While the farmer and the soil rests over winter, those of us in the ag supply chain meet. A lot. I can’t tell you how many supplier meetings I’ve attended over the past few months, but it’s been a lot. Three stand out. I remember them because while each company is financially successful, produces quality…
Stuff happens. Sometimes, despite the hard work and best intentions of everyone involved, things go wrong. Murphy (of Murphy’s Law fame) finds a way and we come up short. And if we’re trying to do hard stuff, we’re going to come up short more often. We should do it anyway. I was reminded of that…
I am a space geek. One of my guilty pleasures is watching SpaceX launches on YouTube. I love how they broadcast them live and enjoy learning about what is happening at each step along the rocket’s journey. This past week I was in Orlando for a conference when a colleague told me that a new weather satellite was…
No fertilizer, no food. If the Canadian Pacific Railway is stopped by a strike, American farmers may face the choice between buying Russian and Belarusian fertilizer and supporting the war against Ukraine or going without fertilizer at the exact time when food security — due to Russia’s invasion — is already a national security issue….
A wise woman once said to me, “Don’t ask yourself, ‘What do I want in life?’ Instead, ask, ‘What am I willing to suffer for?’” Achieving your goals almost always requires enduring some type of short-term pain — suffering, if you will. To achieve greatness in sports, we endure tough workouts, forgo late nights out…
[WARNING: This week’s article contains swearing. I left it in the story because I felt it was a key piece of the message.] Sh*t roles downhill. I was reminded of that this past week, along with the role all of us can play in both starting and stopping it. I first learned the lesson at ROTC Advanced…
Several years ago, I was bike riding up a Colorado mountain pass as part of a large bike tour. The views were spectacular but my 200+ pound body was struggling with the long climb and thin atmosphere. I had just passed a road sign indicating the top of the pass was 12 miles away. A…
I woke up last Friday feeling better than I thought I might. Thursday night had been just the second in my own bed in nearly two full weeks. Our Labrador, Juno, who seemed a bit distant the night before, was her go-lucky self. I was more conflicted. On the one hand, I was elated but exhausted. …
My thoughts this week are about pride and humble pie. The pride comes from our team hosting two successful conferences last week. Between the two, we covid tested and hosted over 500 people and hosted four full days of intense training. The sessions were well taught, and the feedback has been great. It takes a tremendous effort by…
Today is a federal holiday to celebrate and honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I find myself in an awkward situation because today is not an official GreenPoint holiday. I can list any number of logical reasons, but the reality is that when we discussed which holidays to celebrate, I didn’t raise the issue and…
