Ensuring your agricultural business is protected against unforeseen challenges is crucial. Crop insurance serves as a vital tool for farmers, safeguarding them from financial hardships due to natural disasters and other uncontrollable events. Despite its importance, several misconceptions about crop insurance persist. Let's address and debunk five common myths:

Myth #1: My Irrigated Land Is Sufficient Protection; I Don't Need Crop Insurance.

Fact: While irrigation helps manage water supply, it doesn't shield crops from all potential threats. Excessive rainfall can lead to delayed planting or harvesting, crop washouts, and increased susceptibility to plant diseases. Crop insurance provides coverage against various natural perils, including excessive moisture, drought, plant diseases, hail, and wildlife damage. Many policies also offer replanting and preventive planting coverage, which have been invaluable to farmers facing adverse conditions.

Myth #2: Crop Insurance Policies Are Too Complex and Inflexible.

Fact: The crop insurance landscape has evolved, offering customizable options to meet diverse farming needs. Farmers can now insure irrigated and non-irrigated crops at different coverage levels and unit structures. Options like the Trend Adjusted Yield and Yield Exclusion can enhance your Actual Production History (APH). Beyond traditional grain crops, policies are available for hay, pasture, nurseries, orchards, processing vegetables, and even grapes in select counties. Whole Farm Revenue Protection policies cover diverse operations, and written agreements can extend coverage to crops not typically insured in your county, pending approval from the Risk Management Agency (RMA).

Myth #3: I Must Use County Averages to Establish My Production History.

Fact: Whenever possible, your crop insurance agent will utilize your historical production records to establish your policy. If personal records aren't available, a percentage of the county yield is used temporarily to determine your APH until you can provide your own production data.

Myth #4: Crop Insurance Doesn't Provide Adequate Payouts.

Fact: Crop insurance is designed to offer financial relief when you experience significant losses. For instance, as of February 4, 2019, Maryland farmers collectively paid $10.6 million in premiums for 2018 crops and received over $16.5 million in claim payments, demonstrating the program's effectiveness in supporting farmers during challenging times.

Myth #5: Crop Insurance Premiums Are Prohibitively Expensive.

Fact: The federal government subsidizes crop insurance premiums to make them affordable for farmers. For example, a 70% coverage level policy is subsidized at 59%, significantly reducing out-of-pocket costs for comprehensive coverage.

Understanding the realities of crop insurance can help you make informed decisions to protect your farming operation. Our team of experts is ready to assist you in exploring policy options tailored to your needs. With over 25 years of experience in policy writing, we're committed to being a valuable resource and consultant for your agricultural business.

For more detailed information and personalized assistance, visit our Crop Insurance & Risk Management page or contact one of our knowledgeable agents today.

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

Summary

On this episode of the Farm Credit AgVocates podcast, Katie Ward sits down with Chuck Fry and Emily Snyder of Rocky Point Creamery to celebrate National Ice Cream Month and learn about the new robotic milking system on their farm. We also dive into the children’s book written about his farm and what makes their ice cream so special. 

Visit Rocky Point Creamery at 4323A Tuscarora Rd. Tuscarora, MD 21790 on Tuesday-Sunday from 11:30 AM to 8:30 PM.

Katie Ward:

Welcome to the Farm Credit AgVocates podcast. I'm your host, Katie Ward, Public Relations and Communications Specialist at Horizon Farm Credit. July is National Ice Cream month and to celebrate we're bringing on a special guest to the podcast this episode.

Chuck Fry is the owner and operator of Rocky Point Creamery in Tuscarora, Maryland. He's the fourth generation to raise dairy cows and opened the Creamery in 2012 as a value added business on the farm for the community. His fiancé, Emily Snyder manages the creamery and handles all marketing and communications for the business. She's also a familiar face around Farm Credit as she's our relationship manager here for Farm Credit Express. I'm honored to call these two peers in the agriculture industry and friends.

So without further ado, welcome to the podcast, Chuck and Emily. Thanks so much for having me on your farm to chat today. So how was your spring season this year? I know we are coming into summer in two days so I'm sure you're gearing up for a busy season on the farm and at the creamery.

ROCKY POINT CREAMERY

Chuck Fry:

Every season's different, it's been a good spring. I think the things that always amazed me is no matter what kind of rainfall you get, no matter how bad you think it is, you got to love Facebook because it looks back five years and almost to the day we were harvesting barley at the same time.

You go back year after year, farming is a cyclical process. It's always amazing, no matter what kind of spring you have, everything winds up on time and everything usually winds up good. Last year with COVID, what a cluster that was, that was crazy. So I don't know that anything's normal anymore. Farming's never been normal.

Katie Ward:

Get a little scare and then you get some rain or you get some good turn in the market and everything gets back to normal. So Chuck, can you give our listeners a little background of your farm? I know it's been in your family since 1883, which is pretty incredible.

