Latest / The Future Herd / 8: Curiosity, Trust, and the Next Generation of Farm Leadership with Steph Towers

Transcript

8: Curiosity, Trust, and the Next Generation of Farm Leadership with Steph Towers · The Future Herd

0:00
Hi, I'm Jesse Hirsh.
0:02
Welcome to The Future Herd.
0:11
In this episode, I'm joined by my new friend, Steph Towers, for
0:15
a fantastic, passionate, wide ranging conversation about the kind
0:20
of leadership we need right now.
0:24
Steph brings a people first lens to agriculture that's both
0:28
practical and quietly radical.
0:31
We talk about how real leadership often isn't something you chase,
0:35
it's something you step into because the work needs doing.
0:39
We explore the habits that make that possible.
0:42
Lifelong learning, the courage to say we don't know yet, and the ability to hold
0:48
uncertainty without trying to control it.
0:51
A big thread running through this conversation is trust Steph
0:56
named something I think a lot of leaders are still missing.
0:59
In a world where producers and the public are getting their information from TikTok
1:04
X, Instagram, some even Facebook Trust doesn't come from sounding confident.
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It comes from being clear, from being transparent about what you know, what
1:16
you don't, and what you're gonna do next.
1:19
Steph also shares a vivid example from the tariff era anxiety now shaping export
1:25
dependent sectors and why curiosity and empathy can deescalate fear faster
1:32
than any communication strategy ever.
1:34
Will we get into a motion as a leadership asset, not a liability,
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and how the culture of granite and Barrett is colliding with a
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growing necessary openness about mental health and agriculture.
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If you care about the future of AgriFood leadership in Canada, or if
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you just wanna watch a future Prime Minister come into being, you gotta
1:59
learn about my friend Steph Towers and the phenomenal work that she's doing.
2:05
Jesse Hirsh: Hi, Steph Towers.
2:06
Welcome to The Future Herd.
2:09
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: Hi.
2:09
It's great to be here.
2:11
I am so excited to have a conversation with you about the future herd,
2:16
the future of agriculture.
2:17
Jesse Hirsh: Now I will, uh, uh, state, uh, from a process perspective that
2:21
when we announced this on LinkedIn, you were one of the first people to
2:25
kind of connect with me, and I was so grateful because as soon as you did,
2:29
I was like, this is exactly the kind of person I want to be talking to.
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Um, so thank you very much for accepting my invitation, and
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I love starting our chats with what does the future mean to you?
2:44
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: Ooh, wow.
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We're just gonna get right in there and pull it out.
2:48
So for me I've grown up in ag, I've been in this, in, in around
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different sectors for my entire life.
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And the future for me is all about blending those past traditions with
3:02
all of the technology and all the information that's coming forward.
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think when you really get down to it, the future of agriculture for me is in
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jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Right on.
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Right on.
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And, and from that people perspective, how did you become a leader, uh, so to,
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to project so easily and so effortlessly?
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Uh, I, I'm not a fan of the phrase natural born leaders.
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I, I don't think such things exist, but you're close in the sense that
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you've kind of been playing with leadership since you've been playing.
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Um, so gimme some insight as to how that happened.
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steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: Wow.
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That's a huge praise.
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I'm not sure that I even would consider myself a leader traditional
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metrics, I think for me it's about trying to make a difference.
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It's seeing something that you're passionate about and that you feel
3:58
strongly about and wanting to be part of change and change for the better, not
4:04
just for yourself, but for those around you and for the industry as a whole.
4:09
Throughout my life, I have taken on, leadership positions, not.
4:16
on purpose, but because someone needed to step up and do the work.
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And that has been really empowering.
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I think to the commitment to lifelong learning.
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I'm a big believer that you have to be learning something new every day.
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It's part of why we're here, and it is so rewarding to continually learn and
4:36
to be able to put that into practise.
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But at the heart of it, it just comes back to wanting better for myself,
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my family, and the people around me.
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jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Preach.
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Preach sister.
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And I say this because as I suspect, learning is my through line as well.
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It's presently why I'm waking up so excited and happy because I'm currently
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in the midst of a big learning project.
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But I have to ask.
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'cause a, I don't think I was praising you when I called out your
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extensive experience as a leader.
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It's really from my perspective, showing respect.
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But I'm curious, like who were your influences?
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Were your parents kind of leaders themselves?
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Were there people in your community that you looked up to
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and you're like, wow, they're cool.
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I want to do that too.
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'cause you take for granted the idea that if there's a problem,
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someone's gotta solve it.
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Or, we need people to be focusing on impact.
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And bringing people together.
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And to your point, bringing.
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People together.
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So before we get into the real nuts and bolts of our current
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sector, what were those influences?
