MARL Today Blog

Thursday kicked off with a presentation by MDA Assistant Commissioner, Patrice Bailey and MDA Emerging Farmer and Outreach Coordinator, Lillian Otieno. They shared key aspects of the new initiatives aimed at assisting emerging farmers who often have far greater struggles entering agriculture than individuals with prior familial connections to production agriculture. They described how these, and other efforts, are focused on increasing and supporting diverse beginning farmers.

Following a brief networking break, Sue Knott and Keri Sidle from Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom (MAITC) provided an overview of their mission and resources that MARL participants should know about. They engaged small groups of MARL participants in trying out agriculture teaching activities that could be taken into local K12 classrooms to promote agriculture. Several class members have immediate plans to make connections with local teachers and share their passion for agriculture in this way.

Members of Class XI coordinated their individual and small group meetings with their district’s legislators early afternoon. It was impressive to see you much time several legislators spent with members, listening, sharing openly, and encouraging all to reach out and stay in touch. Members later shared how authentic and real their conversations unfolded. A very exclusive and meaningful experience. Thanks to all legislators who allowed this to happen!

As members were coming and going to the Capitol for their meetings, there was alternative programming offered for those present. A small group coaching session, as well as a session on Carbon Credits in agriculture by Extension Specialist Jodi DeJong-Hughes.

To conclude programming for the afternoon, Patricia Williamson, Principal Scientist at Cargill and Nelson Neale, Vice President of CHS each shared a brief presentation about themselves and their organizations, followed by Q&A. Both Cargill and CHS are great examples of the important role that agriculture and food industries are to Minnesota, and what the Twin Cities has to offer in terms of ag and food career opportunities. Both Patricia and Nelson shared their individual passions, yet collectively put into perspective how the work our state does in agriculture has a global impact.

Thursday evening was the social event and banquet at which several past MARL class members and key stakeholders were present. The keynote presenter for the banquet was Bill Gordon from MARL Class IV. His keynote presentation highlighted his own international MARL experience, encouraged our class to maintain an open mind when going to Ecuador, and ensured MARL Class XI was prepared with a growth mindset. He used his experience as the President of the American Soybean Association to communicate this valuable messaging.

MARL Class XI engages with legislators, educators, and others in St. Paul

Seminar 10 of MARL Class XI was recently held Wednesday, February 16 through Friday, February 18 in St. Paul. While this seminar typically would have been held earlier in MARL programming, prior to the Washington D.C. experience, the sequence of experiences and seminar locations was changed to allow for this critical seminar to be held in person, as opposed to in a virtual setting. A total of 26 MARL Class XI participants attended the three-day seminar, primarily held at the newly renovated Capitol Radisson.

Wednesday was a packed half-day experience, beginning with a short briefing and preparations for the upcoming international trip to Ecuador. Given that this is the final seminar prior to our departure, we asked any pressing questions and received our headset which will assist with hearing presenters and translators. From this briefing, it was clear to sense the excitement and nervousness of cohort members regarding what lies ahead.

Seminar content then began, focusing on providing effective leadership for meetings and committee work. Knowing that an average American spends approximately 4 hours a week in meetings, while an average executive spends 23 hours a week in meetings reiterates the value of strong meeting preparation and facilitation. In this afternoon session, we learned how to get the most out of meetings and facilitate different meeting situations and behaviors successfully. Various tools were modeled for MARL participants and we engaged in interactive learning experiences to try them out personally

Following the session on facilitation, two guest speakers presented to our cohort. Allison Sandve. News Media & Public Relations Manager for UM Extension spoke about how to communicate key messaging in a crisis. In small groups, we roleplayed a scenario to put into practice the content. Paula Mohr, Editor of The Farmer and MARL Class VI participant, provided a look into why and how to successfully write a letter to the editor. She highlighted keep steps to getting published and emphasized that writing a letter to the editor may be a good way to communicate about an issue of importance to an audience we may not be currently be engaging with.

After dinner as a class at Chimborazo, an Ecuadorian restaurant – to prep for the upcoming Ecuador study trip-, we transitioned to a guided nighttime tour of the Capitol. This was a highlight for many, with few having the opportunity to see the Capitol and learn about its rich history before. Brian Pease, who works for the Minnesota Historical Society, shared information about the history and architecture of the Capitol. Because this tour happened after hours, we were given us a unique perspective without the hustle and bustle of crowds and activities, and truly had a chance to take in the beauty of the facility. At the conclusion of the tour, we were greeted by a panel of three legislators (Rep. Paul Torkelson, MARL Class IV; Rep. Paul Anderson, and Rep. Nathan Nelson, MARL Class VII) and Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) Commissioner, Thom Petersen. Each shared their agricultural connections and leadership journey and responded to a wide range of questions regarding leadership, persuasive style, and life before/after public service.

