Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

My personal experience is – the people in Big Ag are amazing and motivated to help farmers. In 1900 one third of the U.S. population farmed. Today its less than 2%. Those going to work in Big Ag today likely didn’t grow up on a farm – but are just as inspired.

by Chad Steiner

I’ll dive right in. There is plenty of mainstream media and movies that literally “villainize” people who work in Big Ag companies. It’s rather unfortunate because I feel like its “polarizing” and potentially extreme. Maybe the “extreme” approach is chosen by the authors because as humans we’re more likely to “act” or “change” based on pain vs. pleasure. I didn’t grow up on a farm. In fact, I got turned down from jobs in college because I didn’t grow up on a farm. Therefore, it seems like my experience moving through a professional career for over 20 years in a couple of the largest Ag companies in the World – is rather organic in a sense. Meaning, I went to work at Syngenta having no pre-conceived notions. My goal was to help farmers and work for a company with great people and products (great products are more fun to sell). What I’d like to briefly go into here is 1. Big Ag companies used to be made up of mostly people who grew up on a farm – not anymore. 2. I can personally testify about the people in these large companies – They Rock! 3. I’d like to conclude with some sentiment I’ve already shared – it will take all of us – to make change and evolve our food system. And we NEED Big Ag.

Caption: Big Ag companies get unique opportunities like this – meeting with the CEO of the Almond Board of California and Tom Vilsack, the United States Secretary of Agriculture. This was pretty cool.

I’ve shared in many articles before. In 1900 about 30% of the population in the U.S. were farmers. Today it’s less than 2% of the U.S. population. There was a time when most people going to work in Big Ag companies were from the farm. It makes sense when you look at the numbers – for a while there was a nice pool of folks to hire from. If Big Ag was really growing in the 1980’s and 1990’s, they would be looking for people to come to work with a background in farming. During this same time, farms were consolidating/getting bigger. The best option for someone graduating college who grew up on a farm may likely have been for a Big Ag company. Today, “just” based on the numbers (and I experienced this), most young folks going into agriculture didn’t grow up on the farm. [Side note: I’ve happily hired both folks from the farm and those not and would still do so]. But either way we look at it – there is an emotional attachment growing up on or owning a farm. And the risk farmers experience is intense. This and other reasons make the “growing up on a farm” experience really special. I would like to make something very clear – if you’ve ever met a farmer or 1,000’s like I have – one common theme is their passion for what they do. Which segways into talking about the people I worked with, became friends with and learned so much from.

Caption: I didn’t grow up on a farm, but had some amazing opportunities to become friends with and support great guys like this early in my career at Syngenta. This was a year we had a lot of fun bringing a new fungicide to market that helped save farmers money and improve quality.

Farm experience, reality of growing a commodity, losing the farm, growing the farm, finding ways to innovate, diversification, vertical integration…. These are all personal stories I heard from the many people I worked with at Syngenta and Wilbur-Ellis, not to mention the many customers and colleagues at other Big Ag companies like Helena, Nutrien, Bayer (purchased Monsanto), BASF, Corteva (was DOW & DuPont) to name a few. People at these companies became lifelong friends, mentors, modeled leadership and so much more. My personal experience is, everyone I’ve met in Big Ag is motivated to help farmers and solve problems. The excitement I felt everyday working at Syngenta is still palpable. The culture was incredibly inspiring. The accountability and passion for excellence was high. And I don’t know if I need to belabor the point – ALL – of these people were and are motivated to create healthy and safe food. So many of them grew up on farms that I learned from. Those who grew up on farms had a special perspective on helping the farmer. The next chapter for Big Ag is bright. The young folks coming in that didn’t grow up on the farm are just as passionate. The people who work in Big Ag are also very aware of organic production and regenerative agriculture. I’ve learned the most and had some of the best conversations about regenerative agriculture literally from the top leaders and boards of these companies. Imagine the power of change if we all work together. Imagine what the future will look like – I think the future is bright. I’m incredibly grateful for and could not be doing what I’m doing now without having had the opportunity to work alongside so many great folks.

Caption: a picture of a picture, but a great shot with so many faces who’ve done amazing things for farmers around the world. Really inspiring people at Syngenta. Check out what Syngenta is doing in biologicals.

As I wrap up todays blog post I hope this shines a bright light on the people in Big Ag. Sometimes it feels like there is a gap between understanding and reality about “farming”. Which makes sense because very few people are working in agriculture today. When I was about to graduate high school my Grandpa Denny asked me “Chad, why do you want to go to work in agriculture, could there be a different path?”. My answer: “People are always going to need to eat Grandpa.” I will say, at the start of my career, ag wasn’t as exciting as it is now. It’s the people in these big companies that drive the excitement for the innovation in the pipeline. If we want to “scale” new ways of growing our food, Big Ag is in the best position to make it happen (this is really important). From another perspective, imagine if one day WalMart said 100% of all its food would be organic. We’ll need the teams in these Big Ag companies to help make it happen. From R&D Scientists around the world to the sales folks bringing it to farmers – Teamwork Makes The Dream Work.

Next week – the future is bright. I’m going to give this one some thought… new methods of farming will be supported by Big Ag’s R&D engines and the distribution channels ability execute.