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Who inspired you when you were younger to be as courageous as you are?
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steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: So I grew up in a small farming community.
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We had hogs so far to finish.
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My dad was wildly influential in my life.
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He and my grandparents, as well as my aunts and uncles were
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very involved in community.
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So whether that was local hockey, local baseball, if there was something that
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we were involved in as kids, and even if it was something we weren't involved in.
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But they needed someone to step up and coach or be the trainer or fill
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that spot so that kids could play.
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was it he was the president of the Minor Ball Association, and both my
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brother and I, on multiple occasions as teenagers were volatile that we
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would be coaching because he needed coaches to be able to run that team.
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But, there are 15, 20 kids depending on somebody coaching, and the result was
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going to be that the teams would fold.
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So I think from a young age, we were just brought up to believe that community is
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incredibly important and collaboration is incredibly important, and that when
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you treat the people around you with respect and invest your time and your
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talents, that comes back and it comes back tenfold in the community that you
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live in the relationships that you build and you know who you are as a person.
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jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: That, that makes a lot of sense to me.
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And, and it, it helps give me the larger context as to where your passion, your,
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your infectious energy comes from.
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But, but let me ask you a, a a potentially controversial question.
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'cause when you talked about people-centric agriculture, you sort of
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inferred that it, it's something we need.
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It's something that hasn't always been there.
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But you also just described your sense of community in
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which that's a constant, right?
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That that's something that is just you're voluntold to be part of.
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So what happened?
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'cause, because I think there's a story there, I think there's a disconnect where
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we did use to have vibrant communities where that responsibility to help each
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other out was part of the social fabric.
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But to your point, it's not the language we're always using.
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It's not the culture that we're always emphasising.
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So before we get into how to bring that back, I'm curious, Steph, from
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your perspective, how did that happen?
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Where, where did we make a wrong turn?
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There
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steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: Wow.
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jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Real early on these episodes?
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steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: fast here.
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So it's a fantastic question and I don't know that there's a single
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answer to it because I think a lot of that fabric does still exist.
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You see it in rural communities, if there's a barn, fire neighbours
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stepping up and going to get cattle and making sure everybody's taken care of.
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You see it if there's a fundraiser for someone that's sick in the community.
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So I think we still do have that foundational sense of
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community, but I think that.
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moved away from it.
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There's so many relationships now that are online and it's not necessarily
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a bad thing, but it's different.
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It's, thinking that you are following someone and you have that relationship
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with them, but it's really one sided.
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And so I think that as we have shrunk in the agricultural community, we're
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losing farms every day for consolidation reasons and all sorts of things.
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We're so focused on efficiencies and outputs that we have maybe,
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and not all the time, but we have lost the focus on people first.
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We're concerned with margins and we have to be right.
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farming is a business, and it's critically important to be able
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to stay afloat, to be focused on margins and throughput and output.
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But when we focus on that at the expense of our relationships.
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It brings us down.
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And I think that's, that kind of merging technology and things changing so
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much more rapidly than they used to.
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That's all at the centre of it, where the ballpark and church and community
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dinners, those used to be the places that you got your information.
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you click on Instagram or Facebook and you pull up your local community
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page and you've got everything right at your fingertips without
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ever having to leave the house.
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And so this focus on efficiencies and, not taking the hour to go to the
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community barbecue, I think that it is detrimental and it's not on purpose
10:00
and it's not necessarily something that we realise we've been doing.
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But when you look back, we've definitely lost some of that interconnectedness.
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jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Well, and, and I think not only is
10:10
that a brilliant insight, but it it speaks to the perspective that leaders
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can have to address these problems.
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Because, you know, if, if I can try to express it as a metaphor, on the one
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hand, I think you accurately described that at the grassroots, that spirit
10:27
is still there, it's still active.
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There still is a real strong commitment to community.
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But when you scale the institutions up you lose some of those circuits.
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So we maintain the circuits around sustainable business practises.
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We maintain some of the circuits around, say, sharing agronomy.
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Knowledge or sharing, you know, tractor knowledge, but people knowledge we've
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lost and that social knowledge we've lost.
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So as a leader, how do we do that?
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How do we take those circuits that are still active in the community and
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reintegrate them into our institutions?
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'cause I, I'm hypothesising that's part of what you are
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trying to do as a leader, right?
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Is sort of see it from both angles.
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You grew up in the grassroots and you know the value that's there,
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but you're also identifying in, in the institutions that there's a gap.
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There's something missing here that we need to reintegrate and extend.
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And am I, am I gring you?
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Am I understanding you correctly?
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steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: yes.
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You summarised it far more eloquently than I could.
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Absolutely.
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jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: what are your thoughts on, on execution?
