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On this episode of the Farm Credit AgVocates Podcast, we interview Global Inclusion and Diversity Strategist, Sonia Aranza, who helps us understand the concept of unconscious bias and how we can use it to invite diversity and inclusion into our farming operations and everyday routine. 

In this episode you'll learn how to recognize your own unconscious biases and shift your mindset to be open to new ideas and tactics that come from the next generation taking over your farm, or the industry connection that you haven't met yet.

Meaghan Malinowski:

Welcome to the Farm Credit AgVocates Podcast. I'm your host, Meaghan Malinowski, Content and Digital Marketing Strategist at Horizon Farm Credit. They say it takes seven seconds to decide how we feel about someone, but how much of that decision comes from logic and reason, maybe not as much as we thought. Today's guest is going to help you think outside the box, by looking inside of yourself. Sonia Aranza is a Global Diversity Equity and Inclusion Strategist. With 25 years of experience, she has worked with huge brand names like Boeing, CIA, Coca-Cola, McDonalds and NASA, just to name a few. She's been featured in HR Magazine and was named one of the top 100 Filipina American women in the United States and in the world. Sonya has spoken for our staff at MAFC on the topic of inclusion and diversity, and I'm honored to have her on the podcast because at the core of her message really helps us reflect on ourselves, our experiences and our thoughts, and how to use them to be more inclusive of diverse perspectives that will help us continue to grow ourselves in every aspect of our life.

Thank you for being here today, Sonia.

Sonia Aranza:

I'm honored to be with you there Meaghan, and your listeners.

Meaghan Malinowski:

So I want to just jump right in and get started. Something that you speak a lot about is the unconscious bias.

AND I WANT TO KIND OF UNPACK THAT PHRASE THERE AND ASK YOU TO EXPLAIN WHAT IS UNCONSCIOUS BIAS AND WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE?

Sonia Aranza:

There is a neurology to bias. Our brain has two parts. The first part is called the amygdala and the amygdala is where the unconscious resigns as opposed to the prefrontal cortex where the conscious resides and the body of research tells us that the majority of our biases are unconscious. The majority of our biases are unbeknownst to even to ourselves. So we walk around making decisions littered with unconscious bias.

So what is unconscious bias? It's part of being human. If you are human, and if you have a brain, you have this piece in your brain called the amygdala and the majority of biases reside there. So, it's portable. It is part of the human condition and without deeper awareness as to what your unconscious biases might be. And just the lack of knowledge about this human condition, could many times impact your decisions to produce outcomes that you don't prefer.

Meaghan Malinowski:

That's a lot, that's a lot to unpack. So since it is something that is coming from the unconscious, what might that look like in our day to day activities?

CAN YOU GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF A DECISION THAT YOU MAKE THAT MIGHT COME FROM THIS UNCONSCIOUS BIAS?

Sonia Aranza:

Absolutely. So we have a lifetime collection of biases that are unbeknownst even to ourselves that begins from the earliest days of our youth, actually from the time of birth to the time of childhood, all the way up to adulthood. So an example of that would be, your family of origin in your home, who stayed home and cleaned and cook, who went to work. Those early messages are inculcated in your head. And then as you move forward in life schools, the neighborhood, even places of worship, continue to perpetuate those biases. So for example, maybe you're told, that the woman is supposed to be the caretaker, the man is supposed to be the one that goes to work and then, it just goes on and on. And there's actually a body of research that tells us that these things that are inculcated in our head are never erased.

So now how does that show up in our decision making or in our work? Well unconsciously, because we are unaware of these biases. We might say, for example, in our workplace saying, you're trying to manage a farm and the next generation farmer, that really shows interest and enthusiasm might be for example, a millennial female who cares about environment and has, innovative ideas about how to farm, but somewhere in your head, somewhere in there in your unconscious, it could be that in terms of gender, you associate the male as the one who supposed to work, you associate the male as the one who's supposed to take charge of this type of enterprise. So you make a decision often littered with these biases.

Meaghan Malinowski:

I see, so that kind of shines through in the way that you may handle a certain situation or, or move forward with planning. Is that right?

Sonia Aranza:

Let’s just say, a very important point here is all of our decision making is littered with bias. And I want to emphasize that all of it, all of our decision making is littered with biases. The difference is that some have consequences that we prefer and others have consequences that we don't prefer. And sometimes, literally it leads us to consequences that we regret.

Meaghan Malinowski:

I can see that similar to the decisions that you would make in your everyday, kind of work routine. Some are smaller decisions, some are bigger decisions, but each one has a consequence. So that's something that we all have to consider as we go forward with them. And I enjoy your example about transition planning and thinking about that next generation, because according to the 2017 census, the average age of our farmer here in the US is 57 and a half years old. And so many of our customers and their peers are starting to feel the pressure of wanting to retire and hoping that the farm is going to stay within the family and trying to organize all of those pieces. But one of those parts of working with the next generation and navigating some of those generational differences, I think they can be pretty difficult. And that was something I wanted to ask you about also, as far as trying to mitigate these biases with generations that are working together.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BEST WAY TO NAVIGATE THOSE GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES?

Sonia Aranza:

First of all, before you even try to address that you have to really advance your knowledge about what does diversity, what does inclusion and what does unconscious bias have anything to do with your success? When we talk about diversity, for example, a lot of folks that say, whether you're in farming or, some type of business that is passed down from one family to the other, sometimes we don't really understand the depth and breadth of what diversity is and what does it have to with our success. So diversity is far beyond what people think. Most people think of race or gender, or even generations as we're talking about. It's really a whole lot more than that. Those things are important. What we really want is we want a diversity of thoughts, ideas approach is, and we want increased solutions.  We want greater engagement. We want to avail of all of these different ways of evolving our farm, evolving our business.

 So how do you do that? Well, think of diversity as like a treasure trove that's locked and what unlocks that treasure trove is inclusion. So diversity is just all the ways we're different. It's all the little treasures in the trove; inclusion is the key. It unlocks all of that. Now what gets in the way of inclusion, what gets in the way of inclusion, is unconscious bias. So to your question, you really have to understand it in that school or context first, right? So, say you're a farmer in Maryland, right? And times are changing and so must we, right. If everyone in your organization or in your family thinks the same way, talks the same way, acts the same way, it is not an asset, it's a crippling liability. So how do you prepare for your farm for you and your enterprise to thrive? Well, you need like a diversity of different ways of doing things. Well, how do you really get the best out of these diverse spots and ideas? Well, you have to be inclusive of them, for example, inclusive of different generational thoughts, but also inclusive of different backgrounds and all these things, then knowing all of that, and you understand that what gets in the way is unconscious bias. Then you can confront your bias and the different ways that you can do that.  

Meaghan Malinowski:

What I was listening to you say, it almost sounded like you want us to think about pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zone a little bit, and think about a different ways that we can be more inclusive of those diverse thoughts and diverse perspectives.

Does that sound right?

Sonia Aranza:

Actually, it's a little bit more introspective than that. It's really about self-inquiry. It's really about asking ourselves, given where I was born, given where I was raised different, what I know now, what don't, I know. I know what are some of the things that I need to advance my understanding about? So it's a very internal process. Yes. Quote unquote, you can push yourself, but you have to know why. Right, so for example, invite diversity of thought or, seeking people who make you see things differently.

Are you doing that? You're doing that because you want to advance your thinking. You want to be more inclusive. You want to address those things that you don't know.

Meaghan Malinowski:

So before we can adequately address those, we have to become curious about the things that we don't know and maybe how we can grow from having that knowledge.

Sonia Aranza:

I love that. Yes, yes. Yes. I always tell people, curiosity is a fantastic way to advance your understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion. Curiosity is a fantastic point of entry in expanding how you think. So I'll give you an example of that.

 Let's say you're a farmer and you are having a conversation with a generation Z, a generation Z, someone who's born a 1997, so they're like around 22 years old. Or if you're having conversation with millennials who are a little older. The human tendency, your brain is going to want to go on defense. Your brain is going to want to just not really listen, but to confirm what you already want and what you already know. So the way you do that is, first of all, you pause and then you basically tell yourself, Hmm, let's just be curious about this person's perspective. I don't have to adopt it, but let me just be curious. And in that curiosity, you begin to expand your thinking.

Meaghan Malinowski:

It sounds like a big part of, of going through this process with yourself is really also about becoming a good listener.

Sonia Aranza:

Yes, absolutely. Being a good listener and be a generous listener.

Meaghan Malinowski:

I like that word. I like generous.

Sonia Aranza:

Yes. Because, we're all told to listen, but we don't listen generously. So what does listening generously mean? Say for example, you're at a fundraiser or something and somebody is selling candy. So you dig into your pocket and you take out a buck or whatever it costs. Generously would be opening your wallet and taking out a 20. Okay. It's above and beyond. What's familiar and comfortable to you. So this same thing would listening generously. Right? So I don't know much about, say for example, certain types of technology that has to do with the next generation of farmers. I go know much about people of different backgrounds who love farming, but they speak English as a second language. So listening generously is just really listening above and beyond what I normally do above and beyond what’s comfortable to me.

Meaghan Malinowski:

Now that we've kind of explored what it means to really be curious about what we don't know and what kinds of perspectives could really give us a different viewpoint on any of these topics that we're looking at as far as transition planning. I'd also like to think about and talk to you a little bit more about working with employees that may speak a different language. So language is kind of a big barrier for some of our customers. Many of them use the H-2A Visa program and we have guest’s workers that come from other countries to help with harvest and things like that. And I think it's something that as you go through it over time,  you pick up on some of the language a little bit, but I know that that can be a huge barrier to communicating with the people that you want to hire to help work on your farm.

 So what, what kinds of things would you suggest for some of our customers that have to deal with that kind of barrier? How can they better understand these employees and communicate with them?

Sonia Aranza:

So first and foremost, check in with your own unconscious biases regarding people who don't speak English. So when we talk about language, when we talk about accent, these are some of the dimensions of difference. Meaning, I talk about how diversity, all these things that make us unique and complex. Well, the language is one of them. And so the reason why I say check in first with your unconscious biases is because the research tells us, we do have biases again, languages. So for example, there's a body of research that tells us that there are certain accents and we prefer, so they had this research where people who spoke with a British accent were perceived to be brighter. And in that particular instance, the person who spoke with a British accent did not know the answer, but just sounded like he did.

And then there are all these other types of accents and languages. And if you can just think about for yourself, what are some of the accents that you like? Don't like, what are some of the narratives you create about people who don't speak English the way you do, because it's really where you start, okay. Because if you don't get to the root first and foremost of your biases, it's really going to impact how you communicate. It will impact the attitude that you bring, it will impact the way you interact with the person. So just check in with yourself first. Second, I think empathy is really critical. So for example, have you ever had to adopt a second language as though your life depended on it? Just try to imagine that put yourself in the other person's shoes, imagine if you were taken away from where you are and you had to go make a living and fend for your family and you were living in a modern world that did not speak English, you had to like adopt this new language, whatever the new language might be.