Chuck Fry:

Yeah, not many businesses make it past the second generation, let alone the fourth generation. That beer company that made it four, Yuengling, so they're right up there too. So anyway, we got kicked out of Virginia in 1882, basically because the farm was too valuable to farm. It's a long, boring story, but it's still fascinating that no matter how far you roll through life, the constant remains the same that farms are way more valuable than their face.

The history is the farm was bought at auction at the local little Point of Rocks town. Point of Rocks used to be a bustling town, it had multiple churches. It was kind of the point where the CNO railroad and where the railroad and the CNO canal met. There was a giant rock stuck out over the Potomac River. The railroad actually got ahead of the CNO canal Point of Rocks. We had a lot of trade that happened on the canal boats between here and Washington back then. So cattle would be hauled into Washington for slaughter, grain, all kinds of things went on the canal boats, which it's kind of crazy right now.

Katie Ward:

Yeah. That makes it a great location for a farm.

Chuck Fry:

But who would ever thought Point of Rocks, you know, when we opened this Creamery, we were like, who's coming here for ice cream, but I guess you proved me wrong again.

Katie Ward:

You're close to Harper's Ferry so I feel like a lot of people will go see that and get some ice cream on the way home.

Chuck Fry:

Yeah.

Katie Ward:

Cool. So can you tell us a little bit about opening the Creamery in 2012 and why you decided to add this to the farm?

Chuck Fry:

You know, it's been said when God closes one door, he opens another one. That's kind of what happened with us. We were in the turkey business, started it in 1996 and had a pretty good 15 year run on the poultry business. But it went through six or seven different changes in management and ownership. They went from full production to organic and the organic trail didn't work out like they had hoped. So they had to cut producers, they cut about 75% of their producers. It was one of those functions where, what do you do when they say, sorry, you can't grow turkeys anymore.

We've always milked cows. As quirky as that is, we’ve always milked cows. So we wanted something at the point to say, I want to own this from beginning to end, no matter what the state, whether it was good, bad or ugly. So we went to a National Ice Cream Retailers Association Convention, sort of like Farm Bureau, except I don't want to say fun, crazier people. Where the opening line, this guy came down doing somersaults in the isle, much different than Farm Bureau.

A good group of people, the networking there and when we came back from that, we started bulldozing dirt. Within six months’ time, we were ready to open and make ice cream, we got a lot of good ideas. Then what we didn't realize is when you start making ice cream, you got to do something with it. So we actually opened in December, which is a crazy time to open, but being the dumb farmer that I am, I didn't know how to deal with customers and so the POS system had to be learned.

The flow of this actually was a good time, you know, we didn't make any money, but it's just like anything else you do. Now, forwarding ahead 10 years, it's been a super big blessing. We've totally flipped. It used to be the cows ran the show, and now the creamery pays for the cows. I feel like, I don't want to say a horse farmer, having their off farm job to be able to feed your animals. So the creamery is feeding my cows.

Katie Ward:

Yeah, so next year will be 10 years. Are you doing anything to celebrate?

Chuck Fry:

Trying to get out of bed.

TECHNOLOGY ON THE FARM

Katie Ward:

So how many cows are you currently milking here on the farm?

Chuck Fry:

About 120, give or take. We were milking more, but we kind of cut back. There was a time, life happens. I went through a lot of changes in my personal life, things happen and you change. I was going to get completely out of the dairy business and then Emily comes along and kind of saved me from that spiral.

I always loved the cows, but it was a trying time. So anyway, you handle what's thrown at you and lo and behold, we just put in robots. We’ll talk a little bit about that later. We upgraded, did a lot of work at the barn and renovating. That whole farm area had been kind of let go. We just weren’t going to put money into it. We didn't know what we were going to do. So it's exciting, having a regeneration of interest.

Katie Ward:

So yeah, embracing technology.

Chuck Fry:

We don't have any choice.

Katie Ward:

Yeah, Emily actually wrote a good piece in our Leader magazine, that's actually coming out next week. So right before this podcast will launch, about technology and ag, and kind of gave a deep dive into the robotic milking system and how technology is used in equipment and all different other aspects of the industry.

So do you want to kind of give an overview of the robots now and just kind of why they're more efficient for your operation?

Chuck Fry:

Well, I don't know who's listening to this, but whoever's out there listening, realizes that labor is a challenge. I don't care what you are. The dairy industry, is 24/7, cows have to be milked every day. It doesn't matter if it’s Saturday or Sunday, or you've been out drinking and throwing up, I don't care. You still got to do it and finding the right mix of people that they love that and are willing to commit to that, it's really challenging.

So it's been said that McDonald's can put a hamburger in your mouth without a human touching it, that's what's going to happen to all industries as technology moves forward. You just have to be able to replace human labor, which you can't get with technology that works. These robots work 24/7, they're running round the clock. I don't have a machine, a combine, a tractor, anything that I put 8,000 or 9,000 hours on a year.