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Right on.
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And obviously it's not something one single leader can do.
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We're talking about culture, right?
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It takes a, a, a many hands to lighten the load.
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But, but tell me more as to how you've approached this
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problem and how you're trying to communicate this to other leaders.
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'cause to me, it's self-evident to me.
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I'm like, yeah, preach, but I suspect not everyone else is as open to these
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ideas or in their defence, they, they just can't translate how obvious this is.
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The way that bottom line, for example, is an obvious consideration
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for pe for people to keep in mind.
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steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: For sure.
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So for me it is approaching everything as people First leadership.
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It's all about empowering people to be them, be their best selves, to
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be able to show up, to contribute, to bring ideas forward that we
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wouldn't necessarily have if we just act as our management team alone.
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So traditionally, leadership has been about control.
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especially within the agricultural community, we were looking to academia,
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we were looking to our commodity boards.
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We were looking to, the government for the information on what we needed to do next.
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So that leadership model was really rooted control and being able
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to deliver a confident message.
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So you were the only source of information or maybe one of two sources of information
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that farmers and community had.
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So it was really important to be very clear on your messaging,
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be very concise and right?
13:11
Even if that message was maybe missing a few were changing a lot slower.
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So the rate of change, the market swings, all of those things, if you look back
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30, 40 years, were at such a slower pace that it was easy for leadership
13:26
to thrive with a control mentality.
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Now that's wildly different.
13:34
People aren't relying on information sessions from their commodity boards.
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They're not relying on the news releases that come out three
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months late by the government.
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They're going to social media, they're going to TikTok, they're
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going to X, they're going to Instagram, they're going to Facebook.
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And so they already have opinions on what's going on.
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when you go into a meeting and people have questions, if that leadership model is
14:00
control, and that narrative doesn't match the information that people have already
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accessed, and no balance, there's no give and take, it erodes trust really fast.
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People aren't looking for confidence anymore.
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They're looking for clarity.
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They want to understand what decisions are being made, why
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they're looking for transparency.
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They're looking for their leaders to be that beacon of
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light through that huge mass of information that they've collected.
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They want their leadership to say, Hey, this is what's going on.
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This is what we know now.
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This is where we're at.
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It's okay to not know the things that we don't know.
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And it is definitely okay to communicate that to, to your base, to the people
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that are looking to you for answers.
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There's a lot more credibility in transparency and clarity than
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there is in control or having a perfectly polished narrative.
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jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: absolutely brilliant.
15:07
You're knocking every one of these out of the park.
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It's truly impressive.
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So I gotta now throw the, is a real hardball pitch.
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And I'll do it in a way that I'll give you a fork in the road so you
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can hedge yourself accordingly.
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I think the trust issue, as you just outlined it, is the issue fundamentally
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that everything else flows from there.
15:27
I do want to talk policy, but before our episode here is done, but I want
15:31
you to double down on that trust piece and the fork in the road is,
15:35
I'd love to hear some examples that you think demonstrate this new model
15:40
of leadership that earns trust in the media environment that you describe.
15:45
And alternatively, if you wanna go there.
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What are the leadership practises that are so ludicrously outdated
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that they are hurting the leadership of those organisations?
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'cause they're trying to control something they can't control and consequently
16:01
are losing a trust by the bucket load.
16:03
Again I don't want you to get into trouble, but I think you've hit the
16:07
crux of the matter when it comes to the crisis of leadership in our sector
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that your view, as brilliant as it is not as widely held as it should be.
16:18
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: Wow.
16:19
Okay.
16:20
Okay.
16:20
Yeah, let's do it.
16:21
Let's do it.
16:22
Okay.
16:22
So one of the best examples that I have seen recently was an organisation
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that when Trump came into power, there were a lot of discussions
16:31
on tariffs and what that means for our predominantly export market.
16:36
And this commodity group had a, their CEO hold a press conference and say, listen,
16:44
don't know this is gonna affect us.
16:47
don't know when it's coming in.
16:50
we do know is that we are a really strong industry.
16:53
What we do know is that we have really great senior staff.
16:57
What we do know is that we are going to fight to protect this industry and
17:02
to ensure that Canada remains a global leader in the export for this commodity.
17:08
And it did amazing.
17:09
Thanks.
17:10
Their membership base was behind them.
17:12
There was a confidence there.
17:13
There was, you could see the unrest in the room had dissipated, right?
17:17
Because people seen, felt heard, they felt like they mattered, and
17:24
that this organisation was really listening to their concerns.
17:29
And, there, there were some follow up questions that were pretty
17:31
aggressive this CEO was able to redirect and just say, I hear you.
17:39
I hear you.
17:41
you tell me more about that?
17:43
And just leading with that curiosity about.