Just try to put yourself in that situation and just imagine how you would want others to treat you, right. If you were there eager, willing to do a job, and you're trying to communicate as best as you can in a language that you don't know. So that's important, right? And then third, let me just put it this way. There's more than one way of communication. If you just think of times when you've had to travel to another part of the world where you did not know how to speak that language. And let's say, for example, got a little lost and you're trying to find your way back to your hotel. Or even if let's say, for example, you're doing your tourist activity and all of a sudden you're not with your group. So you have to find a way at that point to engage, even though you don't know the language so that you can get back to your hotel or get back to your group. Well, I share that because there's more than one way of communicating. And so a person that you're trying to interact with, they don't necessarily speak your language. But if you have taken care of points one and two, which is number one, take care of check in with your bias, number two, heighten your empathy. By the time we get to communicate, it does become easier and they can see your integrity, your heart. And just like in the example, I'm giving you, they'll be able to communicate with you above and beyond language, above and beyond words.

 Now, I've also worked with companies where things that are used a lot in their line of work, like let's say, for example, in your farm, if there are certain tools or certain jobs, certain things that you think you'll be using on a regular basis, you could even kind of put that on a chart. You can even try to get sort of like a working knowledge of words so that it works both ways.

Meaghan Malinowski:

And I think that shows empathy too, when you make the effort to learn some of that language as well, some of that working vocabulary, it's like extending your hand for a handshake. You're trying to put in some of that work to really be able to bridge that gap. And I do think a lot of our members do that. A lot of our farmers are already thinking about that and trying to get to that point. But I do think you're absolutely right about being empathetic. I don't think I ever thought about it that way before, but thinking about what that must feel like to come from your home, where you are comfortable and having to start working somewhere new to support your family, it could be kind of scary for somebody. So I love these steps because they're all things that we can do very easily. And it might take some time, but I don't think it takes much more than that. And just being open to really connecting with somebody and making that effort. So thank you for, for those steps. That's very helpful.

So one other point that I wanted to kind of touch on too, because many of our customers and farmers, they may work alone. They may work with that select group of people, like we talked about. And many times it's family members or, a partner. But it can be hard to visualize the difference that diversity and inclusion can take when you're working kind of as an individual. And I guess I wanted to kind of pick your brain on what the importance is of making sure that you look for diversity in the perspectives and maybe some of the people that we contact for other services.

Sometimes our farmers they'll sign up for crop insurance. So they have a crop insurance agent, or maybe they have an accountant that they've worked with for a long time. And there's nothing wrong with that, but we want to make sure that we're thinking about what diversity and inclusion looks like for people that kind of have that small group network that they've always had.

Sonia Aranza:

So as an individual, just think of the power of diversity and inclusion. So as an individual, diversity of thought, diversity of perspective, diversity of solutions, diversity of technology. Diversity is very powerful. Even if you're by yourself, diversity means going above and beyond what you already think. So at some point we feel like we have progress, like whatever we learned in elementary school, we added on top of that high school. And then as we live our life, we acquire information here and there, just think of it as your own evolution, as a human being, like you're working solo as a farmer. Wouldn't you want to explore above and beyond what you already know.

Einstein, I think who says that, uh, if you keep on doing what you're doing and expecting different results, that's insanity. So just on a very personal level, you want to be able to value diversity, right? Read books that you normally don't read; talk people, you normally don't talk to; watch documentaries you normally don't watch; expand your thinking as a farmer; and explore the unimaginable, because things are always changing.

There's a term I want to talk about very briefly. It's actually a military term and it's called VUCA-

VUCA, this term stands for: V is for volatility; U is for is uncertainty; C is for complexity; A is for ambiguity. So military term VUCA, it describes the landscape upon which military men and women have to go and engage. So what's fascinating about that term is that business analysts and all sorts of academicians are now using that term to describe the current environment that we all have to show up it, including farmers, right? Things are volatile. Things are uncertain, things are complex. Things are ambiguous. Wouldn’t diversity of thoughts and ideas, approaches innovation. Wouldn't that be of use to you in this type of environment? Yes!

Meaghan Malinowski:

That's a new term for me. I had never, I'd never heard of that one, but I've been trying to think of ways that our members and farmers can apply this. And I, I'm glad that you touched on reading new things and looking for information and new places, maybe and organizations.  I think also because in agriculture, there are huge amount of different organizations that might work with certain commodities, or maybe marketing organizations that help put together campaigns that to help some of these producers advertise for their products and things like that. So I think there are plenty of opportunities with wanting to do this, even if you are just working by yourself or with these smaller groups. And as you talk about VUCA and what some of those pieces kind of add into, I almost feel like this, making sure that we're taking care of our unconscious bias and recognizing it, really helps us grow ourselves, which I think in turn will end up growing these farms and growing these operations to a point where they're very resilient for the long run.

Sonia Aranza:

I always tell people this don't make it more complicated than it is. It's really pretty simple diversity - all the ways in which we're different, all the ways where, in which we're similar. Diversity - the unique characteristics and complexities of ourselves, right? We need that in terms of greater innovation, increased solution, greater financial success. Really. We need that, but to avail that we need to be inclusive, right? So we can just have diversity. You have to be inclusive of diversity. And then what gets in the way unconscious bias, this human condition we have, because we have this brain. So you have to confront the bias because it's very portable. Wherever you go, you take your brain with you. So it's always there. So how do you go above and beyond what you're used to, you advance your thinking, you seek those who make you see things differently. And even like for ourselves, because we're creatures of habit, we usually just keep doing the same thing or going to the same people or reading the same things, um, do something different.

Meaghan Malinowski:

Right? So then change your routine a little.

Sonia Aranza:

That's exactly right. Change your routine or read books you normally don't read. And if you don't like reading books, then watch documentaries, you normally don't watch. Or if you like, you're the type of person who likes to talk to people. Well, next time you go to a coffee shop, even virtually, or just down the street, strike a conversation with someone that you normally don't. The whole idea is to just keep advancing your knowledge in ways that disrupt your usual habits of thinking.

Meaghan Malinowski:

I think this point that you're making now is the reason why I was bringing up pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. I think for me personally, I can get very comfortable, kind of keeping to myself most days. So I think that's why I was thinking of this in terms of a comfort zone or a comfort level, because I enjoy talking to other people, but I also get very, very comfortable in my routine and doing the same things each and every day. So I think that's a great suggestion of changing up the routine a little bit, even if it feels different and maybe a little uncomfortable because we are creatures of habit, like you said.

Sonia Aranza:

Yeah. And just connect it to the WHY. Why do you want to do this? You want to do this because you want to evolve. You want to advance your thinking. I want to get out of my comfort zone. Why, not just for the heck of getting out of my comfort zone. I want to do it because as a person who's still alive, I have the opportunity to learn more.  

Meaghan Malinowski:

Exactly! So I had one other point that I wanted to touch on too. And I think we, we probably already covered it, but I want to make sure that we have all the steps. So, one of the things that you talk a lot about is how we can mitigate that unconscious bias and making sure that we're taking the time to really examine it and come away from that.

SO IF YOU HAD TO PUT SOME STEPS AROUND IT, WHAT STEPS CAN WE TAKE TO MITIGATE THAT UNCONSCIOUS BIAS IN OUR DAY TO DAY?

Sonia Aranza:

Pause is probably one of the most important, seemingly simple, but hard to do - so pause. So what we know about the brain about the amygdala, which is where the unconscious bias resides, what we know is that it takes only three seconds for that part of the brain to calm down. If it doesn't come down, it's going to just act on the bias. It's just going to go ahead and run with it. So probably one of the easiest things you can do, but as I said, hard to do, cause you have to practice it, is to pause. So 3 second.  I grew up in Hawaii, so I always counted to 3 Honolulu - 1 Honolulu; 2 Honolulu; 3 Honolulu, others they like “Mississippi.” But the point is that before you make a decision or before you say anything, because that bias is so alive, take a pause, take a pause.  And what happens when you pause is that even though the bias doesn't go away, you don't have to act on it. So the pause is so very powerful.

 And then another one that I would suggest is, self-observation. So often we just walk around where we don't even observe ourselves because we're so focused on other people and focus on our rebuttal. And so when you observe yourself, one of the things that you'll notice, if you do it over and over again, just kind of like, Hmm, what am I thinking? You'll notice that you easily create narratives about people and about situations. So for example, say I'm working on my phone with somebody who speak English as a second language. So if I don't pause number one, I'm going to act on my bias. But then if I don't observe myself, I don't notice the narrative that I'm creating about this person. And it gets in the way of me communicating with the person.

Then I would always advise to seek those who make you see things differently because the more you see things differently, the easier it will be for you to do what I told you the first time, which is to pause. Maybe I don't know everything or maybe I am pretty curious, how this person would do it.  So those are some of the steps.

I grew up and raised by two school teachers, God blessed them, they pass away, but my parents were lifelong learners and I believe in lifelong learning. So get to know things. You normally don't know, people, places, things books, documentaries events, just go beyond what you're familiar and comfortable with.

Meaghan Malinowski:

Absolutely. Always be continuing to learn. Love that.

We usually have a sign off question that we ask for people that work pretty deeply in agriculture, but I'm going to change it up a little bit for yours, because I think it's very important to understand where you're coming from on the diversity and inclusion aspect. And you're very clearly an advocate for everyone in the room having an equal voice and taking time to understand themselves before they approach a situation. So I won't ask my usual advocacy question,

BUT WHEN YOU TRAVEL TO COMPANIES AND TEACH THEM ABOUT THIS SUBJECT, WHAT IS THE ONE THING THAT YOU HOPE YOUR AUDIENCE WALKS AWAY WITH?

Sonia Aranza:

I always say when it comes to diversity inclusion, the ability to engage effectively in a diverse environment is about your leadership. So diversity and inclusion is all about your ability. It's all about your leadership, your ability to engage effectively in a diverse environment. So it always goes back to you. How effective do you want to be? How effective do you want to be in a VUCA world? That's it that's always volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. If your leader interested in being effective, then you will value diversity and inclusion because that's part of leadership. And that's part of being able to not just survive, but thrive in a VUCA environment.

Meaghan Malinowski:

I love that. I think that’s a great spot for us to end with.  I'm feeling inspired. I think I need to go and do a little bit more seeking out diverse perspectives and making sure that I am pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and getting out of my routine and to learn something new. I think that's what I am gathering from all of this. And I appreciate you unpacking this for us because I think it’s a big topic and it's not one that we could really give the most to in 45 minutes. But I think it's a great start. And I think you did an excellent job explaining this to people who are starting to explore this idea. So thank you so much. We appreciate your time.

Sonia Aranza:

I would like to offer people some free articles that they would like to read to advance their knowledge.

Meaghan Malinowski:

Absolutely. That’s one of our questions as well is where can our audience find you? And what kinds of services are you offering out to help tackle this question?

