Are You Scared or Excited About Agriculture's Next Gen? | The Granary

Summary

In this engaging conversation, agriculture experts discuss their perspectives on the next generation in the field. They explore emotions ranging from fear to excitement, reflecting on the differing work ethics and technological prowess of younger generations. Concerns about communication skills, the ability to handle confrontation, and possible over-reliance on technology are offset by the optimism regarding the range of opportunities available today. The discussion highlights how despite generational differences, there is hope for a bright future in agriculture, driven by innovation and adaptability.

Highlights

• Exploring fears and hopes about the next generation in agriculture. 🌾
• Tech-savvy youth are seen as both a challenge and an advantage. 📊
• Traditional work ethic discussions reveal more about generational shifts than actual deficiencies. 🔄
• Concerns about youth being non-confrontational and how it affects their future. 🤔
• The importance of teaching and mentoring the next generation to ensure a smooth transition. 📚

Key Takeaways

• Generational differences in work ethic are layered with variations in technology proficiency. 🚜
• The younger generation may lack traditional communication skills, but they're tech-savvy and adept researchers. 📱
• Family dynamics and personal choices are seen impacting career paths in diverse ways. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦
• Hope and concern coexist regarding how younger generations will handle the risks and responsibilities in agriculture. 🌱
• Despite concerns, there is optimism about the potential for innovation in agriculture facilitated by younger generations. 🌟

Overview

In the lively episode, a group of seasoned agricultural professionals, including the host and guests like Temple Roads and Matt Miles, gather at 'The Granary' to discuss what excites and worries them about the upcoming generation in agriculture. The conversation kicks off with a discussion about the diverse career paths chosen by today's youth and how these choices reflect shifts in the industry. The hosts, seasoned farmers, are both apprehensive and hopeful about the future.

The dialogue explores the differences between generations, especially the digital prowess of today's young farmers compared to the hands-on skills of previous generations. There's a shared concern about the younger generation's communication skills, particularly their non-confrontational style, which some fear might be detrimental in high-stakes business scenarios. Meanwhile, the rapid technological advancements are noted as a double-edged sword, offering both opportunities and challenges.

Despite the concerns, there is a consensus that the future of agriculture is bright. The participants recognize the incredible potential for innovation that young, technology-savvy individuals bring to the table. They acknowledge that while the methods and styles might differ from those of previous generations, the passion and capability to push agriculture forward remain strong. As they reflect on these changes, there's a heartening belief in the resilience and adaptability of the next generation.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and guest introduction In this chapter titled 'Introduction and guest introduction,' the host poses questions about the Next Generation in the field of production agriculture. Specifically, the host inquires what aspects of the upcoming generation scare and excite the current professionals and what their opinions are regarding this new wave of agricultural experts. The conversation features opinions from notable guests including Temple Roads, Matt Miles from Extreme Ag, and Tommy Roach from Natures, who is also the episode's sponsor. This setting indicates a reflective discussion on the future of agriculture, highlighting both concerns and hopes. The chapter emphasizes that in the realm of agriculture, there is always work to be done, yet the day concludes as the host wraps up with friends from Extreme Ag.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Discussion on the perception of younger generations In this chapter, the discussion begins with a warm welcome to the conversation focused on real farmers discussing real issues. The participants are in their 50s and acknowledge the age factor as they start to delve into the topic of the perception of younger generations. The environment is relaxed, with drinks and snacks, creating an inviting atmosphere for a genuine dialogue.
• 01:00 - 03:00: Generational work ethic and technological adaptation The chapter discusses generational differences and similarities in work ethic and technology adaptation, particularly in the field of agriculture. It acknowledges that every generation has its share of both high achievers and underperformers. The conversation seems to navigate through the perspective of individuals who are involved in agricultural production and supply, reflecting on the promising aspects and potential challenges faced by upcoming generations in agriculture. The discussion also includes a sense of curiosity and anticipation about future developments in the sector.
• 08:00 - 10:30: Concerns about non-confrontational communication The chapter discusses the complexities of non-confrontational communication in a family setting. The narrator mentions having worked with all their kids and recognizing the range of emotions involved in communication, including happiness, sadness, and fear. The chapter also notes the diversity among the narrator's five children, with different career paths such as nursing and supply chain management, highlighting the need to navigate various emotional and communicative challenges.
• 14:00 - 18:00: Concerns about societal changes post-COVID Discussion on how people in different fields, such as restaurant management and fashion design, are feeling the impact of societal changes post-COVID.
• 20:00 - 26:00: Future of agriculture and generational potential The chapter discusses the future of agriculture and how the next generation is more equipped to handle it due to their proficiency with new technologies, such as data and electronics. The speakers acknowledge that younger generations, including their own children, have a better understanding and capability with these advanced tools compared to older generations. They reflect on their personal investments in the agricultural sector and the potential they see in the generational shift towards technology-driven farming.
• 35:00 - 37:00: Conclusion and show promotion In this chapter, the conversation revolves around reflecting on life in the 50s and comparing it to their current experiences as individuals in their 50s. The speaker imagines their parents having similar discussions about their own era, emphasizing how perspectives might shift over time. There is a sense of nervousness about these realizations, especially as they discuss generational labels and the stereotypical views associated with millennials. The chapter closes with promotional content encouraging further engagement.

