Legendary Rural Leaders

Leavenworth/KC Day One
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Submitted by: Wendy Hughes

CHANGE: adjustment, development, diversity, modify, alter, innovative.

These all describe what our KARL XVI class encountered during our February 15-17 2023 excursion to Kansas City and Leavenworth……and Topeka(change). The venue for our first day moved from the American Royal facility to the Kansas Bankers Association building in Topeka for two reasons.

First, the weather was to be very bad with ice and sleet forecasted. Second, the Chiefs! They won the Super Bowl, their parade went right down the road our hotel was located on, and they had over 500,000 in attendance. The roads were more than congested. Thanks to Jill, Susan and the board, they thought of our safety and had us stop in Topeka for our first days’ events.

The next big change came when Christa Milton had the flu and was to be our chair for the day. Nick Peters, of Goessel, stepped up and took the lead. Thankfully Christa will be all well for our Washington, DC trip.

Coach “K” said in his video “Leadership you have because you want to get better” No EXCUSES. Have flexibility, be positive and always look people in the eye when talking with them.

Dr. Emily Lehning, Co-Founder of Roots and Legacies Consulting, Inc., led us in a discussion on how we can use our strengths from the Clifton Strengths finder to grow stronger, work smarter and lead wiser. We must remember: The bird, the bee and the bat all fly, they just use different wings. The insightfulness this gives us will help us in every part of our lives.

EXPLOITATION of VULNERABILITIES is what Russ Tuttle wants us to remember after a heart wrenching presentation about domestic minor sex trafficking. Mr. Tuttle represents BeAlert, the awareness and prevention strategy of The Stop Trafficking Project.

It is unbelievable the USA is the number one country in the world for pornography on the World Wide Web. Three fourths of the teenagers in America are engaging in some sort of pornography.

With a three-fold increase in online usage of 7-10 year olds since 2021, the predators are rampant. We need to be well aware of all the apps they download and use on their cell phones and internet devices. “Sextortion” is the fastest growing crime today.

After dinner with our guests, Damon New and Jancy Hall, we all made our way to Hotel Indigo in downtown Kansas City. There was a wait due to the road crews removing the fences from the Chiefs parade. We all had a great visit that evening and look forward to our next grand adventures.

Leavenworth/KC Day Two
Thursday, February 16, 2023
Submitted by: Adam York

USP Leavenworth– The class started Thursday, Feb 16, 2023 with a tour of United States Federal Penitentiary (USP) Leavenworth guided by Warden Don Hudson, a Tonganoxie native. Congress created USP Leavenworth through a special act in the late 19th century, the reservation for the U.S. Penitentiary was then deeded by the War Department to the Justice Department in 1897 to build the United States Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. The decision was partially made based on the labor available from the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Ft. Leavenworth and military inmates provided for the first phase of construction and were later the first prisoners to be incarcerated in 1903.

The first cell house opened in 1906, and the USP was completed in the 1920s. After hearing the history of USP Leavenworth, the class learned about “famous” inmates such as Georage “Machine Gun Kelly” Barnes, Robert Stroud, and the “Birdman of Alcatraz” from Warden Hudson and his executive staff before departing for a tour of the facility. All together, USP Leavenworth currently holds 1900 inmates that include 331 inmates at adjacent minimum security satellite camp. The facility provides healthcare and meal services defined by on-staff nutritionists within a nationally aligned menu. Interestingly, each staff is effectively a law enforcement officer, from healthcare providers to meal services personnel. USP Leavenworth is “city within a city” and the Warden provided the class with the forward facing vision of the penitentiary as a new facility is planned in the years ahead.

Zephyr– Zephyr Products, LLC, was the next stop in Leavenworth. Zephyr is a metal fabrication company located in Leavenworth with an innovative and progressive job training program. The class heard from Jason Miles, Chief People Officer at Zephyr and how his program recruits up to 80 workers from nearby Lansing Correctional Facility for above-minimum wage, extreme-on-the-job-training (EJT) career opportunities under an 18 month program. Over lunch at the facility, Jason shared his story of youth incarceration, eventual expungement, working his way up through Zephyr to reenter civil society, and left the class with a power testimony about life changing “Odd or God” events that were accomplished through constant positivity, as “negativity robs us of experience.”