Sonia Aranza:

I would love to share some free articles that are quick reads that will help you deepen your understanding of this. And when I say quick reads, I think each one is probably like a three minute, no more than five minute read. If you go on LinkedIn, and if you put in Sonia Aranza, and if you LinkedIn with me, you can read these articles for free. I have three articles there that I think you will not only learn a lot about, but I think you'll enjoy. One is on the whole idea of non-experiences. Our one life cannot possibly contain the lives of others. Another one is on exclusion, exclusion, literally about neuroscience research about the brain. And then another one is actually a feature on HR magazine about the role of leadership in diversity. Those are free articles and free resources for you. You can also go on my website, SoniaAranza.com.

Meaghan Malinowski:

Awesome. Thank you so much for sharing these. I'm excited to go. I'm going to go on there and read them now. They weren't topics that we covered today. So I need to catch up on those

Sonia Aranza:

Meaghan, thank you so much for a wonderful interview.  

Meaghan Malinowski:

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode. Don't forget to rate, review and subscribe and share with a friend. You can get all of the podcast notes and subscribe to email alerts at MAFC.com/podcast.  Thanks again, and keep on advocating for what you believe in.

Farm Credit announced the distribution of $17 million in cash to its members this month. This is in addition to the more than $10 million that the Association distributed in February.

“During these uncertain times in our industry, I am even more proud of our cooperative structure that allows us to share our profits with our borrowers,” says Tom Truitt, CEO of Horizon Farm Credit. “This spring patronage distribution, in addition to the record-breaking $40 million distributed in 2019, is a testament to the financial strength of our Association, which is crucial to our membership as we help them navigate the various challenges they are facing as a result of this pandemic.”

Horizon Farm Credit, part of the national Farm Credit System, serves customers in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. As a cooperative, associations within the System can share a portion of their annual profits with their borrower-members.

Each association calculates its total income and expenses at the close of each year. The net income remaining, once all expenses are deducted, can then be distributed in accordance with the association’s bylaws.

Hey students! The Farm Credit Foundation for Agricultural Advancement is giving away ten $10,000 scholarships again this year. Planning to pursue a career in ag? You’re eligible! The application will go live on September 29th, so to help you prepare your video, we’ve put together the following tips. Good luck!

1. Thoroughly read specifics.We cannot stress enough the importance of taking the time to thoroughly read the application requirements when applying for any scholarship. You should be aware that the guidelines for a video contest are usually very specific (for example – video file, file size restrictions, etc.). The video you create for our scholarship cannot exceed three minutes and can be put on Vimeo, Youtube, etc. If you get familiar with the specifics at the beginning, organizing your video and entire scholarship application, will be easier.
2. Brainstorm – Take your time, be creative. Begin thinking of a powerful theme that will strongly connect with the viewers. You do not want your viewer checking out halfway through the video. Have a clean, crisp and eye-catching opening. If you can captivate your audience within the first few seconds, you’re well on your way to a winning entry.
3. Location is Key. Where you decide to film your video is important. You shouldn’t film somewhere where there is a lot of extra “fluff” in the background (cars, animals, vibrant colored buildings, etc.) Choose a plain background, or a wide open space outside. Keep it interesting, but not distracting. You don’t want to steer the audience away from the real focus: yourself! Make sure the lighting is great – not too dark and not too light. If you have access to a good camera and lighting equipment, take advantage of that to ensure you will get the best quality.
4. Finalize your script – Practice, practice, practice. Do not start recording yourself until you are confident that this is exactly how you want to go about doing your video submission. If you find something flawed, fix it! Ask friends, family and teachers for suggestions or edits on your script. After your script is finalized, run through it a few times to get comfortable saying it, so when you go to do the real recording, you look confident. Record yourself a few times so you can compare and get the best video possible. Do not wait until the last minute to organize and finalize your script. Manage your time wisely.
5. Submit and good luck! Once you have selected the video that is scholarship-worthy, go back, double check, triple check, and make sure you have followed all of the rules and included everything that was required. Do not submit your work until you are 100% confident with the quality.

The Farm Credit Foundation for Agricultural Advancement is here to support all who work in agriculture. Follow along with us on Facebook to learn more about the #OtherSideofAg!

Horizon Farm Credit recently announced the promotion of Matt Ritenour to regional lending manager. He is based in the association’s Winchester, Virginia office.

“Throughout my career with Farm Credit, I’ve been able to work with our customers in a variety of ways, and I’m looking forward to continuing to do so in this new position,” says Ritenour. “I strive for our employees to keep adding value to relationships with our members and the diverse rural community we serve. I look forward to the encouraging times ahead in agriculture, and the opportunities to build partnerships within our footprint.”

Prior to becoming the regional lending manager, Ritenour was a crop insurance sales representative with Farm Credit for four years, and previously worked in the association’s marketing and credit departments. In his new role, he will be overseeing the sales staff in the association’s Virginia and West Virginia offices, working with them to ensure all sales and training goals are accomplished, and each customer’s financial needs are met.

“Matt’s years of experience with Farm Credit and knowledge of Virginia and West Virginia agriculture have prepared him for the position of regional lending manager,” says Jim Aird, Farm Credit’s PennMarVa Division Vice President. “We’re happy to have him in this new role, and look forward to having him help our customers find the right financial solutions for themselves, their business, and their families.”

Ritenour, a resident of Frederick County, Virginia, began his career with Farm Credit in 2003. He graduated from Morehead State University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing.

Mark Schnebly, Senior Vice President and Loan Operations Manager for Horizon Farm Credit, was honored for his completion of the Leadership Maryland program during their graduation ceremony on December 4, hosted at the Lord Baltimore Hotel. Schnebly was one of 50 selected to complete the eight-month professional development program, dedicated to building a better Maryland.

“Leadership Maryland allowed myself and the class of 2018 to harness the strength of our diverse skill sets and work together to build our local businesses and communities,” says Schnebly. “We learned about our state, the critical issues it faces, and above all, about ourselves during the eight-month program.”

The Leadership Maryland program is open to senior-level executives with significant achievements in either their careers and/or their communities. Ideal Leadership Maryland members have a desire to learn more about Maryland’s most critical issues and a personal commitment to be a force for positive change in their organizations, their communities, and their state.

“We are very proud to have another Farm Credit employee complete the prestigious Leadership Maryland program,” says Tom Truitt, CEO of Horizon Farm Credit and a graduate of the 2012 Leadership Maryland class. “It is a unique opportunity to dive deeper into the issues the state is facing, and we are excited Mark was able to take part in the program this year.”

Horizon Farm Credit announced the hiring of Hannah Masser as a loan officer trainee. She will be based out of the association’s Lancaster, Pennsylvania office.

As a loan officer trainee, Masser will report directly to Bill Kitsch, sales manager for Horizon Farm Credit, and will focus on working with existing customers while expanding the company’s footprint in the Lancaster region. “Hannah will bring a lot to this position and we are excited to have her join the team,” says Kitsch.

“I feel Farm Credit will be a natural fit for me because it combines my passion for agriculture and my interest in business,” says Masser. “I’m looking forward to working with the customers and applying the skills I have learned through school and other experiences to my career.”

Masser recently graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a degree in agricultural business management. During college, she served as a chair for the collegiate Future Farmers of America (FFA) organization and worked with Big Brother, Big Sisters. When she can, Masser works on her family’s produce farm in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.

*THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 2018 AND HAS BEEN UPDATED FOR 2020 TO REFLECT THE CHANGE FROM DAIRY LIVESTOCK GROSS MARGIN TO DAIRY REVENUE PROTECTION.*

No two farm operations are the same. That’s why we customize your loan to suit your needs. We also understand that each operation also comes with its own risks and rewards, and we respect that, which is why we offer crop insurance. Managing your risk today means taking control of your future, because when it comes to crop damage, no one likes surprises.

Before we can discuss the different kinds of crop insurance policies, let’s start with the basics, and answer some frequently asked questions about crop insurance coverage.

WHAT IS CROP INSURANCE AND WHAT DOES CROP INSURANCE COVER?

Crop insurance is a risk management tool that is federally supported and regulated. It is serviced by private-sector crop insurance companies and crop insurance agents.

Crop insurance protects against the loss of crops due to natural disasters, like drought, freezes, floods, fire, insects, disease and wildlife, or the loss of revenue due to a decline in price.

In other words, crop insurance minimizes risk from elements outside of your control.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR CROP INSURANCE?

If you produce an agricultural commodity such as corn or soybeans, you are eligible to purchase crop insurance.  Some insurable crops may not have a specific policy available in your area, but it may be possible that coverage can be obtained through a Written Agreement or under another type of policy, such as the Whole Farm Revenue Policy (WFRP).  If you are unsure whether a crop is insurable in your area, contact a crop insurance agent.  The Farm Service Agency also offers some limited coverage for non-insurable crops through the NAP program.

WHAT TYPES OF CROP INSURANCE ARE AVAILABLE?

YIELD PROTECTION (YP)

Yield protection crop insurance provides comprehensive protection against weather-related causes of loss and certain other unavoidable perils. YP provides late planting, prevented planting and replant protection.  Basic CAT (Catastrophic) policies do not provide coverage for replant.

REVENUE PROTECTION (RP)

Revenue protection crop insurance provides comprehensive protection that covers weather-related losses, other certain unavoidable causes of loss and price fluctuations. RP is similar to YP, except it provides the addition of price protection.

ADDITIONAL CROP INSURANCE COVERAGES AVAILABLE

• Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP)
• Livestock Risk Protection (LRP)
• Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP)
• Pasture, Rangeland & Forage (PRF)
• Hail/Fire Policies
• Coverage for field crops such as corn, soybeans and milo, organic crops, orchards, nurseries, processing and/or fresh market vegetables, tobacco, grapes, wheat/barley, etc.

IMPORTANT CROP INSURANCE TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

Sales Closing Date – This is a specified date on file in your agent’s office. Sales closing dates are intended to be early enough that neither party to the insurance contract has knowledge of the crop’s production prospects for that year.

For policies continuing from last year, the sales closing date is the last opportunity to make changes (like coverage level or price election) to your contract for the upcoming year.

Production Reporting – To keep your actual production history (APH) up to date, you must certify each year your total production harvested. Production reports are due 45 days after the sales closing date for the crops insured on your policy.

Final Planting Date – This is the latest date a crop can be planted in the area and qualify for the full insurance guarantee. Acreage planted after this date may still be insurable, but at a guarantee that has been reduced to reflect the shorter expected growing season.

Acreage Reporting – After the crop is planted, insured producers must file an acreage report to certify the number of acres planted, the farming practice (example: irrigated, non-irrigated, etc.) and any other information required to insure that crop in that area.

Cancellation – Crop insurance policies are continuous policies, meaning they’ll continue from year to year unless you cancel them before the sales closing dates for the crops you have insured.

Claims – A claim should be filed on your policy as soon as you feel there may be a loss to your crop. Do not destroy any acreage until you’ve spoken with your crop insurance agent.

Subsidies –

CAT = Catastrophic insurance

Premiums – They are the same for all insurance providers and are usually due around the time that the crop is harvested.

WHO PAYS FOR CROP INSURANCE?