Are You Scared or Excited About Agriculture's Next Gen? | The Granary Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 what do you think about the Next Generation what scares you about the Next Generation in production agriculture what excites you about the generation that's behind you in production agriculture I'm asking this generation of agricultural professionals my friend Temple roads Matt miles with extrem eg and our sponsor and friend Tommy roach with Natures what excites you what scares you and what do you think about the Next Generation coming up behind us in agriculture in this episode of the gry on a farm the work's never really done we're calling the day anyway cuz my friends from extreme Agger
• 00:30 - 01:00 coming over you ready for a conversation with some real Farmers about real issues the best part you're invited so pour yourself a drink grab a snack most importantly pull up a chair Welcome to The Grainery hey [Music] guys all right so we got to ask the question we're at that age all of us are in our 50s and and you're starting to
• 01:00 - 01:30 have your buddies say like well these damn kids and all that I don't do that I think there's screw-ups in every generation I think there's overachievers in every generation and also there are differences between the generations when you look at what's coming behind us in agriculture they from the production side you're from the egg prod supplier side what do you see that excites you what do you see that concerns you what do you see that you're still kind of pondering I can't wait for this can it be um I mean literally
• 01:30 - 02:00 you've worked with all of our kids I get it can be it can be every emotion that you can imagine happy sad scared scared few cusswords in there but um I mean it it goes back to so none of my kids are in a they're five kids and they're totally different one's a nurse one's in supply chain
• 02:00 - 02:30 one's in it one's in restaurant hotel management and one's in fashion design nothing barely disar from Agriculture and you know a few of them tried to do the chemistry side but they didn't like that but we often say or at least I do I mean you give Electronics to 5-year-old he can figure it figure it out faster than I can that's true so datawise uh Tech technology wise they
• 02:30 - 03:00 are much more equipped and maybe I'm putting words in y'all's mouth but they are much more equipped than any of us sitting at this table agreed better than all four was combined with their proficiency with new technology particularly of the data electronic Etc absolutely you got five kids you've got three kids he's got five kids I'm childless but I work with a lot of different organizations so we all have these opinions when I opened that topic you probably said oh boy CU you always say that oh boy this could could be
• 03:00 - 03:30 interesting why' you say oh boy this be interesting what was your first thought the fear the excitement the the swear words well my first thought was 50 cuz we're all in our 50s so 50 years ago was our 50y old parents sitting around here having that same conversation we're about to have you know maybe probably you know to some point you know you always think it's worse than what it was but you know I'm I'm I'm nervous and and L and I talk about this all the time you know label him as a millennial he don't
• 03:30 - 04:00 like to be called that he he thinks Millennial is a negative term he thinks Millennial is a negative term because of the work ethic and and you know that goes into that turn so when I introduce him as a millennial and I do it on purpose to kind of halfway piss him off you know you can see him sit there and look at me now is he a you know anomaly to that generation I don't know but what we've seen so far in my opinion is the work ethic
• 04:00 - 04:30 of that generation is not the work ethic of Our Generation but you know what I don't work as hard as my dad did I I'm going disagree with that a little bit you you take the Millennials there is there is definitely a different work ethic but it's either it the problem is is where it used to be where it was an even Plateau now it's like extreme work ethic and low work ethic and it seems like there's nothing in between but what's in between is is where they're much better at us than what we ever were
• 04:30 - 05:00 is research man they've got research at at their fingertip and they do a very very good job of researching stuff cuz when I need something research I don't look it up myself you don't either I just learned how to Google now I've learned how to Google are you serious in the last two years I can you're not very extreme get out I can I can Google anything L can Google now I can't play the I used to could play the football games on on you know the and today there's too many buttons I can't do that all right so Matt's talking Mattel
• 05:00 - 05:30 handheld electronic toy from 197 ask him about his comb ask him about his combine that he just tried uh I want to before what he thought about that I I I love the idea that we're getting into his combine but I won't get into the thing about the generational thing it's it's and and I'm certainly people probably think I'm kind of harsh you know exide my personality that thing of these kids don't work I'm not sure I'd buy into that Tommy just Nam five children and every one of them is gainfully employed and and from everything from health comp to Fashion