You think about the amount of time, those things are just running every single minute of every day, and it goes back to old school. We used to have a parlor, you could milk 150 cows in two hours, took two people, but that two hours, every day you were done. So you shut the gate and then you go do your other stuff. This changes the way you farm because the cows are being milked all day long, all night long.

Sometimes you get a call that you don't want to hear at three in the morning, something's out. Three in the morning, I'm usually kind of coming to, but you call me at midnight, I'm dead. I'm not answering that. So technology is awesome. I mean, we've replaced a three people, one full-time person, and two part-time people. Just based on the hourly rate that the state mandates and all the benefits that go with that, it's easy to pay for this robot just based on labor.

Emily Snyder:

I think we've picked up a lot of efficiency too. Less antibiotic use, there wasn't a ton before, but Katie, we were showing you how it picks up on mastitis and you can treat that naturally, if you will.

Cows are happier that helps with milk production, milk quality is up. There's a laundry list of things beyond labor that the robots have done for us. Supposedly there's more free time involved too, but I don't think we figured that one out yet.

Katie Ward:

Well, it's only what four months?

Chuck Fry:

Yeah. I mean you have good days and bad days. Yesterday wasn't so good, today has been awesome. So as long as technology works, but everybody out there has a computer at home, the minute that you hit the button to print something and the printer doesn't want to work and you can't figure it out. The first thing you want to do is open a window and throw it out.

We really can't do that with the robot, but there's days that you have those. So the main driver in this is, is cost. It’s expensive, but so is labor, so is housing, so is all the things that are associated with employees. The biggest thing is animal care and quality, our herd has completely changed.

It used to be that you would go out and you would move the cows physically from one barn, move them into a holding area, a lot of hoop and holler and scream at them because they just needed to move. To now, there’s no noise and that you can walk through the herd, touch them, pet them, they're like having 150 German Shepherds or Labrador Retrievers.

Maybe they're nicer, I don't know, but they just kind of love on you and lick you and don't move and that's good and bad. Now you can't move a 1500 pound cow if she doesn't want to move. It doesn't matter what you're going to do. She's going to stand, you're going to go around her.

Katie Ward:

Right, I guess the popular phrase now is cow comfort. That we're hearing a lot in the industry is just, you find that you get a better quality and more results when the cows are comfortable. It seems that this robot, allows them, Emily was explaining when you they're feeling full, and they know that they can walk in and get milked and not have to wait.

Chuck Fry:

Well the interesting thing about it, it changes the dynamics of your herd. It used to be, everybody was milked at the same time. Everybody went to the feed bunk at the same time. So your boss animals would run out your little animals and they'd have to wait until everybody got done. This takes that totally out of the equation.

They can do their own thing. Instead of like, we have a six row barn, which is usually short on feed bunk space. Now it's fine because 70% of the cows are laying down at all the time. Then you have a 30% of some are milking, some are eating, some are just being curious, that kind of thing. So there's no crowding at a feed bunk, there's none of that. They're just kind of coming and going at will.

There was a nice YouTube video about a guy over in Scotland, somewhere to put one of these in grazing. He's grazing his cows almost a mile away from the farm. So they have a little area where the cows come and go, and you would think that in a conventional way, all those cows won't fit through that little area, but they're just constantly coming and going in this little lane all day long. And it's the same thing in the barn. It's interesting. It changes the way everything I've been taught to do as a dairy manager, completely changes your world. And that's good and bad.

Katie Ward:

Yeah. Well, hopefully as the more months go by, the cows and everyone will get more used to it and it'll be even more efficient. So I know Emily was telling me a bit earlier that about 20% of the milk that you get from your cows here on the farm comes in and is used at the ice cream here in the creamery.

So a lot of people love Rocky Point Creamery ice cream from all around Maryland. You're part of the ice cream trail, other states come here. So what makes your ice cream so special?

ROCKY POINT CREAMERY’S QUALITY ICE CREAM

Emily Snyder:

Well, we're one of the only cow to cone operations. So we literally have a hand in every step. We milk the cows. He raises the crops that feed the cows. We’re there doing that every single day. Then it comes down here, we make the ice cream right here on the farm.

It's a really cool feeling to be able to hand a customer the product that you had a hand in every step of. It's considered super premium, so very creamy. Probably one of the best ice creams. I know we're biased, but probably one of the best ice creams you will ever experience.

Chuck Fry:

I love all ice cream. So trust me, I'll eat anything. I'm a hog in that way. But I have my preferences and it's like anything else, you can have a steak, you can go to Ruth Chris and have some of the best steak in the world, or you can go to your freezer and get the best Angus steak, same with the ice cream. I had a foodie come to us and he's like, what's your favorite place to eat? I'm like my back porch. You know what you're putting on that grill, same way with the ice cream.