Congress created and provides funding for the modern-day crop insurance system as a way to help farmers manage the risks of natural disasters and market fluctuations.  The Federal Crop Insurance Corp. and Risk Management Agency set program standards, approve new products, set premium rates, and discount farmer premiums.  Even though the premiums for crop insurance are subsidized, the farmer still pays a large portion of the premium out of his own pocket, along with shouldering an average deductible of about 25-30% of his crop.

WHY DO I NEED CROP INSURANCE?

Using crop insurance as a risk management tool puts a safety net under your cash income. In times of low production or damaging weather, crop insurance enables you and your operation to meet your financial obligations – both business and personal, and helps to ensure the survival of your farm business.

HOW DO I SIGN UP FOR CROP INSURANCE?

In addition to being full-time crop insurance agents, our staff members are trained to act as advisors on your team. Give us a call and ask to speak to a crop insurance agent today – they’ll review the ins and outs of your operation, educate you on the products that are available in your area, and help you choose the level of coverage that fits your needs. Once you sign up, they’ll even keep you on track with sales closing dates, reporting needs and other deadlines.

You can find other resources on crop insurance through the USDA Risk Management Agency, including policies, registered agents, and more!

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

On this episode of the Farm Credit AgVocates Podcast, we interview Darlene Livingston, Executive Director for Pennsylvania Farm Link about farm succession planning. Darlene will share with us her own farm transition story and her experience as a Certified Succession Coordinator with the International Farm Transition Network.

In this episode you’ll learn why farm transition planning is important, lessons learned from farm transition mistakes and useful tools to start your farm transition.

Johanna Rohrer:

Welcome to the Farm Credit AgVocates podcast. I'm your host Johanna Rohrer, Marketing Specialist at Horizon Farm Credit. Today’s guest Is Darlene Livingston, Executive Director with Pennsylvania Farm Link. She is responsible for the daily management of the nonprofit organization, where they have reached over a thousand participants with hands-on farm succession workshops. She serves as an expert in farm transition planning resources and is a Certified Succession Coordinator with the International Farm Transition Network. Darlene isn't a stranger to Pennsylvania agriculture. She also is a fourth generation family farm partner at Mahoning Creek Farm, where they operate a diversified livestock and crop farm in Indiana County. One of their goals is to include the fifth generation in the future of their family farm. I'm pleased to welcome Darlene to the podcast.

Hi Darlene.

Darlene Livingston:

Hi, Johanna. Glad to be here.

Johanna Rohrer:

Thanks for joining us.

I WANT TO JUST START OUT JUST WITH AN INTRODUCTORY QUESTION TO ASK YOU ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL AND YOUR PROFESSIONAL CONNECTION TO AGRICULTURE.

Darlene Livingston:

Sure. As you said, I was born and raised on a livestock and crops farm. I worked beside my parents and grandparents on that farm. I graduated from Penn State with a degree in Horticulture that I'm still waiting to use more of it. My husband Bob, our children and I spent 20 years on South Branch Angus Farms in York County, where my husband managed the farm. We were active in forage programs and owned our own farmette in York County. Then, in 2013, we transitioned back to my family's farm in Indiana County when my dad was 80. So I like to say we did it wrong, but we did it.

The farm should have been transitioned earlier, but we did talk with our children. They were interested in being the next generation on the farm. And therefore, I felt we became the bridge between my father's generation and our next generation, and came back to the farm.

I currently serve as the President of the Indiana County Farmer's Market. And I'm also involved in the Indiana County Sustainability Task Force, which is important to me to be involved in local activities. I began working for Farm Link in 2009 and quickly became involved in succession and transition planning work, as I realized how important that was to all farms, not only those in Pennsylvania. That's where our next generation gets an opportunity to farm, is when the farm lands are transitioned and provide that opportunity, whether they're family members or outside the family, that's where our opportunities come from.

And I've been active in the International Farm Transition at work. We had held two farm succession coordinator trainings in Pennsylvania, which I coordinated.  I currently serve on the board of directors and through this process, I've been able to work side by side with Ag professionals from across the United States and learn from them about farm transition techniques. So I have a great opportunity to work with Ag.

Johanna Rohrer:

I think what's so unique about your experiences that you're not only helping other farm families to go through farm transitions, you're also definitely an expert in helping to facilitate with some resources through that process. Also, you’re living that transition as well in your own life with your family, I think kind of takes the experience to the next level. It makes it more real and more authentic. I know I've had the privilege of meeting your children through 4-H and various events and experiences in the agricultural industry over the years. It’s definitely neat to see how your family operation has evolved, because it's definitely been a journey like you were sharing with us earlier.

FOR THOSE LISTENING, WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH PENNSYLVANIA FARM LINK, COULD YOU HELP DEFINE THE ROLE THE ORGANIZATION PLAYS IN SUPPORTING THE TRANSITION OF FARM OPERATIONS FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT?

Darlene Livingston:

Sure, I always feel that we have three facets that we work within and the first one is farm transition education and facilitation. We carry out educational programs, utilizing high quality Ag professionals sharing their expertise, and we also facilitate individual farm family meetings. If families need that, we direct them to the correct professionals to assist them. One of our other areas is the database we have of entering farmers seeking land and also land owners seeking to lease or sell their farm land, and those opportunities are there and we work to connect the people. And I will say for beginning farmers, one of the biggest challenges in the database is if they're willing to move or relocate, because many times there may be an opportunity, but it might not be right where they're currently at. So that makes a difference, it just depends where the people are at. And then also consulting. We often find ourselves talking to someone about next steps, if they are a beginning farmer or those looking to get into farming, we often get calls from people like that and also some senior generation farmers. And what we try to do is discern where they're at and then give them the appropriate next steps and direct them to organizations or resources that can help them in their journey.

Johanna Rohrer:

It's neat that you're talking about helping to make connections. It could be connections with particular resources for your farm transition and succession planning, or it could be bridging the gap with “hey, this is a really great industry expert that could help you from a technical standpoint to make that transition.”  Also, just from the facilitation standpoint, when I think about my experience with farm families, a lot of times the emotion is a big component for a farm family and sometimes the emotion, and the transfer of business plans or business decisions, can be sometimes really difficult to go through. So I can see why it's so important to have that kind of third-party perspective of bringing not only a connection of resources, but also that expertise to kind of just help that process move along.

HOW MANY FARM TRANSITION OPPORTUNITIES DO YOU THINK PENNSYLVANIA FARM LINK HAS HELPED TRANSFER IN THE LIFETIME OF THE PROGRAM?

Darlene Livingston:

Ones that I can count, I would say there are about 20. Now those that would have developed a succession plan, the others, I would say we have had about 1,200 people now through our succession workshops. And I'm sure just from speaking to them outside of meetings that many of those have moved forward on their own and with other Ag professionals, and that's great. Our goal is just to see the plans take place, whether we're helping them or whether we are the conductor that started the process and they then move forward on their own.

Johanna Rohrer:

I think that's a good point to bring up because everybody navigates from succession planning a little bit differently, and every operation has its unique opportunity to transition from one generation to the next. Every family is different. So there's different dynamics that play into those spaces and there's a variety of resources, like you said, that folks can look for and it is very helpful to help make some of those connections from a resource standpoint.

Over your time working in the program, what has been the biggest lesson you've taken away from your experience assisting as a farm transition facilitator? I'm just thinking, what do you wish farmers would be considering during that beginning stage process of farm transitioning?

Darlene Livingston:

The one thing that I would like everyone to keep in mind, and I think it's important to keep in mind is you cannot start too early, but you can start too late. The next generation cannot wait until you are ready normally to transition. Most farmers when they're ready to transition to the current generation on the farm is when they can't move anymore. It really happened to us when they can no longer do it on their own, then they're ready to start talking transition, but that's not good for the next generation. That's not an appropriate timing. The next generation needs to be working on this ahead of that. This all needs to be started, the earlier the better. In many times I will even advise young families, if your family will not talk about this, if you don't see room for yourself there, you need to look at other opportunities outside of your family farm, because it's not fair to ask a young family or young individuals to wait till I'm ready, when I'm 70 or 80 to turn over the farm. That's not fair because then they've lived half their life just waiting on an opportunity and we can't ask them to do that. And I have seen that mistake made and have people ask me when it's time to start. My heart would break because the answer is, well, you lost your opportunity. Your family member has moved across the country or whatever. They're not going to come back now. They were here to do that and they didn't see the opportunity. It’s a tough thing for the operating generation to do, but it's very important to start early.

Johanna Rohrer:

It is, and I think sometimes the older generation might not always see the perspective of the younger generation and vice versa. So it’s one of those conversations that I think evolves with time, but I tend to agree with you. It's a tough conversation sometimes to have, but when young people in agriculture see opportunity, it's important that they're able to capitalize on that experience and move forward with some of their goals.

SO AS FARM FAMILIES ARE GOING THROUGH TRANSITION, ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC TOOLS THAT YOU WOULD ENCOURAGE THEM TO CONSIDER DURING THIS TIME OF TRANSITION?

Darlene Livingston:

Yes, as far as tools, we actually have a workbook called “Planning the Future of Your Farm.”  It's available on our website and we have hard copies. But what I found is that to be a good tool because farmers use it. There's worksheets in it for families to work through together and it often can help lead the conversation. And also “Farm Family Communications,” a workbook and online resource. There’s various quizzes in there that I've found very useful. We've used them in our own family and proved them to be a benefit. And also the other item I think is so important is to have qualified Ag professionals to assist them in whoever they are that “H” farm will have a different set of people. As you've mentioned, each farm transition is different and has its own unique entity, but make sure you have your qualified Ag professionals who understand agriculture.

Johanna Rohrer:

That I think is one of the key takeaways. As we are building networks around farm families and seeing those resource networks be created, it is really important to keep in the back of your mind when you are a farmer to reach out to people that have specific agricultural experience. That becomes very useful, whether it's from a legal standpoint or an accounting standpoint or a finance standpoint, there's all of these buckets of people that can help you bring resources or perspective that maybe you're not thinking about yourself. And then also to make sure you're reaching out to mentors or maybe other farm families that have gone through the transition to see and to hear their stories of what's worked for them.  I know that I've seen a lot of younger farm families reach out to neighboring farm families that are going through transition, and it's just a conversation of being able to learn from each other. And I think sometimes just that common takeaway is an important reminder for us not to overlook.

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS A COMMON MISTAKE OR SOMETHING THAT YOU SEE PEOPLE KIND OF DO WRONG THROUGH FARM TRANSITIONS?

I know we talked about starting a little bit too late in the process, but is there anything in particular that you feel like you've seen in your role of this as something that has really gone wrong in a process in the farm transition process?

Darlene Livingston:

Yes, there's a few things. One thing I will mention here is that the farm is not a pie. It's not something that can often be divided equally. Those are probably the most challenging calls I get and usually it happens in an estate plan. Those are the most challenging ones because it's very hard to keep that farm as an operating farm often when that happens. So don't be afraid to make the tough decisions, but make time to complete the necessary tasks. It's awfully easy on a farm to think about the everyday work that needs done on the farm, but not take time for transition planning. Communicating about the transition is always a challenge in farms. I don't think anyone can ever communicate too much, willingness to be honest and make the tough decisions. And those would be include the fair versus equal and things like that. So those would be some of the challenges that I see, some of the larger ones.