17:47
Why there's a problem if your membership base or your consumers, whatever
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you're dealing with, or if it's on the family farm, you know your next
17:55
generation if they're coming to you and they're mad, do you know why?
18:02
Because you probably don't.
18:04
That is one thing that I think is really undervalued as a, you talk about
18:08
leadership characteristics, curiosity.
18:11
Curiosity is one of the most underrated leadership skill and you can
18:16
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Mm-hmm.
18:17
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: have to be born with it.
18:18
You can absolutely learn it.
18:20
It's that step back pause for two or three seconds and say, what do you mean by that?
18:28
And after asking that a few times, you got down to it.
18:31
And this particular question that was very aggressive, got down to
18:34
this young farmer, was concerned about the debt load he had taken on.
18:38
He wasn't sure with.
18:40
If borders were gonna be shut down, he wasn't sure he was
18:43
gonna be able to make payments.
18:45
That CEO said I really empathise with that.
18:48
We have some loan agreements with banks.
18:51
Let me get you in touch with some people.
18:54
And just that understanding of where that frustration was coming
18:58
from completely disarmed that room.
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So it was just something that was unbelievably well done.
19:05
And the really interesting part about it was he didn't have any answers for them.
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jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Yeah.
19:10
And it really brings to the foreground an element of leadership that I think
19:15
many people take for granted, but you just demonstrated is kind of central to
19:19
the trust exercise, which is emotion.
19:22
And I would argue that the AgriFood sector more than any other
19:26
industry, emotion is part of it.
19:29
Farmers are very emotional about their work.
19:31
Food processors are, entrepreneurs are very emotional about their work.
19:36
And whether it's, uh, decision making or policy, they often becomes emotional.
19:40
What role does that emotion play?
19:43
Like?
19:44
'cause on the one hand, you, you, you talked about emotional
19:46
composure, emotional literacy, emotional vulnerability, right?
19:51
Like there's different layers to that, but it's also evoking a model
19:56
of leadership that acknowledges.
19:59
Uncertainty that acknowledges things you can't control.
20:03
Again, we're really getting into the weeds here, but I, I'm curious to
20:06
hear your thoughts as, as someone who you know, to, to your earlier Mark,
20:10
you've seen multiple generations of leadership, both in terms of people you've
20:14
collaborated with, but also in terms of the people that you've grown up watching.
20:19
How is our understanding of emotion and leadership changing and, and are we
20:23
at a point where we can talk about it?
20:25
The way you talked about some of the skills that one can acquire when, when
20:29
one aspires to be a better leader.
20:32
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: I think we're getting there.
20:33
I really do.
20:33
I think that there is movement towards accepting all of those
20:39
emotional components as fundamental to connecting with people.
20:42
So having emotional intelligence, being able to read someone, being able to
20:48
understand, oh, this person's behavior's off from, a couple days ago or a couple
20:54
weeks ago, or this person's work is declining, and being able to step back
20:59
and say, okay, this isn't typical of them.
21:02
What's actually going on here?
21:04
You know that I think we are approaching a place where we can talk about it more.
21:10
I think that with the movement towards more acknowledgement of mental health
21:14
in agriculture, that we're slowly seeing an acceptance of looking
21:19
at things differently and not just at put your head down and grin and
21:23
bear it because there's work to do.
21:26
Those it's hard though because those are foundations that agriculture's
21:31
really built on that pull your bootstraps up and just get it done.
21:35
So it's gonna take time and it's going to take people who are really invested
21:39
in empowering people and leading with compassion because it does so much
21:46
for your company culture and it does so much for the members of your team.
21:51
To be able to have them comfortable, to ask hard questions, comfortable
21:56
to voice their opinions, and comfortable to say Hey I'm not okay.
22:02
And those things ultimately will positively affect your bottom line.
22:06
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Well, and, and let's use that as a
22:08
way to kind of tie in the, the meeting spaces and the media that kind of
22:14
create the culture of agriculture.
22:17
'cause on the one hand, you know, we're, we're having this conversation early
22:20
March, and this is, you know, the winter is often the season of ag events, right?
22:24
When people really come together.
22:26
And I think that's part of how the mental health issues have been normalised
22:30
and de-stigmatized is because at these events, I think a, there's a lot of
22:35
opportunity to talk about these issues, but when you're hanging out together,
22:39
it's easier to be, are you okay?
22:41
And, and to have that conversation.
22:43
But the other side of this, of course, is media and the fact that people
22:47
are in their tractor, you know, in their, uh, uh, barn using social
22:52
media to connect with other people, to share knowledge with other people.
22:57
I, I do wanna talk about that in the larger context of leadership, but I want
23:00
to start with the mental health side.
