#agleadership

The day is December 25th 1776. Christmas Night. 2400 men cross The Delaware River in flat bottomed boats over the course of 11 hours. This marks the start of the 10 days that changed the world.

Why does this day matter? Why does this event stand as a pinnacle of American history? It matters because a man named George Washington decided to push his men at the end of their possible tour of duty to the utmost extremes to salvage a victory against an overwhelming force using only 10 dollars and a plea to their patriotism.

General Washington was able to persuade his troops to attack the German soldiers in the British Army while they celebrated Christmas, possibly with ale, and take them by complete surprise and start what became the beginning of the end of the American Revolution.  Now, we know the war would last at least another 5 years, but even General Cornwallis at the Paris Treaty admitted that losing that night was the end of the British reign over America.  

After leaving the Delaware River, Trenton, and Princeton with decisive victories, Washington lead his troops to Valley Forge which is high tactical ground a little over a days walk from Philadelphia where the men cut down trees to build log cabins to wait out the winter.  These cabins held only a few men at a time so they took turns sleeping a few hours before it was time for the next shift to rest.  They were there through June before continuing their battle against British forces.  So what is the big idea here? First, Washington stayed the entire time with his troops rather than going home.  This proved his commitment to the men and his willingness to be at the forefront of the inconvenience.  Once again proving his humility and leadership in many different forms.  He also used these 6 months to train and drill the troops to  turn a rag tag militia into a well trained army. When asked why they stayed from Christmas through June, one of the minute men responded “once you have tasted freedom in a nation, there is no going back. Every day spent here is one day closer to continuing the freedom of this nation.”

After leaving the cabins of Valley Forge, we went to the headquarters based in Valley Forge. For perspective of the importance of this building to the times, think of it as todays Pentagon. A place for military strategy and planning. The unique fact about this building is 76% of it is still original, which is extremely rare for a national monument or historical site.  The docent stated “great people become great by living a lifetime of doing small decent acts, which eventually becomes one great act which propels them to infamy.” Truly, a man who would become our first president lived through many months of pain, many years of war, and gave up supreme power once again for the essence of freedom.

See you all tomorrow,

Washington D.C

The morning started at a local church, the afternoon was spent at Arlington Cemetery and the evening ended with a night tour of the Washington monuments. The common thread that ran through all three is a simple phrase that we as a class have started to call “Faith and Fellowship.”  A faith in humanity, a faith in this country, its leadership, and a desire to raise each other up as we do ourselves.  The sermon this morning broke down John 3:16 line by line, speaking about a love for all people not just a select few.  A few hours later, we as a fellowship read the Gettysburg address inscribed in marble on the walls of the Lincoln memorial which states that “all men are created equal.”  

The reverend spoke today with such power and conviction that I cannot put it into words, used a few lines today that I loved. He said, “we were taught as children that this little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.” He said we were not “taught to put that light away in a box under our bed.”  He spoke of sharing our light to help drive out darkness, and to reach out and cherish those both in the white houses and the crack houses.  He spoke of not sending your kids to church, but taking your kids to church. If that isn’t the perfect metaphor for advocacy, Im not sure what is. 

Sadly, many of these monuments exist because a war was fought and thousands of souls were lost.  But, each war was fought with a believe and a faith in an idea or principle.  One monument used only four words, yet spoke a powerful message, "Freedom is not free.” From the founding of this country to the civil war, WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam and now Afghanistan we know this to be true, yet it is our greatest hope that we are becoming a more united country and a more peaceful world with each great battle.  Whether this is true or not is not for me to say, but as I stood before the statues of great leaders I cannot help but believe it to be true.  Washington founded a country and helped deliver freedom to a country. Lincoln finally understood the oppression of millions and brought much needed justice to black Americans and slaves.  FDR fought hate and fear to help rescue Western Europe. Each of these acts took a faith in themselves as leaders and a desire for fellowship worldwide.  

So, once again, whats the big idea?  Words have tremendous power. Never overlook an opportunity to use your voice for good. Love thy neighbor as you love yourself.  A rising tide raises all boats.  Don’t just work in ag, promote it and take your issues to the capitol and keep pushing through the loses until victory is had.  There will be pain. There will be agony. But have a belief in yourself, in your brethren, let your light shine, and never forget those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice so that you may raise your families in the best country in the whole world. Remember, for god so loved the world, not just the unbroken. Amen.

Good night and god bless,

Today was another great day full of learning.  We were able to visit The DC Central Kitchen, The United Fresh Produce Association, The White House and the American Chemistry Council.  Each included unique messages and settings. We started at the DC Central Kitchen early in the morning but we will wrap up todays recap with that.