The cool part about us being ice cream. I call myself the ice cream farmer. That's a real catchphrase. But anywhere we go, we're always tasting other people's ice cream. The bad thing is you’re a critic and I try not to say anything to other people because they're always waiting for your reaction. All ice cream is good. Everybody that makes their own ice cream, I have say on the trail and up and down the east coast is just good food. If you're not happy eating ice cream, I can't really help you. There's a special place in hell for you.

Katie Ward:

Yeah. Is it true that you taste vanilla, because that's where you actually taste the quality of the ice cream, because it's not kind of diluted with the other flavors?

Chuck Fry:

So we can talk about that all day long. Vanilla is your most pure form of ice cream. You can throw chocolate and throw all kinds of flavors in it. You don't really taste the quality of the cream. But we use that same quality of the cream and all flavors.

So when you taste ours and we don't put a lot of overrun, overrun is a secret catch word for air. So when you go to the grocery store, you start picking up pints and you weigh other people's products. There's some products up there, you can just pick up. It used to be half gallon was a thing you could, some of these half gallons don't weigh as much as our pints do. They have to be careful with that because a lot of companies will put a lot of candy and stuff in their ice cream. So it's full candy and so it depends on what you want to buy.

Ben and Jerry's is great. They have great flavors. I love Ben and Jerry's, in my opinion, there's a lot of candy in that, which makes theirs heavier. But if you go vanilla to vanilla, the override is what you're buying. So if you want to buy air, it's just different. We use an Italian machine, to make our ice cream, which is kind of unique. A lot of the people in Italy make gelato, which is just poor ice cream in my opinion. But when you use a gelato machine to make ice cream with 14% butterfat, then you got the bomb right there, that's pretty good.

Katie Ward:  

That's the percentage you all use here?

Chuck Fry:

Correct. We're not afraid of dairy fat at all.

Katie Ward:

That’s what makes local better, I think. So how many flavors of ice cream does the creamery typically sell in one day? Like if someone customer were to come in, what are their options?

Emily Snyder:

We always have 24 flavors of our hand dipped out. That includes all our ice creams, well not all of them, but ice cream sorbets, which are dairy free. So we have those options and a vegan option.

Katie Ward:

Well, you have to please everyone though.

Emily Snyder:

That’s out sometimes, we also have no sugar added options and then we have soft serve. So there's three flavors of that. Then a variety of sundaes, milkshakes, and a couple of different products like that.

Throughout the year, we do over a hundred different flavors, so kind of seasonal. So like when peaches come in, we'll start doing peach. At the holidays we do a lot more mints or like an eggnog flavor, cinnamon, like the more spice based flavors, that kind of thing.

Chuck Fry:

When crabs come in, we do a crabby cow. That's crazy. I never thought that, it started off as a joke. We basically stole it from somebody else, everybody loves their thing. You know, it doesn't matter what it is. And I wouldn't want to eat a pocket of that stuff, but you know, whatever floats your boat.

OTHER ROCKY POINT CREAMERY PRODUCTS

Katie Ward:

So do you collaborate with any other local producers on the ingredients?

Emily Snyder:

We do. We started doing cheese last year with the start of COVID, milk prices took quite the hit. So that was kind of the kick to make us do cheese, which we'd wanted to do for a while. So one of those actually has a local wineries wine in it.

Mazzaroth Vineyard is 20 minutes up the road in Middletown. So we use one of their Petite Verdot. So it's a really deep colored wine. It tastes really good, smells really good. We've got a couple other partnerships we've been in collaboration with.

Flying Dog Brewery before, done some of their events. We've just spun some beer milkshakes. I would love to do a cheese with them. I think that would be really cool. So now things are getting back to normal. I think we'll start having those discussions again. We catered an event, maybe two weeks ago, met a guy who does a little candied bacon business, and we've been wanting to do maybe like a maple bacon or some kind of bacon basis.

Chuck Fry:

They did bacon. It doesn't matter for bacon in anything.

Emily Snyder:

So that is officially on the docket now for a flavor this year. It's pretty cool.

Katie Ward:

And what else do you sell here at the Creamery besides ice cream and cheese, any beef?

Emily Snyder:

We do sell beef. We do steaks hamburgers, burger patties, lots of different cuts. That's a good portion of our business. We talked about cheese, we've got milk here, used to do eggs. That's kind of hard to get a big enough quantity to keep customers happy.

Chuck Fry:

Unless you grow your own, it's hard. So we have Angus. So we send them up to Pennsylvania to get processed because Maryland's short on processing. We were such good customers of those, they were able to fit us in last year, even during COVID when people weren't doing it, and we were getting beef regularly.