Johanna Rohrer:

Again, to kind of go back to what we talked about a little bit earlier. Farm transition planning is emotional because it involves family and business. And sometimes when you tie those two pieces together, you're exactly right, communication is just key to start the conversation and then making sure you're taking enough time to walk through that journey in that process.  I think also having the understanding that it's going to be a journey. It's not a fast process.

SO DARLENE, WHAT MISCONCEPTIONS DO YOU COMMONLY SEE WITH FARM TRANSITIONS?

Darlene Livingston:

I think one of the biggest misconceptions is when farmers presume they know what someone else thinks or anyone presume they know what the other thinks or once, and often this happens when it's presumed, they want a cash payout from the farm. They want an equal inheritance when that's not always what they want. They still have a passion for the farm, so they would like to see it continue and to be carried on by that sibling who is farming or wants to farm it. Lots of times they are easier to work with than one might think. They have a whole different goal than what we presume they have. I think it's important to ensure that everybody verbalizes what their desire is. It's important to have everyone's input and not presume that we know. So have them all involved, have them all around the table, have them on a zoom call, whatever it takes to have the conversation, I think is an easy way to help work through that.

Johanna Rohrer:

Taking your advice from common mistakes of not having the conversation, not asking the right questions, but then also, if you assume that you think someone wants X, Y, and Z to happen with the farm transition, it is important to bring that all together and remind yourself, this is an opportunity to have a conversation to talk about the future of the farm, what it means for the family, what it means for the business. Commonly, I find that farm families are incredibly connected to the land. There is an emotional connection to that space. There’s great memories, most likely of growing up on your family farm operation.  I think those are really great suggestions for our listeners to remember.

I want to kind of shift gears a little bit and talk about something that we commonly hear a lot about with the younger generation wanting to get into farming, and that's the topic of land accessibility. That's a big challenge for beginning farmers. I know we briefly talked about in the introduction the tools that Pennsylvania Farm Link offers to help identify land accessibility in the state of Pennsylvania. 

COULD YOU EMPHASIZE A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT YOUR ONLINE FARM LISTING DATABASE AND JUST BRING OUR LISTENERS UP TO SPEED ON THOSE RESOURCES?

Darlene Livingston:

Sure, we have an online database and anyone who wants to enter are welcomed to enter that database. There is a one-time fee for doing that. We also provide other opportunities that they can have a one-time listing on Facebook or something like that without being a member of the database to look for opportunities. So there's a couple ways that we try to help them. And when they're a member of the database, it is listed online, it's listed through a number. You have a reference number that people can peruse the database online and seek to learn more about you by contacting us. And we will make the connection, but it is a confidential connection to ensure everybody's privacy and to prevent issues. It's a great opportunity for beginning farmers who are seeking land to have their information out there and look to find an opportunity. We have landowners who look at our database, they may have land available or thinking what they're going to do with their land and we’ll search our database and look for some of the beginning farmers listed there as potential matches for them. And we will seek to provide that information to the land owner. There will be a cover letter or a business plan, whichever the beginning farmer has about what they would like to do in regards to their farming operation that they're looking to have land for, and then that starts the conversation between them and a potential landowner.

One other important thing I would like to say for beginning farmers, is the importance of their financial stability. They need to take that seriously and think about that as they're planning for their future, minimizing their debt and trying to have some savings there to help them with assets they'll need to purchase, whether it's equipment or whatever, as they obtain land. They do need to have that financial stability to make that move. I know there's also lots of programs and Farm Credit has programs to help them as well. That's often one of the stumbling blocks, I think for beginning farmers. And they also probably should recognize too, that about 70% of today's farmers also have an off-farm job that assists them financially and help some with some of the benefits such as health insurance and so on. We do have that database, but that's just another little pointer that's important.

And one other thing I did want to mention, I ask our next generation, so our beginning farmers and our family, what their advice for next generation farmers would be before I got on this podcast today, and I want to share those. One was to over-communicate with the operating farmers. The other one was to find their own role within the operation. Another one was trying to think about the perspective of the other generation you're communicating with, which I think is always important. My other next gen farmer, he's a little on the funnier side and he sent some funny comments. I translate those to say that essentially the senior gen may not understand all the hip lingo or the hashtags and all that, but we all have to remember that's what the next gen brings to the table, or it is a learning opportunity for the senior gen too. But we all need to remember that each generation has assets that they're bringing to the table and whether they're looking for land, what they're bringing to me, if I have land and a land opportunity is available, I need to be open to that.

Johanna Rohrer:

What a good reminder to reach out to both the senior generation and the junior generation to get some perspective. I love that advice from the senior generation, and to stay enhanced with your communication skills and help define your role and what that's going to look like for the future. And to try to understand that there is perspective for both parties as you're going through that transition. That's a great reminder, but then also to think about it from the junior generation, there's so many things that you have to think about when you get started and there's a lot of steps to go through. A good reminder to keep your business plan in the back of your mind and make sure you're working on that or taking a finance course to brush up on your financial skills, or just helping to surround yourself with a network of other young farmers that are going through the process as well. I always find it helpful to learn through my peers to remind people in the agricultural community as well. That's just such a wealth of knowledge to start those conversations and create those learning experiences. So with that, there's so many farm transitions that will happen.

AND I'M JUST CURIOUS IF, DARLENE, YOU HAVE ONE PIECE OF ADVICE IN PARTICULAR THAT YOU WOULD WANT TO PASS ALONG TO THOSE FARM FAMILIES?

Darlene Livingston:

I think the one piece of advice I would pass on, which probably leads into a little bit more explanation, but that would be not to meet at the kitchen table. That’s one thing I learned early on and it seems a little bit odd. It seems a little bit like what's the big deal, but what happens when a farm family meets at the kitchen table is everyone takes on their family roles. When you go to sit down, their dad sits at his place, mom sits at hers and the kids all follow in line at their normal positions. And therefore you're setting up that family dynamic and what you need to remember when you're working with the farm, transition or any type of farm meeting with family members is you want to be in a business mindset. You want to have that business hat on, not the family setting hat.

It's important to meet somewhere else other than the kitchen table. I would challenge our Ag professionals to do the same when they go in and meet with someone to sit at a different place, or if they find out where dad's seat is then sit in it yourself. Change it up, even if it's a table made out of saw horses and a sheet of plywood in a machine shop or something on the farm. In normal times, churches or extension offices or local coffee shops and other organizations allow farm families to meet there. I know we're in unprecedented times right now. So you might have to think creatively, you may need to meet in the living room or somewhere, but if you do, and dad has a special chair, do him a favor and sit in it for him.

What you're doing is you're setting up the business mindset again. It’s just taking some of the family dynamic out of it in a subconscious way and setting that into a business aspect, and that is very important. And right now, even with using video conferencing to include those other family members that are outside of the area. They can be joined in from anywhere. These things will help you make the business decisions, which helps to set aside the emotional ones. It's really very important that when making business decisions that you're interacting as business partners, not as father and son or father and daughter. It’s very important to be interacting on a professional basis with those family members that you may have raised them, but it's important to treat them as equals in the family business. It’s just a small thing, but yet it's a huge thing when you look at that perspective.

Johanna Rohrer:

I think that's a great takeaway, to define a space for those business decisions. Whether right now that's looking at some sort of technology platform to connect family members, or it's a space in a farm office or maybe in the community. I think that's a good reminder for all of us to make sure you define that time and what you want to accomplish in terms of your business objectives, when you're sitting down to have those conversations, that's a great piece of advice.

So before we sign off today, I just want to wrap up with a final question.

WHAT DO YOU ADVOCATE FOR IN AGRICULTURE?

Darlene Livingston:

In case you can't tell, I have a passion for farm transition and succession. I really do have a passion to see farms move to the next generation and play a role in that positive impact because I see that it's the future of farming, which also impacts the rural economy of Pennsylvania and across the nation. I also have a passion in my local area. I believe we were brought back here for a reason, and that is to see agriculture move forward here. To me, that includes educating our local consumers and public officials about Ag and its needs. And also developing more markets in Western PA and our rural area, trying to advocate for that and more Ag businesses moving into the region and providing some of the opportunities that are available in some of the other regions of Pennsylvania that we're a little further behind here. And just seeing agriculture move forward here would be a great thing to me and something I hope that we can play a role in and I can play a role in.

Johanna Rohrer:

That’s a fantastic reminder for all of our agricultural listeners today. We have such a great opportunity to connect with our community and help bridge that gap between our on-farm production and our community family members, being able to help share with them the story of how we produce the agricultural goods that so many of us have grown to enjoy. There's always a story behind that and there's always great opportunity to help make those connections in our community. So that's awesome to hear about your advocating efforts. And it's also fantastic to have someone like you who is able to bring together that expertise in farm succession planning, and also to have such an authentic view of going through this process yourself. And I think that that just brings so much more credibility to the conversation and definitely builds your level of experience. I really thank you so much for joining us today. For more information about Pennsylvania Farm Link visit PAfarmlink.org.

Remember to rate, review, subscribe, and share this podcast with a friend, get notes and subscribe to our email alerts at mafc.com/podcast. And remember, send any topics or guest suggestions to podcast@mafc.com.

Looking for more information about farm succession planning tools? Join Farm Credit, and Pennsylvania Farm Link this winter for a virtual education experience on how to create a Farm Transition Plan Webinars series from 11 to noon on January 11th, January 25th, February 8th and February 22nd. We hope to see you soon.

We are excited to announce the hiring of Jessica Clarke as a crop insurance agent in our Denton, Maryland office. Learn more about Jessica and how she fits into the Farm Credit family:

She grew up on her family's farm in Frederick County, MD,

where they raised Angus cattle and quarter horses. Jessica loved growing up on the farm because it never allowed her a chance to be bored. "Living on the farm is how I instilled a good work ethic and grew my love for agriculture. I love to be outdoors and I love animals, so it was the perfect combination for me," she says.

Jessica participated in 4-H and FFA,

which caused her to pursue an education in the agriculture field. She was a member of the Rocky Ridge 4-H Club, Maryland Junior Angus Association, and Catoctin FFA Chapter, serving as President, Vice President and Secretary.

She currently raises Angus cattle

alongside her boyfriend at WF Angus in Queenstown, Maryland, where they sell and show cattle all over the country. “My favorite part of raising Angus cattle is breaking the calves each year and helping get them in the hands of customers who fall in love with their purchase and go on to succeed and learn with that animal, the same way that I did growing up,” she adds.

Jessica volunteers a lot of time in the local ag community:

• Livestock Sale Chairman at the Queen Anne's County Fair
• Volunteers with Queen Anne’s County 4-H Livestock Programs
• Serves on the Maryland Angus Association Board of Directors
• Co-Chair of the annual Queen Anne’s County Agriculture Awareness Day

She has valuable experience in the industry, 

working for the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) as a Program Technician prior to joining Farm Credit. In this role, Jessica handled the operations and applications for all FSA Assistance Programs to Queen Anne’s County farmers, and served as the Maryland State FSA Communications and Outreach Specialist.