At The United Fresh Produce Association (UFPA) we met with Tom Stenzel, who is the President of the UFPA. He has been president for 25 years, and The UFPA has been helping growers of specialty crops for over 113 years.  They represent a fully vertically integrated supply-chain in the produce industry from grower/shipper to packaging/processing to wholesale and retail. One of the messages that came out of today was even in a “specialty” industry such as theirs, they have a hard time coming together in agreement on issues. But even so, they have to provide a unified front when lobbying so, at this moment their top three issues are: workforce, NAFTA and The Farm Bill.  They each are dynamic in their own way but the key was bringing their members together to build consensus on these issues to provide a unified front. Members of Congress don’t come to the Hill knowing everything about everything, and rely on constituents and lobbyist to help educate them to the issues. But at the same time, they don’t want to have to call thirty-five different groups on every problem. Obviously, workforce and immigration are hot button topics that push each party to their corners, but even still, there is room to find common ground to ensure that we as an industry aren’t sending a mixed message to Congress. This only allows them to kick the can down the road saying come back to us once you agree on something. Instead, we need to come to agreements ahead of time and stand united as we present our message to Congress.

We then walked a few blocks to a small unknown residence on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where a guy with a “YUGE” personality lives. The walk was beautiful. Trees were starting to push out blossoms. Everyone was in fresh pressed expensive suits with places to go and people to see.  We were then sat in a beautiful hardwood floored room with vaulted ceilings where we had the chance to speak with Ray Starling, National Economic Council, Special Assistant to the President for Agriculture, Trade and Food Assistance. He explained to us that President Trump was trying to solve two simple questions. One, what are the limits, and two what are the roadblocks to economic growth?  How can he grow agriculture, health, energy, finance, etc.  He also explained that 95% of our customers in Ag, are outside of the US, therefore we need to make trade agreements with all parties that are fair to both us and them.  Other questions they are trying to solve are: how can we make the H2A more responsible, how can we reform regulation, and how can we purpose 25% of infrastructure spending for rural areas? At the end of the day, we need to continue to look out for the 5% of Rural America that is slowly being left behind on technology, bandwidth, housing and policy. It will take communication, telling a story and patience on both sides to get positive change.  

After a fantastic meeting with Ray, we caught a ride over to the American Chemistry Council where we had an informative presentation and relaxing hors devour and wine reception  with Cal Dooley.  Cal, a CALF Class 13 Alumni, is the president of the ACC, and formerly served as a congressman in California’s 17th & 20th Districts. Cal shared with us the mission of the ACC, and the challenges their industry faces in Washington and more broadly. It’s interesting to note that agriculture isn’t the only industry facing an uphill battle both from a policy and public relations perspective. Cal’s messages for success as we go forth were simple: Invest your political capital where there is the best chance for return, be creative but fact-based with your messaging, and try to always be on the forefront of innovation in your industry. One last important lesson: it’s nice to know people in “high places” in DC as Cal generously treated us to a rooftop tour of the ACC’s office, complete with an excellent view of the US Capitol.

Finally, we take you back to our first stop this morning, The DC Central Kitchen. It sits in the shadows of the Capitol, yet it is actually housed in a homeless shelter. Homeless men and women litter the streets and sidewalks wrapped in whatever clothing or blankets are available to them. The Kitchen was started by Robert Egger after he watched his local church distribute meals to those in need for years, with no interest in helping them move past their current stage of need. In that moment he realized that “food would never solve hunger…” Take a moment to think about that. To truly help these people move from rags to an actual hope for the future it takes more than a warm meal. With that, DC Kitchen was formed. They work with local farmers to take marginalized food to help marginalized people.

They source, procure, prepare, and distribute 13,000 MEALS A DAY, which is equivalent to the number of meals you have eaten over the last 13 YEARS.  This is every day. This means by the time you read this, DC Kitchen will have given a fresh meal to another 13,000 persons in need. Mike Curtin, the DC Kitchen director, told a story of one of their staff members that is an example how they are helping members of the community. This man told them that he had little expectations of even living to 21 years of age, but if he did, he assumed he would be in prison because everyone else in his family was either dead or incarcerated. Sure enough, his cycle of incarceration started at 11 years old with no parents at home to help raise him and his brother. It wasn’t until he was brought by his case worker to DC Kitchen that the cycle was broken.  DC Kitchen takes former convicts and those on parole and puts them in a 14 week food prep education program that gives them the tools needed to join the workforce.  The skills and abilities they are practicing also help prep the food that goes out every day. That man is now a manager at the kitchen, has his own apartment in his name, a matching retirement fund, and a college fund for his eight year old daughter.  A rags to riches story where a man was given a hand and tools to rise from the ashes. In essence, that is what this Ag Leadership is trying to teach.  How do you bring change using food, family, fellowship, hope and creativity.

To wrap up the day, we’d like to share Mike Curtin’s simple but powerful words: “giving back should be less about the redemption of the giver and more about the liberation of the receiver.” This simple but impactful phrase, as we saw today, is all too often forgotten when we are serving others and is a game changer for our society.

We will see you tomorrow for our last day in DC,