I didn’t grow up on a farm. I grew up in a city and now live in an even larger city. Yet, because I work at CHS, I work for farmers. They are both my customers and the company owners since we are a cooperative.

I work hard at my job because I know that the farmers we serve, work incredibly hard. Since I am a city-dwelling technology leader, you may think I am the least qualified to write about how hard farmers work, but I do have some insight here.

I spend a lot of time in the farming communities of southern Minnesota. My wife and I have good friends from our college years that we’ve visited regularly for over 20 years. When we see our friends, we don’t just see them, but we interact with the whole community of farmers.

Farmers don’t complain

I may have just come off a stressful week before heading to the farm. When I get there, I may sit down with one of my friends, and he’ll ask how work is going. Regardless of how exhausted I feel, only one word comes to mind: “easy.”

Why? Because I’ve watched farmers start their day while I’m still sleeping. I’ve watched them keep working well after the sun goes down. I’ve watched them work in below zero temps in the howling wind. I’ve never heard one of them complain about it.

Farmers are self-reliant

Most of the farmers I know don’t have many farmhands. They do most of the work themselves. When a piece of equipment breaks, they are the ones that need to stop what they are doing and work on it until it is fixed, no matter how long it takes.

Being a farmer doesn’t just mean knowing a lot about crops and livestock. Farming requires mechanical skills, financial skills, and technical skills. The farmers I know are some of the most resourceful and knowledgeable people I’ve ever met.

Fortunately, I have the pleasure of working with many technologists that have the same work ethic. My team members will stay with a problem all night long so our farmer-owners can do their jobs without interruption the next day.

Farmers know the power of community

Often, when I’m down on the farm, there is some work to be done. I went down one weekend, expecting to help my friend replace his roof. When I showed up, there were dozens of people helping and we made quick work of the task. This is normal in farm country. In the city, I’ve never seen that happen.

Technologists need to remember the power of the community. Many keep their heads down and focus on their work and ignore the needs of the greater community. This weekly blog and podcast is my gift to the technology leadership community.

Recently, a network engineer on my team committed his first piece of code to a public network automation repository. He could have just kept the automation to himself, but he took the extra step to share it with the community.

We all can do better at this. Remember that farmers do this without even thinking. We have a lot to learn.

Farmers put God and family first

I attended a memorial service for a farmer this week. While these events are difficult, the perspective and reflection are valuable. This farmer, and all the farmers I know, always put God first, their family second, and the farm work third. There may be farmers out there that don’t live this way, but I don’t know any.

What about corporate folks who work in the city? Well, I think we are notorious for messing this up. We are less likely to put God first, even if we do have faith. We often let our work commitments take priority over the needs of our families.

Some may say that life on the farm is simpler. Perhaps, but there is more to it than that. I think the real answer is that farmers possess the strength of conviction and the clarity that we often lack. God, then family, then farm, in that order. There’s no question. You don’t even need to think about it.

Respect

I’m not a farmer, but I work for farmers. I’m blessed to call several farmers my friends. I may know a lot about leadership and technology, but these farmers really know how to work and live right. I’ve learned a lot from them. I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. If you have, please share it with your colleagues.

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