• 05:30 - 06:00 to whatever I think that's a cop out that every generation has said about the group behind them to that end not working nights on the railroad like my dad to feed nine kids so I work differently I don't know that I work less necessarily they work like you work harder you work smarter not harder that's they work they the generation now works different I'm not saying they don't work as much but they just work different than we're all used to and so therefore we we tie it to we we say
• 06:00 - 06:30 because of history that they don't work as hard as we do but they just work different well it was just look at the way our fathers worked they worked with their hands it was a lot more of manual labor than what we're having to do you know what I mean and dad always told me that he was like you don't know what work is I tell my sons that you don't know what work is let me tell you about what I did it doesn't matter they're using their brains much differently here's a question so Matt you and me and
• 06:30 - 07:00 then Tommy too our fathers what do you think that they would have said at this table versus what we're saying about our sons and daughters at this table that's what I was saying earlier almost the same thing do you think they're saying the exact same thing I personally think that my hope for my children is a lot stronger than what I'm not saying that my my my parents my father whoever had you know bad hope for me or whatever um I just think that with the technology
• 07:00 - 07:30 and with everything that's up and coming and the different things that we're doing and all these new opportunities that are coming the opportunities that are being thrown at the at our kids are very very different than the opportunities that were thrown at us and I I have a lot more hope for them than I feel like that our parents ever had for us I'm not saying that I I think that our parents wanted us to fail but the opportunities weren't there and as long as the kids are willing to open up the
• 07:30 - 08:00 door when Opportunity Knocks they have a lot of opportunities open up the door cuz agriculture is going somewhere and it's going in multiple different directions Tommy just five different places Tommy just what sorry I was trying to wait till they got through but he won't quit Tommy just got through talking about how his kids are in all these different things all five of them things that you just named Tommy you can all tie them up back to agriculture if you really want to and you don't have to go that far right you know what I mean they're all tied back all right so I
• 08:00 - 08:30 asked the question you know and we talked about some differences and I think that a lot of people watching are going to say yeah kind of agree with that but what excites you or what scares you I ask what scares you I I I don't know that I have my one thing it's not scare it's probably concern and all my dealings with the generation that's maybe like 20 years old right now they're terribly non-confrontation to the point that I believe that it's bad for their future
• 08:30 - 09:00 to not to be so passive is that something you've observed I'll go so I think generation today has is handicapped on being able to communicate yeah everybody has a freaking iPhone yeah and this is how they communicate it doesn't mean they're bad it just means they communicate differently or worse and it goes to what
• 09:00 - 09:30 you just said about confrontational it's easy to push people's buttons or say what you want to say on a on a iPhone yeah but to actually get in somebody's face and say that they have they have no skills and we're not talking about trying to get any physical ucation but it could be I have a different opinion because of my education and you're going to do something in business that I want to say no and here's why you can't I
• 09:30 - 10:00 don't know that they can do that well and and and when you said that I'm not afraid I and and y'all May disagree with this but I think there's not the seriousness of the task that there was in our generation and especially our parents generation whatever that task is I'm going to do it from this time to this time and then I'm done if I'm not through I'll worry about it the next day where we grew up if you're not through you do it till you get through with it you know and I think the seriousness of that specific task is not the same place
• 10:00 - 10:30 now it's different maybe they work the same maybe it maybe in the end the same success will happen that's what concerns me more than any what concerns you I I think that my biggest concern is is when you when you talk about the Next Generation coming you know Matt and I talked about this earlier on if Matt and I made a mistake when we were up and coming it wasn't that big of a deal I mean it was a big deal don't get me wrong but we're talking about the money
• 10:30 - 11:00 is just different the risk is so bad now the kid really can't afford to make a mistake they stubbed their toe it's probably one thing if they do much worse than a toe stub then it's talking about some pretty bad financial but I will want to say that I do want to say this watching Lane so there was a lot of sports events that I missed with my children yeah during my life and he figures out a way to make those and I think in the end result they're going to remember the fact that he was at their sports events and I went to a lot of