So we booked this year out entirely because it's the hardest part, trying to get people to work with you to say, I want to end up with a product that is X, Y, and Z. Sometimes you have to compromise, sometimes what you really want and what you really get is somewhere in between. So you try to tweak that, we're trying to tweak everything.

ROCKY POINT GRAIN OPERATION

Katie Ward:

A little more about your grain operation, how many acres?

Chuck Fry:

So we're big in the cover crop and have been doing cover crops for 30 plus years, I've been doing no till for a long time. So we do a lot of cover crop management. The good thing about cover crops and dairy cows, is its food for milk.

So we grow a lot of barley and we're using a hulless barley. Which if you know anything about barley, usually when you cut it, it looks like barley and the tank has got a hall on it. But when you cut this new variety of hulless, it almost looks like wheat. So the feed value in that barley is almost 40% more than the regular because you're not taking the hull with it. So straight into the feed for your cows because it's not worth anything on the market.

The cover crop program is really strong. We harvest a lot of small grain for silage. Those cows will eat 300 acres of small grain for silage and then another a hundred acres of barley for grain. Then at that point, it gives us the opportunity in the fall to say, well, do we keep corn or sell corn? What's the market going to look like? It looks like the markets are pretty strong.

We have soybeans too. We will use a lot of those soybeans back through the cows. We will roast them, comes out smelling like peanuts, and it's a good fat energy product for the dairy. So we try to run as many things through the cows as we can, because that's your ultimate. That's your ultimate feed, is whatever you can grow on your own.

PARTNERSHIP WITH ST. JUDE’S

Katie Ward:

I'm sure your consumers like knowing that what the cows eat, you grow here. So they can literally sit in the Creamery, look out the window and see the fields.

So I always am inspired when I see your sunflower field pictures each year and the charity that you do with St. Jude's. So can you tell our listeners a little bit about this project?

Emily Snyder:

Chuck started that five or six years ago.

Chuck Fry:

We pretty much did that when we opened it. It wasn’t about St. Jude's. We just did the St Jude's recently, but it was more of we're out here in the middle of nowhere and when we wrote our business plan for the ice cream shop, I'm like, nobody's coming to Point of Rocks to get ice cream. So we have a road that moves very fast by us and to try to get people to notice, we just planted sunflowers out there.

So it was like, wait, what is that? That brought people in that were new customers that kind of said, "Hey, I noticed the flowers, I didn't know what the building was."

It started as ads and turned into a really great community project with St. Jude's and everybody knows about St. Jude. So that will wear your heart out.

Katie Ward:

Yeah and last year you raised $9,000 for them, which is amazing.

Emily Snyder:

So we charge a dollar per cut flower and accept donations. We get lots of people out just for the photo op for them, for the ‘gram, we ask them to donate. So we get a lot of cash donations. We added to our point of sale, like our credit card system.

We got a number of donations that way. I unknowingly put something on Facebook that created a link, and we got a heck of a lot of donations last year, that way. So that really helped get us to that $9,000.

Chuck Fry:

It's a bad thing is I just remembered that's one more job I got to get done by Tuesday. Well, you plant it a little bit longer and we stagger, we want to push that business into September. So we plant a little later than most people do.

ROCKY POINT CREAMERY EVENTS

Katie Ward:

Yeah, because if they all grow at the same time, then they all die at the same time. Awesome. And you run the social media for the creamery here.

So how has marketing it to the community and like photography, I know Andrea Hanes is a local photographer here that Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit adores, we use her for a lot of publications and how is it telling the creamery story to the consumer?

Emily Snyder:

Andrea came out, I think it was Tuesday and took a lot of professional photos. I can snap cow pictures and ice cream photos, but I wanted some truly professional ones to put on the website and of course use on our social media just so consumers can really see exactly what the product is.

She captured some of our staff making the ice cream and just the whole process. So I'm excited to see what she comes up with. But I do try to post every day, just keep it fresh.

I've been trying to make the connection between the cow and the cone more because so many people come here and don't realize that all the buildings back there are farm buildings. They don't see the whole picture. So a lot of it's the educational piece and sometimes it's hard, but we do our best.

Katie Ward:

Yeah. You're doing a great job. So do you have any other events or ventures planned for the Creamery this year? I think you may have an event trailer.

Emily Snyder:

Last year, our big fun purchase was an ice cream trailer. Obviously, maybe it wasn't a great year. We didn't know that we went into 2020, right. We were able to take it up to a friend's pumpkin patch, Winterbrook Farms up in Thurmont. I think you've spoken with them before. They do sunflowers, pumpkins, hay rides, all those fun things. So we took the trailer. That was a great trial run.

We will do that again this year. We've gotten a couple other smaller events to do with it. Then we always have food trucks on the weekends. We've got a couple of goat yoga sessions signed off. Nothing too crazy this year, but we're excited next year to start planning some more things and go back to our collaborations with other businesses.

