such a significant change. I will share that we officially rolled out the name change and logo in November, but to be honest, we actually had planned to do it in April. So like many things with COVID, we were postponed. We had completed the rebranding work. We had completed the design work. We had completed everything and we're planning to roll all of this out at our big booster banquet event that we usually have in April, where we have over 900 people that attend. We were very excited to be doing the rollout in a much bigger splash than what we were sort of faced to do with COVID. I think everybody out there has had to make adjustments including, DCA as well. It was very important to our Board of Directors since all of the work had been done to still get this out. We know that we’re in the middle of the pandemic. We know that the chicken community has definitely felt that pandemic in different ways. But we also knew it was really important that we move forward. We keep looking forward with the work that we've done. Our Board of Directors, driven by our then President, he's our immediate past president now, Dale Cook, sat down and said, yes, we want to move this forward. We want to roll this out before the end of the year. That’s when we tied it with our annual meeting, which again is a much smaller event.  We moved forward with some e-blast and we did a virtual press conference and we did all that we could promoting and sharing the information as much as we could. We did a video taping of our president, talking a little bit about it. We had some unique opportunities that we may not have done prior to COVID, but we're looking forward to sharing it more as we get back together more in public and start seeing people as well. I think so far our feedback has been good. It is sort of nerve-racking when you're taking a name and a logo that has been around for so many years that just rolls off of the tongue and changing that. The feedback has been really, really good and we couldn't be more pleased and we’re moving along as the new DCA.

Katie Ward:

I think the new name and the logo leave no questions. It's very obvious that you're an association that supports chicken on Delmarva. When I see the colors, I also think of University of Delaware and the heritage is showing through.

I'm sure you almost have a little spiel that you say, especially the last two weeks with the state legislatures opening back up, to introduce that you’re DCA, formerly DPI, new brand, same mission, that sort of thing.

Holly Porter:

Yes, absolutely. That’s what we say, just a new name, new look, but the same organization with the same passion and mission for all of our members.

Katie Ward:

ARE THERE ANY LESSONS THAT YOU OR DCA HAS LEARNED DURING THIS REBRANDING PROCESS? IF SO, DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR THOSE IN THE AG INDUSTRY WHO MAY BE REBRANDING IN THE FUTURE?

Holly Porter:

I think that's a great question. I would say like we did with our littr. app, getting stakeholder engagement is really important and you can't miss that piece. The market research that's done, you can't rush something as big as rebranding. It really should be thought through, making sure the why and that the why fits with doing it because it's “the easy parts.” And I say that with air quotes, because you can’t see that on a podcast. The easy part to some extent was, we've got a logo, we've got a name change, and it’s all of the steps to follow that go with that can be time-consuming. You really want to make sure that when you're making those changes that you've really thought it through, that you've had that stakeholder input, that you've got the buy-in from them and for us, Board of Directors as a nonprofit, but also from our membership. We've shared over the years a little bit about the rebranding, what that meant in our newsletters, even before we were completed, just to make sure that folks can understand it. So I would say that the biggest tips are just making sure to really do that market research, get that stakeholder feedback and listen to that feedback before making any major changes or moves.

Katie Ward:

Those are great tips and I think it is important to really listen to your stakeholders and engage with them because you have direct connections with your members, but those outside of the organization who need to use DCA, whether it be for educational purposes or resources also need to be looped in on that conversation.

ARE THERE ANY EXCITING NEXT STEPS FOR DCA OR FOR YOU, YOURSELF, NOW THAT THE NEW BRAND AND THE LITTR. APP, BOTH COMING OUT AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR, BOTH TWO REALLY BIG PARTS TO THE ORGANIZATION AND HAVE A LOT OF MOVING PIECES.

Holly Porter:

I think the most important part of 2021 is to focus on figuring out how to get back to a new normal or a normal. The things that we're really going to be focusing on is just continuing with the rebranding and the rolling out and having more and more people aware of it. We have a number of events that we generally do throughout the year, including our booster banquet, our scholarship golf tournament, and national meeting. I think all of those have to be adjusted. Last year, we had to unfortunately cancel the booster banquet. We are very much looking forward to doing something this year, that something is still being worked out as to what that will be and what that will look like. I think a lot of our focus this year will almost be trying to get back to that normal and probably trying to get back at taking a look at our strategic plan. I think 2020, just like most folks, really blew planning anything out of the water for a lot of things. Our Board President this year, who is also a Farm Credit employee, Jennifer Feindt, she and I have had several conversations about what the goals for DCA this year. I think really a lot of it is just trying to get back to some type of normal. Our board will be so excited the first time they can have an in-person board meeting again.