• 11:00 - 11:30 them but some of them I miss even things with my wife they're going to remember those things that he did with them that I probably didn't do with him and that may be you always want to do different than your dad did yeah you know you know I'm going to raise my kids different than what my dad did me and I think I see that s with him you know he'll make a special effort to do that I'm like you're going to do what yeah he's like well I'm I'm going to get off the planter and go yeah and you're saying that feels planted but he puts there's a
• 11:30 - 12:00 a more more of a concerted effort to obligate family time or personal time than maybe you would have or certainly your father would and I thought I was a great family man but compared to what my children my children are doing with their family now I wasn't as good as I thought it was as simple scar as your concern what excites you you got what uh well mine is 17 and up to about 30 27 yep Al Alexander you got little Temple
• 12:00 - 12:30 and you got mine and all of them want to be tied to agriculture what excites me is you know every child is very very different in their personality and you nurture them into the person that you kind of let's not say that's not that's that's the wrong thing sh you I'm terrible with the nursing part um let's say shape with with the help of your of of my wife we've helped shape these and mold these kids into something everyone has to be treated a little bit
• 12:30 - 13:00 differently the good thing for me is is I've got one that's extremely mechanical and he's the one that's hung out the most with me I got one that's very operational and I think that he can take a stance in that Agronomy world and it's very well needed I mean think about how many times that I have to rely on these guys you know if he can rely on himself a little bit more and make his own decisions it would be great and then you have one that's that can do a little bit of everything but maybe take care of the financial part if you have those three
• 13:00 - 13:30 Kell's going to adopt because she's a cal he's trying to get her out there but you know what all in all think about this what what would what kind of value would there be for me to send her out there while she was in college for like two years as an intern what happens if I sent her as an intern for two years to Kelly sent her two years with Matt and then she came back home to help run the farm that she Lear you don't think that that wouldn't be power what excites you you hire people you have uh Natures you you got college kids coming out 23 year
• 13:30 - 14:00 olds what excites you when you look at the generations behind us anywhere from2 to 30 so you didn't sound real excited um it's unfortunately it's hard to find good help these days and I I think oh the these two guys would tell you the same thing um you just can't find them because a lot of them don't care well they want it handed to them they don't want to
• 14:00 - 14:30 work I'm telling you but I mean we we try to find um good people to hire out of college and you got to look a while well unfortunately and Co changed all this so everything we were building up you know people don't even go to offices anymore there's no such thing as a as a business meting anymore everybody does it by Zoom you know Zoom Co changed us from face to face as said where you had to go face
• 14:30 - 15:00 somebody so you're 25 years old you got to go to the the sales meeting right and meet you where after Co you sit on a zoom and everybody talks about Zoom you know that you may have one a tie a coat and underwear you know it's just not the same world as it I bet you he's I have never put on a tie and a coat and underwear but you have had a shirt on and said nature is probably an extreme EG and no underwear maybe shorts short just I always wear I've done a lot not
• 15:00 - 15:30 you Temple I've done a lot a lot of Zoom calls in my day and sometimes I go without the shorts but uh I mean it's just you know I mean you can only seon there but you see what I'm saying though co co took what we're concerned about and multiplied that times three yeah and not just the young kids but in people that yeah and older older people I'm going to take it a step back so cuz I still have one in college ande Co there were no
• 15:30 - 16:00 classes maybe not no but 90% of the classes were face to face maybe you had some that was online y postco I guarantee you there half the classes are face to face and the other half is still online why they can't get on the phone and have a conversation but they will send a text message and act like bny badass or they'll send an email or
• 16:00 - 16:30 whatever but they will not pick up the phone I agree I think the key is what he he's got the key is there's no face Toof face interaction anymore you know I'll say Lane you need to check on this and he'll do this and I'll say call him yeah talk to them so the RIS of being the the one guy here at the nursing home and I text M to the one guy that's at the nursing home calling you out we are sounding a little bit like we're grabbing we're not but it does come out con our concerned about the people behind do nag is their communication