23:03
To what extent can our events and can our media provide the kind of emotional,
23:09
the kind of community support that we started our conversation with, right?
23:13
That we used to live in this world and many of us still do, where the
23:18
community took care of each other.
23:20
How is media, how is the internet?
23:23
How are our events rising to that challenge or failing to do so, right?
23:29
Because I am the kind of person who sees the through line between our
23:33
mental health, our sense of wellbeing, and the culture that makes us say,
23:37
Hey, yeah, I'm a farmer and I'm proud.
23:39
And it strikes me that our events in media help make that happen.
23:43
I can't ask this question to most of the guests who'd come on this show, but
23:48
Steph, I think that you've been thinking about these topics in a way that could,
23:52
uh, again, give you an opportunity to demonstrate your brilliance.
23:55
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: so to lead off, I am going to say I
23:57
am in no way a mental health expert whatsoever, but I'm really fortunate to
24:01
be very close friends with a number of people who are, and we have seen such
24:07
great strides in Canada over the last five years on having multiple avenues
24:13
for farmers to be able to reach out.
24:16
We have some brilliant programming on teaching on the ground.
24:22
so sales staff that's in and out of farms and identifying some signs,
24:28
excuse me on the farm sales staff to identify signs that someone's not, okay.
24:33
So does the barn look messier?
24:35
Is the tractor not taken care of?
24:37
And teaching them ways to approach these, issues and not actually
24:42
just brush it under the rug.
24:43
So I think there's an amazing education element that is popping up at a tonne
24:49
of different meetings, a tonne of different organisations, and there's
24:52
also legitimate support as well.
24:54
So whether it's in the form of therapy that you can access,
24:58
whether it's a form of a crisis line or something like meditation.
25:03
Apps that you can use while you're in the field or in the barn.
25:06
So I think that we have made some really good strides in integrating that
25:10
into our meeting spaces and working to de-stigmatize mental health in general.
25:16
There's still a lot of work to be done, but man, we have
25:20
some phenomenal organisations in Canada that help with that.
25:25
Yeah,
25:25
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Right on.
25:25
And I appreciate that A, you're not only game to come on a crazy podcast
25:30
like this, but you're able to handle the crazy conversational twists and turns
25:35
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: it's
25:35
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: that my, uh, uh, autistic a DH brain takes us on.
25:40
Because I, I wanted to talk to you about events in particular because
25:43
I hypothesise that who we look to as leaders is almost, at least historically,
25:50
has been a direct reflection as to how our events are constructed.
25:53
Like, who has charisma?
25:55
Who ha has the best speaking skills, who knows the right people in the room?
26:00
You know, I, I, I've been going to events long enough to realise that
26:04
that's where politics happens, right?
26:06
That's where, you know, power happens.
26:08
'cause that's where people connect and trust and, and see with each other.
26:13
So I would love to hear your thoughts on the role that events play, both in
26:18
facilitating the practise of leader.
26:21
But I think more importantly, how could we change our events to get more and
26:26
newer and different leaders who, uh, will help bring different perspectives, right?
26:31
Will help bring new, vibrant energy.
26:34
Because while I would love to believe staff that there are a million others like
26:38
you, you are an exception to the rule.
26:41
And clearly your parents were phenomenal leaders unto themselves.
26:46
But how do we get more people like us playing the game and having fun?
26:50
And what role do you think events play in, in facilitating that?
26:55
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: Oh, so this is a topic that
26:57
is near and dear to my heart.
26:59
I think.
27:00
Engagement is something that I am unbelievably passionate about because
27:05
I think, unfortunately, for a lot of organisations, not just within ag, we take
27:13
and we turn it into acceptance,
27:17
right?
27:18
You have a meeting and you only have a few people show up and it
27:21
says, oh everybody must be happy.
27:23
Are they happy or are they disengaged?
27:24
Because those are two very different things, right?
27:27
for me, meetings have to provide something of value.
27:32
And you'll see that with different leadership styles.
27:34
So if you have a leader who is still operating under the control model trying
27:39
to control the narrative, operating in a way that's, comes from a form
27:44
of authoritarian style of leadership.
27:48
It won't be very interactive.
27:49
It's going to be a lot of being talked to.
27:52
it, the information is probably great, not saying that at all.
27:56
But there will be very limited opportunity for dialogue.
27:59
There will be very limited opportunity for engagement and for providing feedback
28:05
to people or for building skills.
28:09
the best events that I have seen come from leaders who really value feedback.
28:14
Where there are open question periods, there are round table discussions
28:19
with senior staff or board members.
28:22
There are ample opportunities conversation to happen amongst participants.
28:28
It's not just a classroom style.
28:31
You're there for six hours and, okay, see you later.