Fort Leavenworth and Command and General Staff College Foundation– Due to icy weather, the class was unable to visit Fort Leavenworth in the afternoon and flexibility and adaptation were the words of the day as our tireless KARL staff leaders worked to reconfigure our daily schedule on the fly.

American Royal– With a scheduling adjustment due to inclement weather, the class arrived at the American Royal in Kansas City, Missouri. Nathan Lauden, Director of Education with the American Royal, led us on a tour of the American Royal Association Museum to dive into its proud history and heritage on the same location at the historic Kansas City terminal stockyards with nearby Union Station and banks in the vicinity. Nathan detailed the National Hereford Show at the American Royal, the first sale and show combined which set a strong precent for other breeds to follow. The class also learned the story of the facility’s namesake and how “American Royal” gained its name in 1902 based on the “British Royal Exposition” in the United Kingdom. Following the tour,

the class regrouped upstairs for a presentation outlining the American Royal’s vision entitled “American Royal Today versus American Royal Tomorrow.” As the American Royal transitions to a new purpose-built facility dedicated to hosting food and ag events near the Legends area of Kansas City on the Sunflower State’s side of the border, the City of Kansas City, MO, which owns the current facility, will decide the current building’s fate.

Segueing from the American Royal to an overview of livestock markets generally in the U.S., Chelsea Good, KARL Board Member and Vice President of Policy at Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) gave an in-depth background and history of LMA and its mission to serve the many aspects of the industry as livestock markets comprise cattle dealers, order buyers, and farmers and ranchers. Livestock marketing is heavily regulated under various state and federal agencies, including State Departments of Agriculture, USDA, OSHA, EPA, and others.

Due to in part to compliance obligations and an industry leader in legal marketing, LMA offers extensive member service to its industry that facilitates $30 billion worth of trade annually.

Lastly during our time at the American Royal, the class heard from J.J. Jones, Executive Director of the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA). NIAA convenes animal agriculture experts in collaborative settings for continuous improvement. Thought provoking and forward-looking, J.J. walked the class through five numbers to remember in the food and agricultural technology investment space:

● $19.8 billion – venture capital into food and ag tech in 2019;

● $7.6 billion – invented in animal/crop ag in 2019;

● >$51 billion – invested in food and ag tech in 2021

● ~$1.6 trillion – amount of venture capital in entire market;

● ~$26 trillion – capital sitting on the sidelines uninvested.

The class learned how it can be hard to identify innovations that disrupt animal agriculture compared to traditional big tech, for example. However, animal agriculture has a hugely positive story to communicate and its challenge is defining the story as opposed to having it defined by others.

Featured Speaker: Mark McCully, CEO American Angus Association— Concluding the day’s successful events and curriculum, the class attended dinner at Grand Street Cafe back in Kansas City and listened to Mark McCully, CEO with the American Angus Association located in Saint Joseph, Missouri, speak passionately about certified angus beef and the success story that got the angus industry to a market-moving premium standard and through which sold the first pound of certified angus beef in 1978. Mark’s remarks led the class through a thought provoking and existential question for his industry: how did angus breeders build a branded beef program at a time no one had done it?

Mark presented the following key takeaways detailing the efforts success as we began to conclude our second to last seminar of Year One and depart for the Capstone trip to Washington, D.C. in just one short month to follow:

● “Leaders are bold and take action.”

● “Leaders think differently and buck the trend when necessary.”

● “Leaders require patience and the fortitude to stay the course.”

● “Leaders stay true to their convictions and resist lowering standards for short term gain.”

● “Culture trumps strategy.”

Leavenworth/KC Day Three
Friday, February 17, 2023
Submitted by: Jamie Boggs

After two eventful days, we ended our time together for this session at Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) in Kansas City, KS. Chair of the day, Derick McGhee, welcomed the class and introduced our speakers for the morning.