• 16:30 - 17:00 style is very different than our communication style their communication methods are very different than that don't mean it won't work like Mr Tommy said it might still work it's just a different way of doing business did he call you Mr Tommy just because you're older than him U saw it's a southern thing Temple all right is the future of agriculture in good hands better hands worse hands good hands with the people that are behind us in agriculture 20 you're your D's aged 30 years from now
• 17:00 - 17:30 you go out there and take a look around and you got little Temple M you got all them and then they got their kids what do you think when you look at that picture the future of Agriculture is extremely bright these kids nowadays have more tools at their hands and theyve already been trained to research and use their fingers and go back and look at things and it's all right at their fingertips it's things that Matt and I and Tommy we didn't we never had
• 17:30 - 18:00 you didn't say Mr Tommy either no because I don't I'm not it's not a disrespect thing it's it's more of a respect thing we're friends so I can just call him Tommy Tommy is the future of our culture in good hands is it in lesser hands is it in better hands when you look at those that are behind you in Agri culture you've cultivated a career here yes that was a cute little clever word cultivated a career here in ag culture and how you spell greenry again not that way not this way yeah for sure it's got a eye in it look it up I did
• 18:00 - 18:30 dictionary.com future of Agriculture better hands worse hands different hands for sure in the generations that are come behind us in this industry so I will agree with temple but one caveat on the tools and the ability to they do they have so much more than what we had one thing we're not saying that like they're spoiled you're saying they just got the Innovation right The Innovation one thing that and I'll I'm the world's worst we have to do a better job of
• 18:30 - 19:00 teaching and and letting our kids make mistakes because I'm the world's worst that oh I'll just do it because I can do it in half the time but letting them figure it out go through the motions but we've got to do a better job of teaching and passing on knowledge because we're not going to be around forever our kids are going to be around longer than we are so we need to pass on can you start to use that with like me
• 19:00 - 19:30 and and Matt and like teach us okay it's too late I didn't know I didn't know all right the future of Agriculture and the generations behind us more than one now it's a couple Generations I would say all of the above but this is what scares me more than anything you know we talk about what is it called Cyber Wars or cyber yeah if so my son can't read them out he can get on Google and he can find direction somewhere but if we ever get over Reliance on
• 19:30 - 20:00 technology if we ever get attacked and we lose our technology where these children going to be the yeah of course my better stay home course the generation that use slide rules the generation use slide rules would have said that about us with calculators that's true the generation that used Abacus the generation that used um you know uh drafting tables versus Cad and cam design so I think that that's not an invalid point but it's been said before over Reliance on technology what if you went for 30 days with without without any computers though 30 days where's our
• 20:00 - 20:30 United States going to be if they're 30 days behind yeah you know it's 20 50 100 years over just a 30-day period look at what happened during Co how far behind we got there you know I'm not a conspiracy theorist but I think you need a blend of where we're at but like I said 50 years ago I guarantee our fathers were sitting there saying the thing same thing they did everything long handed you and I Jed that you're the one that's still in the computer when your internet was down which in M gay McGee Arkansas it's down about 80% of the time I think uh because you
• 20:30 - 21:00 know you go and grind the thing you got turn all that you're the only one can work because you can still use a pen and paper I still have number two pencils at my desk I do too do we sound like a bunch of old guys right there we are or or we just or we just seasoned enough that we think the next generation is going to be fine but it's different and it's I think I think that we just need a mixture of both and I think honestly the kids that are in agriculture that's what excites me cuz we do have them exxtra we need more of them in absolutely yeah we
• 21:00 - 21:30 are losing we've lost Farmers now they used to be 2% down to what is it today one and a half one less than one and we're losing kids that want to be in agriculture yeah so we need them if you agree with that you know want send us a note more importantly maybe you got a young person maybe you are a young person you want to come on this show I don't know send me a note point is I'm glad you pulled up a table a chair to the table here at the greenery cuz we do this a lot my friends like Matt miles Temple roads and our sponsor right here
• 21:30 - 22:00 Tommy ropes so you know want check out all the other great episodes of The Greenery we want you to be here it's inclusive it's real conversations with real Farmers also thank you to Tommy and Natures Natures is uh the sponsor of this particular show and also bio it's the technology that's in all the fertility products and also now extreme a is the sponsor of Bio check out and learn more at nature.com till next time thanks for being here join us back again at the Great
• 22:00 - 22:30 [Music]