Jessica is a graduate of West Virginia University,

where she earned a degree in Agriculture Extension Education with a minor in Agriculture Business.

We look forward to introducing Jessica to our members and sharing her knowledge and experience with the community.

Listen to Trevor's episode here!

Welcome to the Farm Credit AgVocates Podcast. I'm your host, Meaghan Malinowski content and digital strategist at Horizon Farm Credit. Today's guest is one of my favorite stories. Trevor Hoff owns and operates Local Homestead Product's farm market in New Windsor, Maryland with his wife, Victoria. I could spend a couple hours telling you about their hydroponic greenhouses, fresh produce, homegrown lines of meats, or even the countless number of events that they host on their farm each year. But it really just wouldn't do their story justice, not to mention Trevor is much funnier than I am, so he’s much better at telling the story. But this year in 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic started back in March, they ramped up their operation to be ready to serve their customers, even in the most unexpected of ways. This interview is going to talk about some of the changes they made, some of the innovations they had and where those ideas came from. Without further ado, here's my interview with Trevor Hoff.

Let's go ahead and jump right in. Welcome to the Farm Credit AgVocates Podcast.

TREVOR, COULD YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR OPERATION AND EVEN WHERE YOU GOT STARTED?

Trevor:

We come from New Windsor, Maryland right here in Carroll County. We're kind of the heart of Maryland here. We have a little bit of everything and we're definitely the rolling hills here. We own and have two farms here totaling, just over 200 acres where we grow, produce and raise beef cattle, chickens and pigs. But the main focus of our farm is our on-farm market. Now, we didn't start with an on-farm market, I actually started selling beef jerky in high school to some of my teachers and other students from cattle we raised here on the farm. So that morphed into the thought of having a store once I graduated high school. And then that turned into a bigger thought of, well, we can't just have beef jerky, we need to have other items. And now we sell for, my gosh, it must be 50, 60, 70 different farms, just right now up and down the coast. Also having a greenhouse with all kinds of flowers and vegetable plants. We also grow hydroponically. My wife grows hydroponic lettuce there, so we do a little bit of everything and that's what makes our farm kinda neat.

Meaghan:

 I've had a blast watching you guys on Facebook and social media. You guys look like you're pretty busy with everything going on.

Trevor:

We are extremely busy with everything going on. You know, we were not expecting this. Victoria and I sat down and talked right when this started, when it started to happen. And I said, yeah, I think it's going to be busy for a little bit. Then I think the real slow down is going to happen. And the first week we were very busy and we thought, now it's going to slow down. Then the second week it was busier. The third weekend was busier. About the fifth or six week after me telling my employees that it's going to slow down, they told me to stop saying that because every time I said it would slow down, it got busier. And I think a lot of that is just because we reacted the way people wanted us to react. We got ahead of the game before the grocery stores did and we were able to keep things pretty well stocked.

I contribute that to being able to work with small farms, local farms, local butcher shops, sending our animals out to these butcher shops to get processed, you know, that smaller food chain didn't get interrupted as much as the big one did. And so that kind of helped us. And really, I think our company has grown and our farm has grown due to the fact that we were able to keep things stocked. So I think a lot of customers that have kind of lost faith in the grocery stores to have things stocked are going to rely more on that small farm market in the local community. And I'm hearing this across the board from a lot of my friends in the industry, a lot of the people around that we know are saying the same thing that the farms are really busy.

Meaghan:

Well, you took my first question away from me and you knocked it out of the park. That was really what I wanted to touch on first was what some of your thoughts were when it came to running the market during the pandemic.

Were you guys nervous? Were you scared at first?

I think it's a true blessing that that it's been so busy and you've been able to kind of look back on that and say, you know, I have been wrong for the last five weeks saying it's going to slow down.

WHAT WAS THAT INITIAL THOUGHT WHEN THE PANDEMIC KIND OF STARTED AND YOU GUYS WERE THINKING ABOUT THE MARKET? WHAT WERE THOSE FIRST CONVERSATIONS LOOKING LIKE?

Trevor:

Well, the first week before the governor really started touching base, we started seeing a couple of weeks where it was like, huh, it seems like it's getting a little busier and nobody was really talking about it. But the moment that it started becoming national news, we started seeing that really big uptick. And the first week that we really noticed something going on, was we had a line in the store that wrapped around the whole store and nobody could shop because nobody could get through our store because our store is very small. You see our Facebook posts and you see some of the pictures of the greenhouse and outside, and it seems like, wow, they must have a really big place. And Meaghan you've been there. It's not a big place at all. We just are a little farm with that moves a lot of product.

And so to get that working, we made the decision when they said, “hey, we shouldn't have more than 10 people in groups,” we were like, okay, that's what we'll do. We started limiting right then and there probably about three or four weeks before the grocery store limited people, to 10 people in our store at any given time. And we are still what's it been eight or 12 weeks from doing that, and we're still limiting and still having lines. And I really appreciate the customer base that we have for understanding that we have a small store. We're not a big grocery store that can accept 250 people at any given time. And they just stand out in a line. And, you know, what's funny is sometimes, it’s not weather dependent on whether they're going to stand in line or not.

Mother's day weekend, our Friday, Saturday were the days where the weather wasn't that great. Friday was wind, cold and rainy and that was our busiest day. And we had 150 people waiting in line when we opened the doors. Sunday mother's day was beautiful. The sun was shining and there weren't any lines at all. And I think a lot of that has to do with the mentality of we're staying away from that place when it's really nice out, because it's going to be so busy. Well, when everybody thinks that and goes to the other days, well, then it makes the nice day actually nice to come out.

Meaghan:

Yeah, 100%. I know  I remember coming out and shooting that testimonial video with you guys. And I think if I remember correctly, 10 seems like almost full capacity for the market. And I'm, I was shocked that you guys are able to offer such a wide variety of stuff in such a small place, but like you said, you guys offer a lot of different things. And I think it's, it's been cool for me to see from even just from on Facebook. Cause you know, I'm, I'm a couple of hours away from you, but seeing the response by your community has been so inspiring. And that kind of brings me to my next question and feel free to deflect if you don't want to give me all the juicy details, but you know, everybody has started operating differently from grocery stores to other farm markets and it's really just to keep their heads above water.

HOW HAS THAT AFFECTED YOUR OPERATION? ARE YOU SEEING AN INCREASE IN SALES FROM LAST YEAR?

Trevor:

We are definitely seeing an increase in sales. And I think, like I said before, a lot of that has to do with the fact that we responded so quickly and we were on top of it. I think if you got behind the eight ball here on this, people were really looking for somewhere to shop right away. Somewhere where they felt safe, somewhere where they felt wanted. And if you didn't offer that right away, offer a safe place for them to shop, they kind of looked past you. And I think a lot of these people opening back up will still be very busy, but I think they missed that first wave of panic buying.

 I mean, we had people buying loads of stuff to the point where we had to start limiting how much we were allowing go out of our store. I am never been one to want to limit anything. I'm always the one that says, Hey, come buy more. And I was having to limit how many eggs people could buy and how many pounds of ground beef people could buy, because we just couldn't keep up. And I would tell customers that it's not that I wanted to limit things. It's the fact that if we limit to this amount, we can supply everybody that wants to come in the doors. But if we have people that come in and buy 50 or a hundred pounds of ground beef to throw in their freezer, well, then we start having issues keeping up with supply. So for us, yes, business is good. And I can tell you that I didn't think it was going to be that way when this all started. I thought we were going to be busy and then I thought it would taper off very quickly and it just has not done that.

We are definitely up from last year. And I'm hoping for a solid season the rest of the year, because that is a concern that everybody is sharing and all this is that if we are so busy now, does that mean we're going to have a really sharp turn come summertime? Because usually there is that summer slowdown for us when everybody else kind of opens back up with their farm markets and their town or their towns have farm markets or their gardens start producing. And it usually slows up a little bit in the summertime for us. And we're thinking that that's not going to be as much this year, that hopefully it continues to stay steady. And hopefully that means good things for the farm.

Meaghan:

Absolutely, I mean sitting here talking to you, I didn't really think about it much before, but I don't have many markets that are in my immediate area. And I think that a lot of people are looking for an excuse to get out of the house right now. I have done my fair share of garden center shopping and things like that. And there's something about going and buying a ton of plants and bringing them home and then just waiting to be able to put them in the ground. But that's kind of been like my silver lining for this. And I think for a lot of people being able to go somewhere where they feel comfortable and people are friendly and nice, I think that's probably part of the reason why you guys have been so successful too. I think people probably feel good about coming to see you.

Trevor:

And I, I think you, you bring up a great point about the plants and all that because people are having to stay home. People want their house to look good. And here's the strange reality is the fact that they don't have that vacation that they are going to be spending the money on so, or they might not. And their thought is that they might not that vacation, and they're not going out to eat as much. And they're not spending as much as the gas pump because gas prices are cheap and because they're not driving as much. So all those things add up to a little bit more money in their pocket, even though some of them might be laid off work right at the moment. So all they're saying is make it so that, you know, our worries about having a full greenhouse and knowing where to go with the plants in the beginning of all, this have really changed.

And we were really concerned about how many hanging baskets we had because we grow hanging baskets ourselves. And we also sell for a couple other farms that grow, that don't have retail establishments. And I was calling those guys in the beginning, kind of telling them, we're going to try our best to move your product, but we might have to cut back and I don't know what we're going to do with all of it. And then we actually sold it out quicker than we ever have. And we're having to bring on more farms to try to have more flowers, have more veggie plants. Most of the garden centers in our area or are out of vegetable plants, and we still had tomatoes and peppers left and they were actually sending them to us because we were the only ones with them anymore. So it's really been a boom in that.

And I think a lot of that is also for the small guys that are in my kind of business that a lot of customers didn't know we were there. In the life that we have now in 2020 you get so used to driving to work, shopping at the same places that you shop in and just going with the routine. And this has really made you get out of your routine, check around your surrounding area and buy stuff. I mean, I usually would never take notice of the license plates that are in my farm market parking lot. But the past couple of weeks I've been looking around and I've noticed Virginia license plates, West Virginia license plates, Pennsylvania license plates. And, you know, I got to talking to some of these people and I had people that were two and a half hours away from their home. But like you said, they just wanted something to do.

Meaghan:

That’s amazing!

Trevor:

So they drove two and a half hours to a farm market that they saw on Facebook and came up and bought some plants and some produce.

Meaghan:

And then took them home like a little plant road trip.

Trevor:

Exactly, So, you know, it amazes me how far people will travel for this. And I think we take it for granted the way, the way we think people should be treated because they're not in the big box stores. You know, for us treating people the way we treat them is because that's the way we were raised. This is the way we treat people, because that's how we would want to be treated. And in the box stores, that's not the case. They're looking to get you in and get you out. And that I think is another selling point of why you want to shop local, why you want to know your farmer. And I have people that come in that I know their kids. I know what sports they play. I know the kids that have gotten married and who are going to have babies. You know, we have multi-generations shopping in our store. So those are the kinds of things that Safeway or all these other grocery stores don't know. And the thing is, if you don't shop at that grocery store chain that week, they most likely won't notice it, but a small farm market like ours or any of these other guys, you know, we notice when you shop with us or when you don't. And it definitely helps when you shop local and shop small with the small farm.