28:35
I am a firm believer that some of the best conversations happen in the hallways.
28:40
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Mm-hmm.
28:41
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: So we need the meetings to provide the
28:42
information, but we also need the meetings to provide the space for that
28:46
reflection, that conversation, and that feedback to occur because the best
28:51
meetings create conversations that last.
28:55
So it's all going back to that leadership style of collaboration and curiosity,
29:00
and really valuing the input from your attendees instead of seeing it as well.
29:06
This is an information gathering event.
29:08
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Right on.
29:08
And this is where I get to, uh, do the aspirational part of the podcast
29:13
and say maybe one day we'll have an opportunity to do some kind of future
29:17
herd leadership event where we do an event configuration that's completely original.
29:22
Um, but back to the main subject, I, I personally think that food
29:26
at any ag related event needs to be so spectacular that people are
29:30
like, oh my God, that was amazing.
29:33
You said something very powerful there that, that really kind of triggered an
29:36
emotional reaction to me, which was this idea that disengagement is complacency or
29:42
that disengagement is satisfaction and.
29:46
Granted it, it's one of those things obvious in hindsight but when you said it,
29:50
you, it's like, I felt punched in the gut.
29:52
'cause this is where I wanna shift to policy.
29:55
'cause to me one of the big complacent elements of disengagement within policy is
30:00
this idea that Canadians don't know where their food comes from and they never will.
30:06
Versus, I see that as disengagement and I see that as something
30:11
we absolutely must address.
30:14
'cause if we don't, our problems are only gonna worse.
30:18
So allow me to use that as a hook to say why do you think policy engagement
30:24
is important and, and as part of your travels, uh, both within the
30:29
leadership realm, but also perhaps engaging with folks who, who are new to
30:34
leadership, who are new to policy to.
30:38
Eh, what are the prejudices?
30:41
What are the obstacles?
30:42
I, I'm someone who thinks that policy's like a playground
30:45
where you can have lots of fun.
30:48
How, what has your experience been, both yourself engaging the policy
30:52
environment, but also trying to get other people to engage the policy environment?
30:57
'cause correct me if I'm wrong, it also suffers from a high rate of disengagement.
31:03
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: Yeah,
31:07
so policy is something I am very passionate about as well.
31:12
when it comes to.
31:14
Saying, people don't need know where their food comes from
31:17
and we need to educate them.
31:18
I'm gonna push back on you a little bit on that one, because I think
31:24
this notion that we have created in ag of consumers need to be educated.
31:31
Ah, yes.
31:35
But also, no.
31:37
consumers necessarily wrong.
31:41
They're just not you.
31:44
So
31:45
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: And I.
31:46
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: with having this mentality that
31:48
it's, we're gonna tell them and we're gonna educate them and show
31:50
them where their food comes from.
31:54
It really creates a point of friction, I would say, where we're positioning
31:59
ourselves as someone superior.
32:02
To the people that are consuming the products that we produce.
32:06
I am unbelievably proud to be in agriculture.
32:09
I think it is amazing the high quality food that we can produce
32:14
in Canada and export to the world.
32:16
We are a global treasure when it comes to AgriFood and food production, but
32:22
I think the thing we sometimes take for granted in agriculture is that
32:27
we are also lucky to have people choose to put us on their plate.
32:32
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: So I,
32:33
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: It is,
32:33
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: I wanna double down on this and,
32:35
and I wanna flag that I do want to come back to policy engagement and
32:38
getting people en engaged in policy.
32:41
But I think you're making a really, really smart point here.
32:43
And I want you to kind of unpack it a little.
32:47
Give me an example.
32:48
Give me an example.
32:49
'cause I think you're right.
32:50
I think on the one hand, every industry likes to assume that it's
32:54
superior and no one understands them.
32:56
Boo hoo hoo.
32:57
And, and sometimes that leads to a false sense of, of we know and they don't.
33:03
But is there an example, however vague of something that the ag industry resents
33:09
that the public is doing that regardless of the public's motivation, that's cool.
33:14
They could do that.
33:15
'cause we live in a free society, right?
33:17
Because that, that is, I think the larger context here in terms of we
33:20
gotta let people think for themselves.
33:24
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: We absolutely
33:25
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: And I,
33:25
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: think me, the one that seems to hit the hardest
33:29
is people that are very passionate about their choice to not consume meat.
33:34
That is always a big one.
33:36
And what I would say is we are really fortunate to live where we do that.
33:40
We have so much food choice and I am never going to tell someone what they
33:44
should or shouldn't put on their plate.
33:46
Food is such an intimate.
33:48
Decision and such an intimate relationship that all we can do is
33:52
we can produce it, we can provide it and appreciate those people that
33:56
do choose to consume our products.