We started day three at the Redwood Area Community Center where, after conversations on Leadership Action Plans and Capstone Projects and International travel prep, we met Andy Ourada, Redwood Valley Activities & Community Education Director and Ross Nachreiner of the City of Redwood.  We toured both the activity center and The Orrin S. Estebo Career Development and Training Center.  This space includes a grow room, medical training classroom, business/career center, and facilities for welding, construction, computer drawing, and robotics.  Students can earn certifications and learn more about various career pathways.  What an impressive visit.  A great presentation by the students was given about the plants they have and also their brand-new chickens and coop!

Overall, Class XI had a fantastic experience in Redwood Falls and learning more about the Lower Sioux Community.   A special thanks to our sponsors for making this visit a success!

Submitted by Chelsea Honnette and Seminar Management Team “Black”.

The class started the day with programming focused on inclusive leadership led by Extension Educator Toby Spanier.  We enjoyed playing a card game where each table had different rules and we were unable to communicate with one another to reinforce the challenges that occur when we do not allow for differences in mindset, assumptions, and beliefs while working together.  Did I mention we couldn’t communicate???

We then had the opportunity to travel to the Lower Sioux Historic site where John Robertson provided the group on the history of the Lower Sioux.  This served as an excellent foundation for our day in the Lower Sioux community.

The next stop for the group was a tour with Darin Prescott, Health & Clinic CEO of Lower Sioux Health Care Center.  What a fantastic facility that the group was able to view and learn more about the work of the Health Care Center and services provided to the Lower Sioux Community.

The afternoon was spent learning about the Lower Sioux Early Head Start and Head Start and the Lower Sioux Intergenerational Cultural Incubator.  At the Lower Sioux Early Head Start and Head Start we were able to learn about the important services provided to the community and how they plan to continue to grow to support additional families in the community.   We quickly made our way to the Lower Sioux Intergenerational Cultural Incubator where we heard from Grace Goldtooth, Arts Coordinator and Taylor Maguire, Administration Coordinator about this beautiful new facility that will continue to support the community by providing meals to Elders, teaching cooking to the youth, and providing space for entrepreneurs to develop and grow their ideas.  Remember Ruby?  We were able to see Ruby in action using her long arm sewing machine while quilting a beautiful piece in one of the rooms provided in the center.   We could have spent a lot of time learning about her quilts and the process, but we were onto the next adventure.  If you have a chance to visit this space, we encourage you to do so.  It is a beautiful space where many great things will start.

A diverse panel discussion was provided for the class to ask any questions about the Lower Sioux.  As anyone can imagine, we were able learn so much about the Lower Sioux Indian community.

We then transitioned back for dinner and a program where John Robertson shared some of his personal story with the group.  It was a great time to have many conversations with classmates, alumni and spouses about important topics in our world.

Submitted by Chelsea Honnette

Day One started for Class XI by loading a chartered bus for a tour around Redwood Falls, MN.  The class was provided a wonderful tour guide of the area by Bruce Tiffany (Class V).  The class started out by driving  tour around town taking in a variety of community assets including the hospital, schools Redwood, Redwood Valley Community Schools, library, and swimming pool.

The class had an opportunity to meet with leaders from Daktronics where Tom Quackenbusch, Plant Manager, shared with the class their motto they lead from which is humble, honest, helpful.  We were able to tour the facility and learned in detail more about how they as an industry leader are creating a variety of shifts to accommodate the workforce.

After the class loaded the bus, we traveled to Farmers Union Industries where the class received an in-depth report on all of their businesses which provided needed services to farmers and consumers related to animal food manufacturing.  Dale Bednarek, Chief Operating Officer, and Bonnie Ashlbrecht, Director of Human Resources, discussed with the class how their workforce is some of the most dedicated and loyal employees, and shared with the class their strategies for development of the next leaders of the organization is in planning stages.  The class enjoyed having the experience to see the final products that are manufactured and how they support our world in various industries.

Back to bus the class went and had the opportunity to learn from Jackie Edwards who spent several years in the Redwood Falls community working on projects to improve the community.  She shared with the class how collaboration with various leaders has been a major impact on moving projects through the community.  Jackie provided the class with a detailed tour of Ramsey/Chanshayapi Park.  We learned that our very own Shannon Gegner has a special connection to the park in that her family provides the goats in the zoo!  Overall, the conversation around all the history and beauty of the park was enjoyed by all.

The class ended their day by enjoying a meal and performance by the Dakota Wicohan Dancers.  We also were introduced to a special lady named Ruby who was there also to watch the performance.  More about Ruby on day 2. 😊

Submitted by Chelsea Honnette