Meaghan:

I know we talked a little bit about when everything first started coming out and all of the different stay at home orders and the limitations on how many people could be here, there, or whatever that looks like.

Outside of putting that limit on how many people are in the store or waiting in the line around the outside of the market:

HAVE YOU GUYS STARTED ANY NEW PROCESSES TO HELP KEEP THINGS RUNNING?  DO YOU FORESEE ANY OF THEM STICKING AROUND ONCE WE GET INTO OUR NEW NORMAL?

Trevor:

The simple answer to that is yes, we are looking at some things that we had sworn we would never do because we didn't want to lose that touch with the customer. And this has really opened up our eyes to think, well, maybe this is what we need to do. We had decided that, we didn't want to do online sales as much. That was not our thing. We wanted people to come experience the farm. Well, this has kind of pushed us in the direction of some online sales. Now we are not a farm that has everything online. And I don't think we ever will with probably 500 to a thousand different items in our store, you know, that's not where we're headed.

Meaghan:

It would be hard to manage that inventory level.

Trevor:

Exactly. But what we are seeing is people wanted a curbside option and we said, no, that's not something we can do. But then we got to thinking outside the box a little bit, and we came up with what we call our essential farm pack. And it's a hundred dollars. Every week you can sign up on Monday and pick it up the following Monday. And what it is, is our farm is actually closed on Mondays and Thursdays to clean and get shipments in and that kind of thing. So we had this day on Monday that we were able to bring people out to the farm, keep them in their cars, put the stuff in their cars for them, and it already be paid for, and a whole lot less touching, a whole lot less interaction. And folks have really been loving that. It really ramped up during the first month and a half. Now we're starting to see it plateau a little bit, but this is something that I don't think we're going to get away from anytime soon. I think people like the fact that they're able to come with in their car, especially families with kids, as we try to say, hey, just send your essential shopper in. Well, if you have young kids, you might not be able to let them sit in the car or maybe somebody is working and you have to take the kids with you. We get that right. And that's why this has really taken off. And, you know, it's, it's got a glass bottle milk in there, usually a dozen eggs, loaf of bread, all kinds of produce, all kinds of meats, some different baked goods from our bakery or from a couple bakeries that we work with. So it's a little bit of a different concept, but it really, really works.

And I think that's really helped us out. The other thing is that a lot of these farms started doing what we call a produce bundle, and we have always sold produce bundles. We, we don't want to say we started them, but we had them a long time before they became cool during the COVID-19 issue. But we've had produced bundles for four or five years now. And we do a $25 produce bundle every week of the year, where we work with farms all up and down the East coast and put together this value pack for $25. And that has really taken off to, as people were worried about their income trying to make sure they were spending their money wisely, that really helped them with that. And I think that that side of the business has just increased because of all this. And I don't think it's going to back off and have that summer slump, like we've always felt.

Meaghan:

Well. You know, what I really like hearing from you is that, I think obviously you guys have to do what you need to do to stay in business and keep making those sales. But for you guys, it seems like it always comes back to what does the customer need? What do they want and how can we give it to them in a way that makes them happy? And I think you guys are, I mean, you've got to be excelling at it every time I see another post, you guys are selling out of your produce bundles and really just, you look like you're blowing it out of the water. You guys were the OG produce bundle.

Trevor:

Well, you know, we just try to do what we would want done to us. And I think that's, that's the big thing. And for us these other folks that don't want to do what the customer wants, it amazes me that they're still in business because I see that sometimes where it's, they just want to make it harder for people to shop with them. And we have to make it easier to shop with us. I mean, you've been to our store, you've seen how out in the middle of nowhere we are, and we have to make it easy to shop. We have to make it a convenience buy for them to come out to the farm and buy everything that they need on their list so that they're not going here, there, and everywhere. They want to come to the farm and buy everything. And you can do that.

You can get your glass bottled milk from South Mountain Creamery at our farm. You can get our eggs, you can get produce from a bunch of different local farms. You can get chips that are made in Pennsylvania fried in true lard, ice cream, mean everything under the sun, you can get right there at that little farm market. And the comment that I always hear from people is I've driven past this place a hundred times, and I would have never thought you carried this much in this little building. And that's the true story. I mean, we really jam pack it in there.

Meaghan:

You do! And my other question for you, was so you guys have always, collaborated with other growers and different producers and stuff like that.

SO HOW DOES [GROWER COLLABORATION] WORK? DO YOU REACH OUT TO THEM? DO THEY CALL YOU? HOW DID THAT KIND OF CHANGE WITH LIKE COVID-19?

Trevor:

So it's a little bit of both. If we see a product that we just fall head over heels with, well, then we know that our customers will too, and we reach out. But sometimes we have farms that just call us and say, hey, we are starting to grow this, we'd really like to sell it at your store. And we're always open to that conversation because as we grow, we need more farms growing for us. We can't grow enough and to touch base on that side of the business. You know, I never wanted to be the person that grew everything because I don't believe you can and do it well. I believe that you can do one, two or three things really well. And then if you start doing a hundred different things, it starts to suffer. And I find that there are a couple of things that we grow really, really well.

And there's a couple of things that I just lack luster in growing. But I usually know the person that grows the best of it, and that's, that's the person we want to get from. So I really think that's the way we head with things is a more specialized kind of deal where you can have a better product that way.

 Now back to the COVID thing, is the thing that I noticed the most with going into quarantine and all that was just the supply could not keep up with the demand. And that's the plain and simple fact of it. And you started seeing it the first couple of weeks, as they, as shelves got bare at grocery stores. They started to feel bare at our store, but we were able to call these different local farms and say, hey, we need more of this or more of that.

And we were able to talk to our butcher shops and get more appointments lined up and get this really working right ahead of the schedule here. But still with all this and everybody working behind the scenes we still had some bare shelves every once in a while. We still had some things sell out quicker than what we thought and weren't able to get them picked quick enough, or weren't able to fill the shelf back up as quick on ground beef or something like that. And I always tell people that come into our store to shop is that you kind of have to come with a fluid list, a list of the stuff that you want, but be fluid in the fact that you might not be able to get that porterhouse steak, but there might be a T bone there. And you might not get the exact Apple variety you want, but usually we'll have some kind of Apple there.

So, you know, we're not competing with the grocery stores on having every item there all the time. But what we try to compete with them and I know we can compete with them this way is having the best of the best there all the time. And that's where we strive. And this week we had a beautiful, local strawberries come in and what would have lasted me two weeks, any other year, we sold in one day. So it's just, that's a testament into the fact that people are coming, people are buying. I think people are maybe making some jams and that kind of stuff.

Meaghan:

Trying new things.

Trevor:

Trying new things getting on Pinterest and trying it out, you know,

Meaghan:

Letting their mind run a little wild.

Trevor:

That's right. Trying different things and just going to town with it. And that's the fun thing about this. And the fun thing about shopping at our farm is you can try different things. The produce bundle kind of allows you to do that. We had we had kohlrabi in there a couple of weeks ago and you know, not many people know what kohlrabi is. And I explained it as a German turnip almost but a really, really great vegetable. And we have it in purple and green, but not that many people know it exists, let alone know how to use it.

Meaghan:

Trevor, did you listen to my podcast episode?

Trevor:

I did not.

Meaghan:

I literally came up with that. Jenny and I were talking about producing content and I was trying to give people an idea of what kinds of content they could write for their website or for Facebook or whatever it is. And in all of my research. And I can tell you, I've never been to a grocery store where I've seen kohlrabi on the shelves, but I can't tell you how many CSA’s have it, obviously around here. And so I brought that up on our episode and I was like, I don't even know if I'm saying it right.

WHAT DOES IT TASTE LIKE THOUGH? TELL ME, HONESTLY, WHAT DOES KOHLRABI ACTUALLY TASTE LIKE?

Trevor:

Absolutely nothing. And that's, so I tell people that kohlrabi tastes like absolutely nothing and everything all at the same time, because you can make kohlrabi tastes like whatever you want it to.

Meaghan:

It’s a wonder vegetable.

Trevor:

Yes. Whatever seasoning you want to throw at it, you can make it work. So yeah, I can't say that I am a huge fan of kohlrabi. I will eat it raw every now and then, but yeah, it's something that all the CSA’s grow. Of course I don't call myself a CSA because I don't want to get into the act of you buying something from me every week without knowing what is in it. I just like the mindset that you get to choose, whether you want my produce bundle or not. And you get to look at what's in it before you have to make that choice with your money.

Meaghan:

I like that approach. I think that's unique there. I mean, there's definitely the pros and cons to each way. right. But I think you're, you're giving the customer the option to make the decision at the time rather than is it six, nine months ahead of time.

Trevor:

Yeah. And, and, you know, I will say that it does not happen overnight that you're able to do that. And it is a little scary of a concept because your numbers fluctuate so much that you have to have a pretty good store to back it up, to be able to move some of that product, if your produce bundles die off a little bit to do it. Whereas a traditional CSA, you know how much to grow every week because of how well or how many CSA shares you sell. And I personally think it's a wonderful program to start a farm and run a farm off of, because you get a set income that you know, you'll be having. And it makes total sense. But for us, I wanted to give a different option and touching back on that idea that we wanted to give customers what they want.

Meaghan:

Speaking of options, you guys just started doing are you guys doing take home meal kits or is it meal kits that you give all the ingredients to?

Trevor:

So we have we don't have a take home meal kit for produce, but we do have a take home meal from another bakery. They make it and put it in a container and you can heat it up. But the take home meal kits are definitely a big thing that are popping up in the industry that I think are going to really take off because people have not been for the last five or 10 years, people have not been eating at home and you now have a generation of people that don't know how to cook for themselves. They grab a bite to eat on the way home from work because they work till eight, nine o'clock at night in the office building, or what have you, and don't have time to cook on their way home or once they get home. So, or you have people like my, my wife and I that, you know, it's two of us, it's hard to cook a meal for two people which you probably know.

Meaghan:

It is. A lot of left overs.

Trevor:

Exactly.  So when you divvy that kind of meal out like some of these other farms are doing, it makes total sense because you're able to do that and able to compete against the meal service companies that have been shipping food to people's homes. And I think it's a great concept and it's, it's definitely taking off. And the thing that I will say, that's good, that's coming out of this is it's made some of us local guys in small farms, especially in Horizon Farm Credit area and footprint really figure out how to sell their product differently without our big farm markets thriving in the cities, without the restaurant service that takes a lot of the local products as well. We have to find a way to move them and it has made us come up with some great ideas and I've seen some great things come out of it different farms just for having to figure this out. And I think if anything, good comes out of it, hopefully it's the good thought that people know that the local farms are there and they're able to get stuff from them. And hopefully that continues after all this is done, that people don't forget the local farms that were there for them.