33:59
That being said, there's a portion of people in the middle for general
34:03
consumers that we'll call them movable middle, more information may help them.
34:09
They want to be like they are doing something good.
34:13
It goes back to that emotion,
34:14
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: yes.
34:15
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: They want to feel like the decisions that
34:17
they're making for their plate and their family are the right decisions.
34:20
They wanna know that what you are doing isn't going to
34:23
hurt them or their families.
34:25
They wanna know that they can support Canadian and feel good about that choice.
34:30
It all comes back to is the choice they're making for the food on their
34:34
plate, something they feel good about.
34:36
And the movable metal are people that generally are curious.
34:40
They want more information.
34:41
They're looking for that information.
34:44
open to having really constructive conversations.
34:46
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: See, I, I, I, I'm, I gotta, I gotta interrupt
34:49
just, just to throw another curve ball at you 'cause I'm loving this 'cause I
34:52
rarely get to talk to someone who has both ag literacy and media literacy, right?
34:58
Because you understand both a, where the food comes from, but you also understand
35:02
where people get their perceptions from and where their emotions from.
35:06
And I love how you're evoking the middle 'cause it is a kind of swing vote, right?
35:10
And that they are being informed and influenced by all these different factors.
35:15
'cause here, here's where I as a farmer, react emotionally and, and
35:20
I suspect this is similar to others, while I absolutely, uh, support
35:25
someone's right to never eat meat.
35:27
I have a real problem when they say that beef is responsible
35:31
for global warming, right?
35:33
Or when they like, 'cause on the one hand, if it is about personal
35:37
diet and nutrition, go nuts.
35:40
Eat whatever you want.
35:41
But when it gets into the realm of policy where they're not just talking about what
35:47
they put on their plate, they're deciding.
35:50
Like, for example, here, here, here's another thing that I'll admit, I'm,
35:53
I'm still wrapping my head around.
35:54
So what I'm about to say may be unformed, but I believe an important
36:00
policy for farmers in Canada is increased rail infrastructure.
36:04
Like everything I'm seeing from grain farmers to, like everybody
36:08
across the country, we need to get our products to the market fast.
36:13
And the bottleneck year after year is railways.
36:17
But right now here in an eastern Ontario, there's a revolt going
36:20
on against high speed rail and everybody's going real bad, real bad.
36:26
And again.
36:27
If these are different debates, fine.
36:30
But the problem is it's never just about what we eat.
36:33
It's always about our worldview.
36:35
It's always about our larger morals, and it always ties into policy as a whole.
36:41
And that's where I think it's difficult for us, either as policy people or as
36:46
human beings who have passionate issues about stuff, to find that nuanced middle.
36:53
So to bring it back to policy, how do we get more people seeing policy
36:59
debates as something that are worth having rather than, I think when people
37:05
get overwhelmed, they just go policy bad, rather than thinking that policy
37:10
is wide enough for all sorts of views.
37:13
And the goal is to find.
37:15
The middle to find something that we can all kind of agree on.
37:19
I'm rambling, but I rarely have the opportunity with someone with
37:22
your expertise and intelligence.
37:24
So please step, help me figure this stuff out.
37:28
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: So what I would say with policy
37:31
is that agriculture in Canada, our numbers are shrinking, right?
37:36
There's just, there's no way around it.
37:38
And we don't have the luxury anymore of saying, oh someone else will do it.
37:44
We have to do it.
37:45
And the thing about farmers and AgriFood in general is that we're really good
37:52
at telling our story each other.
37:55
We're great.
37:56
We'll pat ourselves on the back all day in a meeting room of, you and me and
38:00
Oh, we did so great last year and we did all these things, our narrative very
38:04
rarely makes it outside of our silos.
38:07
So agriculture in general, still very much operates in silos.
38:12
So you identify, oh I'm a dairy producer.
38:15
I'm a beef producer.
38:16
I'm a grain farmer.
38:17
We haven't.
38:19
Made these steps.
38:20
It's getting better, but we really haven't taken the steps we need to
38:24
deconstruct those silos and work together as an agricultural industry.
38:30
you said, trying to flush out those commonalities of getting
38:34
products to port faster.
38:35
Our port infrastructure is crumbling, which is absolutely essential for
38:39
our export markets figuring out the things that we do well together that
38:44
we all need, and really advocating for government as one voice.
38:49
That's not to say that you have to dismiss your concerns that are industry
38:53
specific, but you can attack those one-on-one with meetings with MPS
38:57
and PPS and your local counsellors.
38:59
But if we could find commonality and collaboration on some of the
39:03
key infrastructure messaging to government about helping to secure
39:08
Canada, not only our food sovereignty, but to position ourselves as a
39:12
global leader in food and AgriFood export, that would be unbelievable.
