National Trip #3

One thing I've learned in Ag Leadership is there is always two sides to a coin, and always two distinct sides to any issue. One issue in particular that our class has discussed in much detail was California's Proposition 2, the 'Standards for Confining Farm Animals' initiative that was sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

We were able to meet with David Martosko, Director of Research of the Center for Consumer Freedom. The Center for Consumer Freedom (www.consumerfreedom.com) is a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting personal responsibility and protecting consumer choices. This was an interesting talk regarding radical environmental groups such as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the HSUS and their ultimate goal of abolishing animal agriculture in the United States.

We also were able to meet with Paul Shapiro of the HSUS. His official job title is the Senior Director of the Factory Farming Campaign. Mr. Shapiro talked about the background of Prop 2, his organization and his background. He has worked as a farm animal cruelty investigator and has published articles on animal welfare. We had a great discussion regarding Prop 2 and it's implications to California agriculture. As a person who derives their income primarily from animal agriculture, I was pretty skeptical of Mr. Shapiro's motives. After hearing him and asking him some pointed questions, I still am skeptical.

National Trip #2

Class 39 out front of the USDA Building

Our first day in Washington D.C. and we were ready. Top of the agenda was the USDA building. We arrived, made it through security and had a variety of speakers. We had a lot of talks regarding international agricultural affairs. We learned about how the Department of Defense views agriculture as a strategic asset, both nationally and internationally.

We heard about the security of our food supply, and how that is tested during natural disasters. One interesting speaker involved with the African Affairs Policy explained the complexity of the programs in Africa, with providing food aid to areas that are largely ungoverned. We got to meet the USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

We had a quick lunch with some lobbyists, and got to hear how they represent various industries on the hill. Interesting perspective to see how the rubber hits the road. We were supposed to meet Barbara Boxer, but were stood up, and instead had one of her staffers. Off to visit with Congressman Costa. We had a reception at the USDA building that evening.

The next day we visited the International Food Policy Research Institute, learned about food safety in developing countries and bio-fortification (breeding crops that are packed with micronutrients and marketed in developing countries). We then hopped on the bus and visited the National Defense University, met with Col. Randolph and students of NDU. We really enjoyed walking the grounds and hearing the history of the NDU from Col. Randolph... what a wealth of knowledge!

Back on the bus, back to D.C. to visit Congressman Radanovich (Ag Leadership Alum). Here we heard about a lot of issues, but we surely talked about the history of the San Joaquin River agreement. Dinner that night was with alumni from the Washington D.C. Exchange program, sponsored by the California Ag Leadership Program that brings federal policy-making decision makers to view the issues facing California agriculture.

National Trip #1

The National Trip was such an eye opening experience for us Californians. I had only been to Washington D.C. once before so this was a special treat for me.

The Northern Californian contingent started out by meeting the evening before in San Francisco. Our company, Prather Ranch, sells meat to a great spot in the city- the Slow Club (www.slowclub.com). We converged upon the Slow Club, packed into a table, and I think all of us ordered the Prather Ranch hamburger (our waitress gave us an odd look- but someone spilled the beans and said I was from the ranch.... glad we were exposed because the chef sent us something special from the kitchen!). Those burgers were delicious! I still hear from Rick Stark (AKA Jimmy) that the burger was the best burger he's had in his life.

The next morning, we departed for the east coast. At some point mid-flight, something didn't seem right. The plane quickly started dropping in altitude, the pilot got on the air and told us to remain seated with our seatbelts fastened. Emergency landing in Nashville, TN. Apparently, the windshield was cracked on the plane. We made the best of things in Nashville, found an aspiring country artist playing covers in the airport bar, and passed the time. Things were already off to an interesting start!

"My Myers Briggs personality type says that in emergency situations, Emily goes to the bar!"

Emily Robidart-Rooney

Ag Leadership- Highlights of Year #1

Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

These seminars focus on communication and public speaking. We've learned about types of communication, how to facilitate group discussions and the role the media plays in communications. We also learned about the future of social networking (James Rickert likes this). Other lessons learned included how to think quickly on our feet, always keep your game face on and don't crack under pressure (thank you Dr. Joe Sabol!). These communication skills we learned have proved to be especially valuable in our Ag Leadership journey.

Another great experience at Cal Poly SLO was the Chumash Challenge- a hands on team building experience. One aspect of the Chumash Challenge was to get all members of our class over 'the wall,' a 14-foot high wall without anything other than ourselves (and our safety harnesses and helmets). This seemed like an impossible task, but with some persistence we figured out how to safely send all people over the top of the wall. What a great accomplishment for Class 39!