Katie Ward:

Definitely no doubt.  That's important to really reflect on the new brand and make sure that it is completely rolled out because I know that it, like you said, it's not something that you want to rush. So kind of using the whole year to make sure all of your stakeholders are familiar with the new brand and making sure that the littr. app is marketed and utilized which it already has great success. I do think that's probably most organizations plans for this year is just to put 2020 behind us and move forward and figure out what that will look like.

WE DO HAVE ONE QUESTION THAT WE LIKE TO ASK ALL OF OUR GUESTS ON THE PODCAST BEFORE WE SIGN OFF AND THAT IS WHAT DO YOU ADVOCATE FOR IN AGRICULTURE?

Holly Porter:

What I advocate for is the ability for my father who loves nothing better than to be on the tractor, to have that ability to do so. If that means that my voice in sharing what farmers do and all of the great things that they do to provide us food, but also all great things they do to protect our environment and to protect their livelihoods. I think that's the important piece that is advocacy to me is just making sure that anything that I'm doing in helping to better our agricultural community is also going to make it so that my father can continue being on the tractor for as long as he wants to do so.

Katie Ward:

That’s really nice and I think that most people who grew up on a family farm would agree with you. That's really where they got their love for agriculture, and they want to make sure that the people that they love can continue doing what they love.

Holly Porter:

Absolutely.

Katie Ward:

Well, thank you so much, Holly. We really appreciate you taking time out of the busy legislature season to talk with us and share with our listeners a lot about your career and the Delmarva Chicken Association’s rebranding.

Holly Porter:

Thank you, I really appreciate it. It's been a lot of fun and I appreciate catching up with some Farm Credit colleagues as well too.

Katie Ward:

Thanks again for listening to the AgVocates Podcast.  Remember to rate, review, subscribe, and share this episode with a friend. You can get podcasts notes and subscribe to email alerts at MAFC.com/podcast. You can also email and topics of guest suggestions to podcast@mafc.com.

Farmers are in the business of assessing risk. When you plant your corn in the spring, you are taking a calculated risk. Based on your previous experiences, you have calculated the risk that your crop may get flooded, destroyed by hail, eaten by pests, or choked by weeds as low enough to be worth the initial investment of time and money to put that seed into the ground. Furthermore, you calculate that the risk is tilted in your favor, and that you will ultimately be able to profitably feed or market that corn crop after harvest.

You also assume risks when you borrow money. You assume the risk that your business or health will fail, and you won’t be able to pay back the loan. However, another risk worth considering is the increase or decline in interest rates during the time you have money borrowed.

WHY IS INTEREST RATE A RISK?

Example #1

• You borrow money on a variable interest rate and rates go up above where you could have locked in a five or ten year fixed rate.

Example #2

• You lock in a fixed rate for some period of time and interest rates fall such that you find yourself unable to take advantage of lower interest rates. 

Example #3

• You lock in a fixed rate for a period of time. This favorable fixed rate expires and you find that current rates are a few percentage points higher than what you had been used to paying.

But risk is not a bad thing if it is properly mitigated or managed.

So how do you mitigate the aforementioned possibility that interest rates will fluctuate during the time you have money borrowed? 

When you are calculating your loan payments for a new venture, use a higher interest rate than what you think you can get. For example, you are looking to purchase a farm.

Realistic Scenario

• You borrow $700,000 for 20 years with a short term fixed rate at 5.25% with a monthly payment of $4,750 a month.

Stress Test Scenario

• When figuring if you can afford this $700,000 loan you figure the interest rate at 6.25% which results in a monthly payment of $5,155.

If the thought of paying an extra $405 a month scares you or would cause financial stress for you, then you should reconsider whether or not this is a wise move.

Another option to help mitigate interest rate risk would be to split this $700,000 into two loans. Consider taking a longer term fixed rate on one of the loans and a shorter term fixed rate or variable rate on the other loan. The $700,000 doesn’t have to be split equally. This can also be a nice option if you plan on making extra payments on your loans. You can focus your extra payments on one loan and try to eliminate that payment at an accelerated pace.

At Farm Credit, we also realize the risk in borrowing in money in today’s volatile environment. If you do choose to lock in a fixed rate and rates would happen to fall, we do have the ability to lower that fixed rate for you, down to the going rate, saving you money.