TALES OF A DAIRY GODMOTHER, CHUCK’S ICE CREAM WISH

Katie Ward:

That's exciting. So tell me a little bit about the children's book that was written about your farm. It's called Tales of the Dairy Godmother, Chuck's Ice Cream Wish.

How did that come into fruition and how can our listeners get a copy?

Chuck Fry:

So I was president of the Maryland Farm Bureau and I was also on American Farm Bureau's executive committee. So I was in Washington probably more than I really care to talk about. We were at a meeting doing something and Christie Lujan came up and she said, we're writing this story about dairy and we want your input, we want your thoughts, they really want to do this book and it's about some kids, this and that and the other, but we would rather use your tagline in your story because it's real.

I'm like, oh, that would be fine, as long as the book can be fun. If you're writing for a first grader, it doesn't have to be everything in this world does not have to be politically correct to be fun, so you can have fun in the book. So anyway, they used Chuck's Ice Cream Wish to try to get more people to understand that ice cream actually comes from cows and told the story well. It was voted book of the year, I think, this year or last year.

Emily Snyder:

It was the 2020 book of the year for American Farm Bureau. And then a number of the state farm bureau is I think, nine or ten that I'm aware of, chose it for their 20-21 book of the year. So we did some virtual farm tours beginning of the year, some readings online with kiddos across the country. So that's cool.

Chuck Fry:

So you can get that on Amazon, Chuck's Ice Cream Wish. I’ve never really looked at it, but somebody said you can get it right on Amazon. We have copies here in the store. I'll sign them for a small fee if you buy an ice cream. You know, just one of those crazy things in life that happens that you don't plan for.

AMERICAN FARM BUREAU

Katie Ward:

Well, I think Farm Credit could get some and give them out to our listeners if they would like copy too. So a little bit about Farm Bureau.

How did your leadership roles serving on the American Farm Bureau boards and committees, and a state president kind of guide you as a business owner and teach you things here on the farm?

Chuck Fry:

I would have flipped that and said the farmer taught me about being on the board. The American Farm Bureau is more about connections across the U.S. and other countries. The network of farmers in that is amazing. The friendships that are formed in that is amazing. We had some young dairy farmers from Utah, just come out a couple of weeks ago.

Because we live so close to D.C., they come here, but because of the farm bureau, the bonds that we have from all over, we are still cultivating that. So the management of knowing what big business does, what big agriculture does, how that relates to Washington D.C., whether you like it or hate it, that's the way the world works.

Politics seems to run policy. It doesn't take good politics to make bad policy that seems to happen more often than not. So American Farm Bureau is there in D.C. We at Maryland Farm Bureau and Frederick County Farm Bureau, it all comes back down to the counties. So one voice, one vote, and Emily is on the local board. I hadn't been to a farm bureau meeting in God knows how long and I'm smiling.

Katie Ward:

How many years were you involved?

Chuck Fry:

Forever, it was just seems like, I think I spent three years as president of Frederick County and kind of worked up through the ranks. Then went to the state as first vice president, second vice president or whatever. However it went, it seemed like it was a great time. Met a lot of people, learned a lot of things. Policy kind of changed a little bit and it was a great time, but everything has its time where it's taken a lot of toll out of you.

I gave a lot of time to that. It's really nice to be back at the farm. And it's really nice not to have to get all dressed up and go to D.C. for three days. In the middle of harvest, it would drive me crazy. But you know, it's nice to be able to say, been there, done that and I can kind of do what makes me happy.

Katie Ward:

But still keep all the connections and relationships and continue to learn from the national farmers.

Chuck Fry:

Correct. So Wayne is a new president and I get a call from him every now and then. Zippy is the president of American Farm Bureau, and out of the blue he'll call me.

A lot of times they'll call me and say, Hey, I'm reading your book to a group of kids. And he was like, I wanted them to know that I knew Chucky the Ice Cream Farmer so can you talk to them. It's just funny that those connections and the friendships that were made in farm bureau are just priceless. It still goes on today.

ICE CREAM: THIS OR THAT

Katie Ward:

So now we're going to do a fun little lightning round. I'll ask a question and each of you can tell me your answer to these ice cream questions. So we'll start with Emily. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

Emily Snyder:

Rainbow sprinkles on soft serve twist. In depth, then lemon cookie crunch.

Katie Ward:

Lemon cookie crunch. All right. What about you Chuck? Favorite ice cream flavor?

Chuck Fry:

I sort of like soft serve vanilla with nothing. That's so boring. Twist is okay, because it gives you a little chocolate.

Favorite flavor, and the hard dip is hard, so I like white chocolate, so we make a white wedding cake, you know, I only go to weddings to eat the cake. I'll pay for whatever. I just want the white wedding cake.