Meaghan:

Yeah, absolutely. I think that is definitely something that's going to come out of this. I also think that the idea on the producer side to the innovation, like you said, and how people are diversifying to make things work and find new ways to be able to sell their product, whether it's to consumer or you know, outside of that realm. And it seems like you and Victoria have really made a habit of pivoting and adding new things to the lineup. And you guys are always trying something new, which makes me think that you guys are really comfortable with change, which is not something that most people can say.

WOULD YOU SAY THAT YOU GUYS ARE PRETTY COMFORTABLE WITH CHANGE?

Trevor:

I, myself am not (laughs).

Meaghan:

No way.

Trevor:

Victoria is.  I could get stuck in a rut and Victoria sometimes says that I could figure out, what three meals, I want for the rest of my life and eat the same three meals every day for the rest of my life. And I'd probably be fine with that. And that is a hundred percent true.  I would be fine with that, but at the same point in time, it’s a little different because yes, I am not a huge fan of change, but I do get bored a little bit sometimes with doing the same thing over again on the business side of it. So, she and I have a lot of discussions and she is definitely the leading force with a lot of stuff, especially Facebook and marketing. And I know you had told me you're going to talk to her about a podcast at some point in time.

But she is, she is the one behind the scenes making this all work. And she has some phenomenal ideas on how to keep changing and how to keep pivoting because we know customers get bored with stuff. For example, we had these maple sticky buns when all this COVID-19 stuff started happening, one of our bakeries said, hey, we're coming out with this. And this was before that and it just happened to be right around the same time that this all happened. So with everything going and we were like, yes, send in a couple cases, and well those couple of cases sold.

Meaghan:

Probably immediately if I had to guess.

Trevor:

Exactly. And then, okay, send in, send in double that amount. And then at the peak of this, we were buying in a pallet a week or a pallet twice a week of maple sticky bonds from this bakery, a whole pallet of it.

Meaghan:

I'm not going to lie, if somebody showed up to my house with a palette of maple sticky buns and they said, did you order this? I would lie straight through my teeth. I would say you bet, sure did, bring it in.

Trevor:

But you know, as fast as it came on that we were selling that many people get their fill of it and people want to try something different. So you start seeing that decrease and then it starts to level out and plateau as, as the best word for it in the, where the sales of that item should be. So to keep up with everything, you have to be bringing on that next new product, that next new big thing. And sometimes it's hard to keep on doing that. I, I sometimes wake up and I'm like, we're just tired.

Meaghan:

Yeah, they're keeping you on your toes.

Trevor:

And you know, I, I think Victoria is, is better with change than I am to touch back to your original question. But you know, for me, I think change in the business or at the farm market, you know, is not that big of a deal for me, but change in my regular life, that's a whole different story.

Meaghan:

Oh, sure, sure. Absolutely. Well, coming from somebody who's not a huge fan of change,

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO AN ANOTHER OPERATOR LOOKING TO DIVERSIFY OR ADD SOMETHING NEW OR TRY SOMETHING NEW?

Trevor:

I've learned that you just have to keep trying. If I would have stopped when I should have, when all the numbers, all the people you know, I used to hear from through the grape vine, I'll call it through the grapevine, I'd hear, you know, they're never going to make it there. And, you know, they had some points in time, I thought they were right. Our little farm market probably as a business, if you ever looked at it from a business degree, you would have looked and said, you know what, this makes no sense to be open. The first couple of years it probably didn't, but we kept trying, we kept reinventing the wheel until the wheel worked. And you have to find which one works for you. And I see on Facebook and on Instagram and all these different places and through emails of farmer's markets, doing different things and I think you knew that might work at our farm.

But for me, it's more of a thing that you have to kind of pave your own path and sometimes produce bundles, like for me work really well, but in other areas they wouldn't work well. So, if I would have given up in the beginning, I wouldn't have ever been able to ride this phenomenal ride that we, we get to ride now. And even before COVID, before all this, we were doing fairly well as a farm market out in the middle of nowhere. And it's always been a whole lot of fun. And that's another point that you always have to make it fun for you. If you don't wake up in the morning and decide that it is, it is going to be fun, doing what you're doing, you got to find something else to do, because if it's not fun working the long hours that you have to work in the farm market industry or being at a farm or for any of these things, you won't want to do it long because I can tell you that I don't get paid by the hour because we'd be making pennies every hour.

So that's, that's the big thing for me is have fun with it, but also pave your own path, make it work for you. Because if I would have taken everybody's advice that they gave me, I don't think we'd be where we're at. I think we would've changed paths too many times, and sometimes you just got to keep on chugging at it until it really sticks. So it's a, it's a whole weird world when you are selling to the general public. And there are a lot of people that liked doing it, and there's a lot of people that don't like doing it. And that's one of those things where you got to love it. You got to love wanting to sell products and wanting to sell your products. I mean, the thought from this coming week, we're going to start picking sugar snap peas. And the thought that we planted those by seed and grew them all the way to this and get to watch them head out the door in pints just amazes me. And even after doing this for 10 years or having the farm market for 10 years, it still amazes me and makes me happy. And that's how I know I'm doing the right thing.

Meaghan:

Well, I think it makes a lot of your customers happy too, especially on that note of fun. I love the video series that you guys have been putting out to acknowledge the homeschooling parents and the kids trying to do schoolwork from home.

WHO CAME UP WITH THE [VIDEO] IDEA?

Trevor:

So I definitely have to give that idea to Victoria. While we were sitting in the store one day you start hearing from these parents that have no idea where they're or what they're going to do with their kids being home. And you know, we usually have a bunch of field trips that come out. We do interviews with different classes all the way from kindergarten, all the way up to college. So it was a weird environment for us not to have the field trips. And, you know, we started talking and said, well, why can't we? And we had a friend of ours that's in the video business. And he said, you know, let's do this. And with help from you all at Farm Credit, we were able to get this done and it's been a whole lot of fun and people love it. People were able to show it to their kids. We've had classes, we know that there's several teachers sending it to their classes. So we wanted just to make something that would help people out during this time. And that's what's happened.

Meaghan:

Almost like carrying on what normal would have been just in a different format.

Trevor:

Exactly. You know, we don't have to change everything that we've done. There's still a lot of good things that can't be done right now, but they're going to be done in the future. And one of those is field trips and the fact that we could have people in our sow barn looking at the little piglets, you know, that's not something that normally we allow during even the regular field trips, just because of a biosecurity standpoint. But with video, we were able to do that. And that's what fun about it is.

Meaghan:

Yeah. They turned out fantastically and from our point of view, obviously it's very easy for us to write a check when you guys are doing all the hard work, but it has been an awesome project to see come together. And I haven't seen very many of them come out. I think I want to say center for dairy excellence might have put together a couple of virtual tours. I know there's quite a few of the bigger names that are doing it. Cause it's not, it's not always the easiest project when it comes to video, but I love that you guys took a multi week approach. There's something new to come out each week. And I think that was a very, very nice nod to all of the parents trying to figure out that, that weird homeschooling thing that they really didn't sign up for.

Trevor:

Yup, absolutely.

Meaghan:

So two more questions for you.

SO SINCE THE MARKET HAS BEEN PACKED AND AMIDST ALL OF THIS CHAOS, HAVE YOU GUYS THOUGHT ABOUT ANY PLANS FOR EXPANSION FOR THE MARKET SIDE OF IT?

Trevor:

Yes. the, the answer to that is yes. We are hoping to do an expansion at some point in time. The farmer in me, says let's go, let’s build. Because I know that I can grow enough and get enough from enough different farms so we can fill that place. But the business side of me says, hold up, wait a second, this isn't going to last forever. And so it's a tug of war here that we know will, at some point in time lead us to building a new store or expanding the store we're in. We know that we want to stay there on the farm. That's not that's not up for discussion, really. We are staying on the farm, but how that store is built or looks is definitely being talked about. And what is included in that store is definitely being talked about. I know that when all those plans get announced, it will be a fun, fun week of showing people everything on Facebook. And I look forward to the day that we're able to open doors on a new market, but it's definitely going to take a whole lot of time and planning and a whole lot of money, which at least we know Farm Credit will back us up.

Meaghan:

Well, I'm not in any position to be handing out anything, but I do like your odds so far, so good. Right.

Trevor:

So far so good.

Meaghan:

Well, that's really good news. And we look forward to hearing that I'm going to make the trip up when you guys open your new market. Whenever that decides to be. So I will be first in line.

Trevor:

There you go.

Meaghan:

All right, Trevor. Well, my last question for you, and then I'm going to let you get back to work, I'm sure you still got plenty to do. At the end of each episode, we like to end with the same question for everyone.

WHAT DO YOU ADVOCATE FOR IN AGRICULTURE?

Trevor:

We want to see people understand where their food comes from. We want to bring people back to the farm. I feel like we are so many generations removed from the farm anymore, that we don't understand as a country where our food comes from. And I think it's very important to know your farmer and know the person raising your products and know everything that goes into that, because knowledge is a great tool. We see so many different articles on why something is bad or bad for you or that kind of thing. But if we all got to know our farmer a little bit, I think the world would be a little better place. And our little farm market is just one step in that long journey of knowing who creates your food in a bakery, who grows your produce out in a field, who raises that animal, who butchers that steak. But I think you need to know every step of the process to really understand how it gets there and why it gets there because it's an amazing system. And I think sometimes as a country, we take it for granted. But the COVID-19 issue has really put agriculture in the front of everybody's minds on that. And we are super excited to be a part of that, but we know there's a lot of learning to go ahead, but I think it's a great start into knowing where your food comes from.

Meaghan:

Well, I think you guys are serving that mission so well, and I couldn't agree with you more, it's, it's an important mission to serve, and I love seeing what you guys are doing. And I think you guys are doing that one customer at a time in person, you're doing it probably by several hundred people on Facebook each time you make a post. And we love seeing it. We love supporting you guys. And I really appreciate you talking to me today and kind of given our followers some insight on how this has affected you guys. So I really appreciate your time.

Trevor:

Hey, well, we really appreciate you all having our backs at Farm Credit. We have always enjoyed our relationships with everybody that we've come into a meeting through Horizon Farm Credit, and it's always been a pleasure. And thanks for having us with all your people.

Meaghan:

Absolutely, absolutely. Now also, please tell Victoria, I said, thank you. I know that she's the real brains behind this operation, so make sure she knows.

Trevor:

Absolutely. She is absolutely the brains behind the operation. I won't hide that one bit

Meaghan:

Behind every good man. That's how it goes, right?

Trevor:

That's right. It is exactly how it goes. And our relationship and our farm is his no different from that. I mean, she is, and I will tell you this about her. She, she did not have a real big ag background. She had a horse, but did not come from a farming family and she has jumped into this. And I don't know if I want to say this, but I will anyway, she's a better farmer than I am. And you know,  I have it running through my blood, but she is, she is the one top of it and I will I will always push her up on that, she is definitely the brains behind the operation.

Meaghan:

Oh, well, I figured as much and you're smart to say it.

Trevor:

That's right.

Meaghan:

Alright, Trevor will. Thanks again. Have a good night and let Victoria now I will be calling her soon.

Trevor:

That sounds good. See ya.