First up was Justin Marovec, Manager of Dealer Development in the U.S. and Canada for John Deere. Mr. Marovec gave a brief overview of the company and discussed the strategies they use to reach their goals of conducting business that is ‘essential to life’. John Deere, founded in 1837, operates an estimated 1,870 locations in over 30 countries worldwide while employing just over 80,000 people. There are nearly 2,000 dealers in the U.S. and Canada.

A recent company restructure provided them with 3 components that are centered around providing customers with sustainable economic value, referred to as their Smart Industrial Strategy. These strategies allow the company to focus on specific systems that customers are using to maximize productivity verses specific product lines.

1. Tech Stack

a. Autonomy, Connectivity, and Hardware.

2. Production Systems

a. Production & Precision Systems including tractors and equipment needed for corn, soy, small grains, sugar and cotton production.

b. Small Ag & Turf including tractors and self-propelled forage harvesters for dairy and livestock, high value crops, turf and utility.

c. Construction and Forestry machines.

3. Life Cycle

a. Support, parts, service, and performance upgrades.

Tech stack has accelerated precision and automation while helping customers increase their productivity, profitability, and sustainability. John Deere currently has approximately 500,000 connected machines covering 329 million engaged acres.

The company focuses on the overlap of 3 distinct areas when looking at new equipment and technology opportunities: customer needs, economic value, and environmental impact. The most successful projects touch on all three areas! Over the years, their business model has had to adjust given the everchanging technology development costs and the value to each consumer being highly variable. Pricing products at a lower up-front cost, that gets better over time, and allows the consumer to only pay for what they need is crucial to the company.

Like all other industries, John Deere is struggling with attracting, retaining, and training talent. Fewer people are coming to the company with agricultural backgrounds and experience. Because of this, they have specifically chosen new U.S. corporate headquarter locations in Chicago, IL and Austin, TX to assist in attracting different skillsets.

John Deere focuses on helping farmers put food on tables and construction crews build roads that connect communities. John Deere prides themselves on having a REAL purpose, REAL tech, and REAL impact for their investors, employees, and customers.

Michael Lichte, Senior VP of Sales & Marketing for DFA was the next presenter. DFA is a global dairy foods cooperative owned by over 6,000 farmer-owners from across the country. Formed in 1998, DFA is divided into 7 geographic areas and is overseen by a 48-member board of directors. The cooperative structure allows DFA to share profits through annual patronage dividends (at the discretion of the board) based on the use, in volume, in the co-op. With 2021 U.S. annual sales topping $19.3 billion, DFA is the largest supplier of raw milk in the world.

Other interesting facts include:

DFA cooperative members also share an equal voice through a grassroots governance structure, guaranteed markets for milk, competitive prices, programs and services, and returns on investments in the cooperative.

Following Michael’s presentation, we went on a tour of the building. Emma Reynolds, Manager of Dairy Policy & Industry Relations, joined the group to lead the tour. Built in 2017, the DFA headquarters offers an open workspace for approximately 400 on-site staff members.

DFA employees feel connected and passionate about working for a cooperative and the farmers they serve on a daily basis. Employees also have access to a full-service kitchen and cafeteria, fitness facilities with scheduled classes, basketball court, walking trail, fire pit, collaborative work areas, and a Milk Bar. These perks help provide a ‘home away from home’ experience and assist in attracting and retaining talent in a competitive environment.

It’s also worth noting that the DFA facilities are ‘udderly’ impressive and visually showcase their story throughout the building. We were met with a 29-foot-tall milk sculpture in the lobby that resembled milk being poured from the ceiling to the floor. The entire office space was designed around milk and dairies, thus the crisp, clean colors and textures and technology throughout the building.

Every aspect of this space was tastefully selected to give visitors a farm-to-table experience including a grass wall, reclaimed wood from local barns, milk bottles, and walls lined with items such as ear tags, ice cream scoops, and cheese graters.

And let’s not forget the Milk Bar open to visitors and employees. This is DFA’s version of the office water cooler and was a big hit with the class!

While enjoying a delicious buffet of dairy themed appetizers and lunch, each class member shared takeaways and highlights from the week. Many in the class were impressed by the strength’s finder exercise and the impactful discussion with Russ Tuttle. We wrapped up the week discussing plans for the upcoming Washington, D.C., and Gettysburg trip next month

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