Taking One For The Team

Currently I am participating in the Appalachian Teaching Project this year for Virginia Tech.  From the beginning this class was difficult for me, not because of the work, but because it challenged what I know to be true and my value system.  This year the project is about sustainable agriculture in the region.  Many people (particularly those not involved in agriculture) often find this to be a black and white issue which of course it is not.


The Appalachian Regional Commission provides
funding for the Appalachian Teaching Project



As an active member in the agriculture community locally and statewide, I do my best to educate the public in everything I do about the industry.  I am the only member of this year’s Appalachian Teaching Project who is directly involved in the agriculture industry and is studying it as well.  Although as a class we established early on in the course that sustainable agriculture is often a “grey area,” we have still run into very wrong and biased opinions.  Last week we had a guest lecturer who received her Ph. D. by studying how storytelling affects people’s opinion about sustainable agriculture.  She did this by having individuals listen to a story that she wrote.  This story, sounded exactly like PETA or HSUS propaganda.  As professionally as I could muster, I confronted her about the falsehoods she so emotionally described about farm ownership and farrowing crates, among other things.  She took offense to this lashed back.  I was so furious and hurt that someone could get a degree in Agriculture and Extension Education from our fine university, and use it to cause such harm to the industry that feeds us.  Even though I wanted to storm out of the room, I knew that for the benefit of agriculture I needed to stay and make sure that my classmates were properly informed.

I know that for the rest of my life I will face roadblocks in the path to an agriculturally educated American public.  So in order to overcome them try my hardest to practice the ten qualities of leadership as expressed in The Art of Leadership (pgs. 27-28).  One of the most important qualities not available in the link is Vision.  Because I feel so passionately about my vision (to improve the agriculture industry by educating the public, and future members of the industry), I am better able to exemplify the other qualities (i.e. stability, concern for others, persistence, vitality, charisma, etc.).  Although I have been involved in agriculture leadership organizations for many years, I realize now that I have a definite vision for my purpose in life I can make a positive difference. 

FFA helped me realize my passion
 for agriculture and education



Participating in Feed By Seed has helped me find my vision



How True Leaders Can Make "The Big Bucks."

As a college student I hear how the job industry is looking for leaders.  “It’s the leaders that get the big bucks!” the professors say.   What I want to know is: Do they really?  From what I’ve seen, many times I don’t think so.  A local school principle used to be the guidance counselor.  When the new position of principle was opened, everyone encouraged her to apply.  Why?  This woman exemplified leadership skills that according to “Everyday Leadership,” are of most importance: relationship building, commitment, technical and organizational skills, just to name a few.  At the same time, my father, who is a farmer also exemplifies these qualities.  Even though they are in different leadership categories (teacher and small business owner respectively), they are both in leadership roles over a well-sized local organization.



Mark and Curtis Sowers recieved the Virginia Dairymen Award
for their leadership in the industry for 2009.



The reason I proposed the question in the beginning about good leaders in the workforce was because what happened after this woman was given the job as principle.  She became one of the bosses as mentioned in The Art of Leadership in the Learning Objectives for the first chapter.  Her relationship building became a selfish and rude attitude, instead of being committed she would mess up and then blame others, and most of all she began to be dishonest and unfair.  On the other end of the spectrum, my dad has been the boss of his business for over thirty years.  From workers’ experience and my own, I know that as a boss my dad has and continues to exemplify caring leadership.  Manning states that caring leadership has two aspects the first of which is: commitment to a task.  The other is: concern for people.    My dad not only is a leader at his job, but in the community as well.  But who out of these two examples is making the big bucks?  Not the true leader.

How can we avoid hiring tyrant bosses who appears to be leaders?  I believe it’s as simple as better interview practices, and knowledge of leadership.  From my experiences in FFA, I feel that if my local public school system took leadership as seriously as FFA does, they would not have this problem.  A study by the University of Georgia found that those who were involved in 4-H and FFA were more likely to be leaders in and outside their respective college of agriculture.  Although the study cannot say for sure whether these results are in other states and can reflect on other areas besides college, I feel that it can.  Most of the greatest everyday leaders I know were involved in these two organizations, including my dad.  Guess who wasn’t?  I know these two organizations provide many ways to build leadership skills, but I feel that how they pick their leaders can be a model for the public school system.

2008-2009 Virginia and Utah State FFA and 4-H Officers
pose for a picture while advocating agriculture in Washington D.C.