Katie Ward:

That sounds good. I remember the salted caramel pretzel. That's always been my favorite when I would dip ice cream at the Maryland State Fair and Rocky Point would bring their ice cream for a day. That was my go-to.

All right. So Emily, what's your favorite topping on ice cream?

Emily Snyder:

Rainbow sprinkles.

Chuck Fry:

Good ice cream doesn't need toppings.

Katie Ward:

Okay. Emily cup or cone?

Emily Snyder:

Cone, waffle cone.

Katie Ward:

It smelled amazing, when I came in here this morning from the waffle cone making, what about you Chuck?

Chuck Fry:

It depends on my mood. So a lot of times I just like the cup because I like the ice cream, not all the other crap, but I really like the waffle cones because they have a lot of vanilla in them. So there's the vanilla theme, so boring.

Katie Ward:

Emily, milkshake or sundae?

Emily Snyder:

Oh a shake.

Chuck Fry:

I like it all. I mean, so hot fudge sundae. If you really want to get fat, hot fudge brownie sundae or double fudge with whipped cream. Then don't get on the scale.

Katie Ward:

And then the last question, Emily, Holstein or Jersey?

Emily Snyder:

Oh, Jersey. I love my little brown cow.

Chuck Fry:

Oh no. So I've always had Holsteins, but I'm short and my Holsteins have about outgrown me. I've always bred these cows and with the robot, I breed a lot of cows on the same level as they are. I realize that they're like way taller than I am, so I need a bucket to stand on. So we are breeding everything to Jerseys, buying Jerseys because it comes down to my size.

Katie Ward:

That's awesome. So how can our listeners find Rocky Point Creamery online?

Emily Snyder:

We're on Facebook, we're on Instagram and we have a website. Every once in a while we'll have an article done about us. So I think if you Google us, you should find everything you want to know.

WHAT DO YOU ADVOCATE FOR IN AG?

Katie Ward:

Awesome. We can link to your website and Facebook on our podcasts website.

So we always like to ask our guests one final question, same question to everyone. And that is what do you advocate for in agriculture? Kind of a big picture question.

Chuck Fry:

You want to go first?

Emily Snyder:

Well, I think we kind of talked about it. It's really important that you get the whole picture of where your food comes from. It's not just the grocery store and we hear that so often. Or like I mentioned, people come here and not realize what's literally right behind the creamery is the dairy farm where it really happens.

So I always try to say, hey, this is all the work that goes into the thing that's on your dinner table. You know, whether it's bread or ice cream or whatever it is. There's a lot that went in to getting product in front of you.

Chuck Fry:

I agree and that's why I wanted you to go first because I didn't want to ruin it. But education, I went to college to educate people. I taught school. I just don't have the patience for all that. So my hats off to school teachers, but everything we do here is about food and education. And the more you become educated, the more you realize why farms exist.

There was a little video somebody sent to me and you know, it was about farming and why we've evolved. What are we 2%, or less than 2% of the population feeding a hundred and some percent because most of our products go overseas. So for us working as hard as we do, it allows everybody else to do what they want, whether it's doctors and lawyers, or educators or loan officers or whatever that may be.

You don't have to worry when you come home at night, whether you're going to get something out of the garden and that's a choice, but most of the time you can drive through the Shake Shack on the way home and get a hamburger shoved out the window and we make that possible.

Katie Ward:

Awesome. Well, I agree. Consumer education is definitely a huge priority and something that all of us in the industry try to do every day. So thank you all for contributing to the food, fuel and fiber. And also ice cream.

Chuck Fry:

The ice cream, I don't care about anything else. All about the ice cream.

Katie Ward:

Yeah. Especially in July. All right. Well again, thank you guys for your time. I know you're super busy, so I appreciate this and hope that everyone else enjoys as well.

"NO ICE CREAM BEFORE DINNER - YOU'LL RUIN YOUR APPETITE!" 

A rule as old as time, use by parents around the world to make their children eat their vegetables or clean their plate before dessert. Although your parents were definitely right, you should always eat your veggies, we also think during the month of July, National Ice Cream Month, you deserve an extra scoop!

You can help support your neighbors by shopping local at mid-atlantic dairies, creameries and markets in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. 