UC Davis

We spent some time at the state Capitol learning about how laws are created and the legislative process. Our class also split up one day and visited a variety of different servant leadership examples- some of the females in the class stayed overnight at the St. John's Shelter for Women and Children, others served the homeless at Loves and Fishes in Sacramento. My group went to the Stanford Community Center- a great example of how one person can help rally others in a community and provide a venue for both children and seniors, and everyone in between. The entire class converged upon Loaves and Fishes and had a great tour of the facility by Sister Libby.

Class 39 at Loaves and Fishes, Sacramento

We always seem to have some sort of 'Governmental Leaders Reception' in Sacramento, and get the opportunity to visit with people in leadership positions at California Deparment of Food & Ag, California Resources Agency and the California Department of Pesticicde Regulation to name a few. This is always a good opportunity to meet the faces behind the decision making process in Sacramento.

Cal Poly, Pomona

This seminar was an especially powerful one. We learned about prejudicial attitues, biculturalism, and even if Obama was a good example of the American Dream. Here we also focused on the inner self, Grace Flannery helped us through looking at our own character strengths (complete with our own life map). We toured a place called Ability First! which was a learning center for children with disabilities. We spent some time with the children, learning about autism and other disabilities first-hand. We went to the Puente Learning Center, a school for many low income people of all ages in East and South Los Angeles.

We had an amazing opportunity to have Paul Botello give us a personal tour of his elaborate murals located on various buildings spread throughout East Los Angeles. I could have stared at these murals for hours, but to have Mr. Botello go through what each and every image meant to him was an eye opening experience.

Another highlight of the Pomona seminar was the tour of Homeboy Enterprises, a place for ex-gang members to learn new job skills and get out of life in the ghetto. We had some great insight (in the form of a unexpected comedy show) from a few homies that were improving their lives. These guys were hilarious!

"Trip on this!"

Fresno State

This seminar helped prepare us for the national trip. We studied the Founding Fathers of our country, we were all assigned a variety of books to help prepare for this. We learned about the "American Virtue" and how at that formative time in America, the people here starting this country were determined. Their determination led them on a long boat ride here, there were no free lunches and their success was determined largely by their hard work. We learned about leadership gone awry... Jim Jones and the Kool-Aid comes to mind. Bill Jones talked about his experiences in the Republican party and his role in Pacific Ethanol. We had speakers talk about the plagues of the mind and "Romantic environmentalism." We sat like sponges in our seats and soaked up all of this information. After this seminar, Class 39 was prepared to conquer Washington, D.C.

Welcome to my Brain

One very interesting thing I've done in Ag Leadership is take the Myers Briggs personality test. We took this early on and got the results at our second seminar at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

I found out I am your basic ENFJ- the nickname for this is "Mentor" or "Mobilizer." This personality type can also be described as the "Catalyst, Mentor and Idealist." Only 5% of the population has this personality type.

Once I dug into the details of ENFJ, it hit me like a ton of bricks. This was me! I just found out who I really was! I could bore you with information about this personality type, but instead I'll invite you to go find out who you really are (if you haven't done so already).

The Inauguration

Class 39 in Monterey

I’m officially in. I got the letter. I’m now a member of Class 39 of the California Agricultural Leadership Program. What did I just get myself into?

The Inauguration was in Monterey. This first seminar came at a busy time for me, during my organic strawberry plant harvest and shipping season. It was going to be tough to be away from reality, but I knew it was necessary to detach from work to get the most out of this program. I couldn’t sleep the night before, I was very nervous. I was about to embark on a journey into the unknown.

My wife Laura and I left early from the ranch in Bella Vista, and didn’t see the sun come up until halfway down the Sacramento Valley. On the drive down, I decided to go slightly off the beaten path and drive through Watsonville. I knew the exact location of a freshly planted field of my strawberry plants. I pulled over next to the field, and looking at the crowns gave me a sense of familiarity. I had grown these plants up at Prather Ranch, and images of the harvesting, working in the trim shed in Redding, and the loading of the trucks helped reduce some of my stress. Here was a field of my accomplishments, and this helped give me a little confidence to walk into this new journey with my head held high.

Before we knew it, Laura and I were eating lunch with my new classmates and their spouses. I could see how nervous everyone else was, and this provided me with a small amount of relief. I wasn’t the only one who was completely out of their element!