Horizon Farm Credit is reminding area producers that the sales closing date for corn, soybeans, other spring crops, and whole farm revenue protection is March 16. Producers are encouraged to contact their crop insurance agent to discuss changes to their policy, including adjustments to coverage levels, adding or removing a county or crop, additional options available, or cancellations. All policy adjustments must be completed and signed by March 16.

“Crop insurance is an important risk management tool that provides financial security for producers,” says Kathi Levan, Horizon Farm Credit’s crop insurance manager. “In the event a weather-related or natural disaster occurs that can lead to low production, crop insurance will help protect an operation’s bottom line.”

Through partnerships with multiple insurance providers, Farm Credit has access to systems that allow customers to compare several coverage levels to pick the one that best suits their farm operation. “We’re happy to look over current crop insurance policies and talk through the many options available to help producers plan ahead,” adds Levan.

For more information about crop insurance and how Farm Credit can help you protect your business, please visit FarmCreditCropInsurance.com.

Horizon Farm Credit recently announced a free webinar to help poultry growers better understand payment calculations with University of Delaware Extension Agent Georgie Cartanza on September 27.   

“Understanding the poultry grower payment calculations can help producers identify areas of success and opportunity,” says Wayne Richard, Regional Lending Manager at Horizon Farm Credit. “Competition between poultry growers has grown tremendously over the last five years, forcing growers to be more advanced and precise in their decisions on the farm. We’re hoping this webinar will provide growers in our region the knowledge they need to grow their business.”

Participants can plan to learn the following during the one-hour webinar:

• How to read a flock settlement sheet from Delmarva integrators.
• Understand the process of poultry grower payment calculations.
• How to manage competition and  analyze your six flock average comparison.

Once registered, participants will receive all of the materials via email and can join live or watch the replays when convenient. If you have any questions you'd like our presenters to answer during the meetings, please email them to webinar@mafc.com.

Like any other industry, dairy is prone to ups and downs. To gain more insight into issues this industry faces, Farm Credit staff members recently had the opportunity to go behind the scenes of two large dairy operations in Frederick County, Maryland, thanks to loan officers Mary Jane Roop and Kelsey Maslen, who organized the outing. It was a day full of learning about the farmers and their businesses, and a chance to network with Farm Credit colleagues.

The first stop of the day was Rocky Point Creamery in Tuscarora, Maryland, owned by Chuck Fry. From meat sales and their popular creamery, to approximately 3,000 youth tours a year, Rocky Point Creamery has a lot to offer. They run a 150 to 170 head dairy cattle operation, along with raising Angus crosses for their beef meat sales. On their farm, they have 1,500 acres of crop land and a double-nine dairy parlor, meaning they can milk 18 head at a time.

Something Chuck is most proud of is the creameries waste count being zero, meaning none of their products used to make the ice cream gets used in some way. When you visit the creamery around August and September, you will notice two acres of sunflower fields. This year, the profit from the sales of their sunflowers went to St. Jude’s, which totaled $5,000.

The hours of operation for the creamery are 11:30 am to 7:30 pm from Tuesday through Sunday, starting after Labor Day. “I thought it was interesting how Chuck diversified his operation via the creamery, which allows him to support his dairy operation and keep that part of his business going in a difficult market,” says Richard Lawson, a loan underwriter located in the Martinsburg office.

The next stop of the day was Teabow Farms, located in Woodsboro, Maryland, operated by the Stup Family. The operation started in 1965 with just 80 cows and now runs approximately 1,100 cows with a double-24 parlor, milking 48 head at a time. This results in producing three tankers full of milk every two days.

The farm is designed for the animals to have a healthy yet relaxing life. From misting the herd on hot days to a foot bath to help keep their operation clean, Teabow Farms is known for their organization and cleanliness. “I was impressed with the level of care provided to the animals on Teabow Farms. To care for and keep track of over 1,000 animals can be a nightmare, but they made it look easy and it was clear they take great care of their animals,” says Geoff Delamater, a loan officer in the Bel Air office.

Managing manure is another part of living on a large cattle operation. Teabow Farms has an agricultural waste management system called a gravity flow barn that transfers animal manure, wastewater, and contaminated runoff through a reception pit. In addition to this, they have a three million gallon manure storage bin. Teabow Farms also has crop land that they use to satisfy the needs of feed for their cattle.

Both operations had a lot to teach us! They were a nice contrast between a smaller herd and a larger herd, but both showed similarities as to what it takes to own and operate a dairy operation.

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