Delaware Ice Cream

THE FROZEN FARMER
9843 Seashore Hwy. | Bridgeville, DE 19933

HOPKINS FARM CREAMERY
18186 Dairy Farm Rd. | Lewes, DE 19958

VANDERWENDE FARM CREAMERY
4003 Seashore Hwy. | Bridgeville, DE 19933*

Maryland Ice Cream

BROOM’S BLOOM DAIRY 
1700 S Fountain Green Rd. | Bel Air, MD 21015

CHESAPEAKE BAY FARMS DAIRY
4111 Whitesburg Rd. | Pocomoke City, MD 21851

DELITEFUL DAIRY
16230 Long Delite Ln. | Williamsport, MD 21795

KEYES CREAMERY 
3712 Aldino Rd. | Aberdeen, MD 21001

MISTY MEADOW FARM CREAMERY
14325 Misty Meadow Rd. | Smithsburg, MD 21783

NICE FARMS CREAMERY
25786 Auction Rd. | Federalsburg, MD 21632

PEACE HOLLOW CREAMERY 
2148 Rohrersville Rd. | Knoxville, MD 21758

PRIGEL FAMILY CREAMERY 
4852 Long Green Rd. | Glen Arm, MD 21057

ROCK HILL ORCHARD AND WOODBOURNE CREAMERY
28600 RIDGE ROAD, MOUNT AIRY, MD 21771

ROCKY POINT CREAMERY 
4323 A Tuscarora Rd. | Tuscarora, MD 21790

Pennsylvania Ice Cream

MERRYMEAD FARM
2222 S. Valley Forge Rd. | Lansdale, PA 19446

KLEIN FARMS DAIRY & CREAMERY
410 Klein Rd. | Easton, PA 18040

PINE VIEW DAIRY
2225 New Danville Pike | Lancaster, PA 17603

WAY-HAR FARM MARKET 
7701 Bernville Rd. | Bernville, PA 19506

Virginia Ice Cream 

MACKINTOSH FRUIT FARM
1608 Russell Rd. | Berryville, VA 22611

MARKER-MILLER ORCHARDS
3035 Cedar Creek Grade | Winchester, VA 22602

West Virginia Ice Cream

ORR’S FARM MARKET 
682 Orr Dr. | Martinsburg, WV 25403

TAYLORS FARM MARKET
178 Pilgrim St. | Inwood, WV 25428

When you’re considering buying a home, looking at your current debt balance can be intimidating. But with the right strategies, you can pay down debt and be poised to purchase a new home in six to 12 months. While we can help you finance a home, land, or an entire farm, you can start to prepare for your next loan with these tips.

Prep Your Existing Home for Sale

If you own a home and need to sell before financing a new property, you’ll have a few items on your to-do list in addition to managing debt. The good news is that the higher your list price, the more funds you’ll have to work with for financing your next home. Even a thorough clean-up can already help get your house in shape for a lucrative sale, so be sure to prioritize the improvements your home needs before the listing date arrives.

Start by making a list of household projects that need attention. Spending a bit of cash up-front can help you clean up your house so that it appraises – and sells – for a higher amount. When you do, consider outsourcing more challenging tasks to professionals, both for your safety and peace of mind. A tree removal service, for example, is better equipped to handle dangerous trees hanging over your property line. Tree removal can cost anywhere from $400 to $2,000, though, so it’s crucial that you check the service provider’s credentials, insurance, certifications, references, and ask for a written estimate.

Start Building Your Credit One Payment at a Time

One crucial factor in your home loan equation is your credit score. A better credit score means more loan options, fewer fees, and even a lower down payment when buying a home. But how can you build your credit while dealing with debt?

Keeping current on your existing debt payments is the best way to increase your credit score. As you pay down balances – even in small increments – you decrease your debt to income ratio and create a more favorable credit profile.

There are plenty of credit tracking apps where you can keep an eye on your score, too. Keep in mind, however, that these apps aren’t always accurate, so the most accurate report comes from one of three credit reporting agencies. The good news is that the federal credit bureaus offer free reports once per year, notes USA.gov.

Start Exploring Home Loan Options

Just because you have debt doesn’t mean you can’t qualify for a mortgage. With our home loan and mortgage services, for instance, you can enjoy competitive and long-term fixed rates. There are also higher debt-to-income limits and lower down payment requirements.

However, if you are still carrying a high level of debt from student loans or other bills, saving cash may be a better strategy than chipping away at your current balance. Having cash in hand means you’re prepared to pay escrow fees, closing costs, and any other incidentals when buying your new home. In many cases, having cash in hand can be more valuable than having a debt-free credit pull.

Strategize, Then Stick with Your Plan

Many financial gurus recommend the “snowball” payment plan for debt. This approach involves paying your smallest balance first, then rolling that fee amount into the payment for the next bigger item, and so on. Experian recommends choosing a strategy and sticking with it, prioritizing a healthy debt-to-income ratio. The right approach for you depends on how your debt stacks up, plus where your ratio currently lies.

One solid tip no matter the payoff approach you take? Avoid opening new accounts or adding charges to credit cards. Stopping the debt cycle takes more than paying off outstanding bills: it involves avoiding running up charges when you’re finally in the clear.

By focusing on paying down debt in small increments and keeping tabs on your credit, you will find yourself a step closer to realizing your dream of buying a home. Have questions about the loan process or your ability to take out a loan? Connect with one of our experts find out whether homeownership is a more achievable goal than you anticipated.

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

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.