Our class soon was inundated with a multitude of speakers. We were exposed to a variety of information at this first seminar- focusing on the inner (understanding self), the outer (understanding how to lead others) and the global (understanding the inter-related nature of today’s issues). At one point, someone had said, “Look around, your classmates will be like family to you at the end of this fellowship.” I didn’t realize how true that statement would become.

The second day of seminar we took our first field trip to the Senior Citizen Center in Watsonville. Our speaker, Mas Hashimoto, provided a riveting first-hand account of the Japanese internment during World War II. His powerful accounts on how the Japanese were rounded up like cattle and moved to regional “camps” were shocking. The discrimination they experienced because of their ethnicity was a disgrace.

This speaker showed me a different perspective that I had never considered before. Ag Leadership has taught me to always look at a variety of perspectives on every issue before taking a stance, and this was a powerful first lesson.

I had completed my first step in my Ag Leadership journey.

The Interview

To start readers at my international trip would be a disadvantage. First, I’d like to provide an overview of the program and a few highlights of what my leadership journey has encompassed. Don’t worry, we’ll be getting to the good stuff soon enough.

The California Agricultural Leadership Program is a two-year fellowship that starts with a rigorous application and interview process. The application alone was a chore, fourteen pages about “me” along with four letters of recommendation. This already separates the wheat from the chaff.

It was in the summer of 2008, during a typical heat spell in the upper Sacramento Valley. I was preparing for my interview, something I’ve not had much experience in. I have had smaller interviews for various small jobs in college and one after college, but nothing of this magnitude. I put on my new suit, hopped in my truck, left the ranch in Bella Vista and headed to Chico State University. I recall looking at the cows in the front field while driving out the driveway, “Wish me luck, girls.”

My truck’s air conditioning was acting up. This day, it obviously wanted to put me to the test. There was also a large fire in Paradise. The air was thick with smoke, fire trucks were everywhere and I was drenched in sweat.

There is something about Chico, I always get lost. I made sure my directions led me to exactly the spot on campus I needed to be. I found a parking lot that suited me, put my suit jacket on, looked in the mirror one last time, and opened the door to the extreme 100+ degree heat and smoke.

The Chico State campus is very beautiful, but I wasn’t there to soak up my surroundings. I was on a mission, a mission to succeed. I had found the building, and saw a sign that read, “CALP Interviews.” I was getting close, and entered the building.

I wandered the halls a bit and found the room. I was right on time, and walked into the interview. I was pleased to see one familiar face, Jennifer Ryder-Fox. She was the Department Head at Cal Poly’s Crop Science Department during my senior year. She lit up when she saw me. Words can’t describe what a relief it was to have at least one ally in the room.

The questions had begun. I was hammered for the next hour on a variety of topics. These aren’t your typical yes or no questions. They were controversial agricultural topics that required much thought and consideration.

One hour and a few gallons of sweat later, I was done. When I got back in my truck, I didn’t turn on the music or pick up the phone. I was lost in thought, contemplating my every answer. By the time I hit Los Molinos, I had realized that I answered every question dead wrong, and if I could do it all over again, I might have a chance. By the time I was coming back down the driveway on the ranch, I saw the cows again and thought, “Maybe I’ll apply again next year.”

I didn’t realize that my leadership journey had already begun.

My Ag Leadership Journey

First off, to give everyone a background on how I got to this point... I figured I would give some details on my Ag Leadership experience.

I have learned more about myself and my personality than I dreamed possible. I have learned how my personality interacts with others, and how I can effectively lead. It also has opened my eyes to national and global issues. Who would have thought a rancher from Bella Vista would be so interested in the banking system in China! This program has given me the tools to keep learning with my eyes wide open.

I'll admit, I was getting stuck in a rut. I was focused on putting out fires, getting through day to day activities and not thinking about the big picture. Our business is chaotic- it's hard to organize agricultural management as new challenges are posed each and every day. Just when you think you have things under control, your phone rings and it's the neighbor informing you that you've got a bunch of cows out...

I'll put up a series of posts regarding specific experiences I've had in Ag Leadership. I hope to cover some highlights before I journey to Peru & Ecuador. If anything, bringing me back to the moment might help me better understand the content. Sometimes you need to let the information marinate a bit before you can fully digest it.

Welcome

Welcome everyone. Why am I going to start blogging? I love to communicate with others. I love agriculture. Seems like a logical fit, right?

I will be going on a trip soon to Peru & Ecuador, and this seems like a great way to communicate. Will I continue to blog into the future? Great question- only time will tell.

Hope you enjoy the journey.