June 20, 2013

Leadership Lessons Learned on the Farm by Gerald Meck

It’s 7:30 on a Sunday evening and I have just arrived at my nephews’ dairy farm in Berks County, Pennsylvania with my 12 year old granddaughter, Maya. Maya lives in Hartford, Connecticut and has aspirations to become a “big animal” veterinarian someday. We agreed to spend the week together working on the farm. Spending a week on a large 300-acre farm with over 300 dairy cows will give her some insights into farm life and an opportunity to learn more about what a veterinarian really does. This time together is also a great opportunity for me to spend some quality time with Maya and experience farm life with her.

Our daily routine for the week includes waking up bright and early at 4:00 a.m. to milk the cows. We stop for a hearty breakfast at 8:30 a.m. After breakfast we discuss the work schedule and specific tasks for the day. My nephews who own the farm, Jeremy and Zach, are hosting a Delaware Valley College Student Intern who is studying to be a veterinarian. The intern is assisting them on the farm for the summer. Jeremy and Zach compile a list of tasks with specific work assignments and copies are given to each person. Our main goal is to complete the task list between 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. At 4:00 p.m. it is time to milk the cows again. We end up eating our evening meal around 9:00 p.m.

Examples of work projects from the list for the week include meeting with the head dairy nutritionist to review feed ingredients for the cows, giving an IV to a sick cow, trimming cow hooves, vaccinating calves, harvesting barley, disking fields to plant corn, cleaning and organizing the tool shed, mowing grass, and numerous other tasks. Managing a dairy and crop farm requires a broad array of operational and technical skills.

As the week progresses, I observe planning, delegation, problem-solving, communication, community relationships and a great need for flexibility and adaptability. The weather, malfunctioning equipment and other unexpected situations frequently require a change in the carefully designed plans that were made for each day.

Like farmers, leaders in organizations must be flexible and able to adapt quickly to changes in the environment, whether that be funding changes, work force challenges, and policy or regulatory changes in order for their companies to survive and flourish.

We end the week on Friday evening, sitting around the dining room table playing Farm Monopoly. In Farm Monopoly, each player has a farm with a certain amount of acres, crops and animals. The goal of the game is to increase individual assets by purchasing additional acres, harvesting crops, etc. while navigating the challenges of weather, taxes, loan debt, and other unexpected challenges, similar to what a farmer experiences. By the end of the game, Maya has the most assets.

Maya came away from the week with a greater understanding of farm life and the responsibilities of a large animal veterinarian. On the way home, she talks about her continued interest in becoming a veterinarian and her renewed commitment in school to make sure her grades remain high enough for entrance into veterinarian schools.

I came away from the week with a new appreciation for all that it takes to be a successful farmer: the hard work, long days, and the variety of leadership skills, such as flexibility and adaptability, required to be a leader in the farming industry. I also came away with the realization that leaders have an important role in the success of all kinds of organizations and industries, including farming.