39:18
One of the.
39:19
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: No, please go ahead.
39:21
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: One of the biggest things I hear
39:22
when I speak to mps and PPS is that there's so many messages coming from
39:29
agriculture, sometimes conflicting, that it's a lot easier for them to throw
39:33
up their hands and go, I don't know, once you guys agree, come back to me.
39:36
I guess I'm not sure, because they can't reasonably take any action when they
39:41
have three voices, four and three voices against, and so what happens is we get
39:47
stuck in this situation where we're having trouble getting any policy put forward.
39:52
Where in agriculture, I think we can agree on some pretty fundamental things.
39:56
Less red tape is essential for investment in processing and infrastructure, better
40:02
investment into ports, transportation, better investment into rural communities.
40:07
There's so many things that are fundamental that we all agree on,
40:11
that if we could align our voices and have that collaboration, we could.
40:17
Really make some waves in terms of policy and communicating with
40:20
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: and I want to dig deeper into that
40:22
point of a kind of unified voice.
40:24
'cause, 'cause that is something I'm hearing right across the board.
40:27
And, and I think that to your point about the reducing numbers, uh, of farmers, it
40:32
makes that even more important, right?
40:34
That kind of coalition of the willing, for lack of a better phrase, can focus itself.
40:40
And, and I wanna return to that, but because you have such a high level of
40:44
media literacy, uh, I, I, I want to devil devil's advocate something I've
40:49
been working through on my, on my own.
40:50
'cause like yourself, I have often when given the opportunity, told
40:55
people we need better stories and we gotta work on our storytelling skills.
41:00
And, you know, narrative is really the, the, the force of power in
41:04
the media environment we live in.
41:07
But you know, in the last few weeks I've started coming to a slightly different
41:11
conclusion that storytelling isn't enough.
41:15
It's a battle.
41:16
It's a battle of ideas and whether we want it to be or not.
41:20
You know, like Twitter of 2010 is dead and X of 2026 is a battle royale.
41:29
And while on the one hand we should be united in these battles, right,
41:33
so that we're not fighting each other there, there is kind of like
41:38
it's no longer, here's my story.
41:40
Everybody listen.
41:41
It's kind of like elbows up, here's my story.
41:46
I'm curious what you think of that.
41:47
Are we still in a world in which the good stories rise?
41:51
Or does there have to be some other element to make sure that
41:54
the story is given attention before anyone has a chance to go?
41:58
I like that story.
42:01
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: so I think it's a combination.
42:02
I think that generally speaking, in the world that we live in, people are
42:07
looking for the good news stories.
42:09
They are looking to have their fears dealt with by, maybe it's a video of
42:16
you in your cornfield or you with one of your cows or pigs or whatever it is.
42:22
There is still very much that desire for good things, the desire for positivity
42:30
and the desire for people to feel like they're aligning with the community.
42:36
So that's something I think we need to take into consideration
42:39
when, you're talking about, oh, the battles that are being fought
42:42
on X or whatever that looks like.
42:45
Social media has become people's social network.
42:48
It has become their social fabric, and it is where trust is earned.
42:54
Now, that social licence, we talk about our ability to operate in agriculture
42:58
and how critical that social licence is.
43:01
That social licence is now earned online.
43:05
It's not from academia anymore.
43:07
It's not from our government.
43:09
It's not from policy makers, it's from the influencer.
43:15
It's from the person that you look at online and go, oh, they seem like me.
43:19
Oh, I really like them.
43:21
And you establish this connection with that person, all of a sudden that
43:25
person posts, oh, GMOs are bad people.
43:30
On that post say, yep, nope, GMOs are bad.
43:34
You start to internalise that as, oh, this person that I see every
43:37
day who looks like me and has a family like me says they're bad.
43:43
I guess they must be bad.
43:45
And unfortunately, there's no positive story to combat that, where are
43:52
you gonna go with your information?
43:54
And you're right, it is a bit of an uphill battle.
43:56
But we need to tell our stories.
43:58
We need to continue to earn that social trust and we need to do it in a way
44:03
that we can really execute on the things that we are doing well and really tell
44:10
that story outside of our circles.
44:12
And it's not just up to individual farmers.
44:15
I think ag organisations have a huge part to play in that I
44:18
think academia needs to show up.
44:22
Not just saying the data says, but
44:25
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Yeah.
44:25
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: practise.
44:26
Because they used to be the people that you would turn to and say,
44:31
oh, that's what so and so says.
44:33
That's what the research says, but now it's not the case that
44:37
people stop believing the experts.
44:40
It's that the experts stop showing up in the places where trust is
44:43
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Yeah.
44:43
And the experts forgot that emotion is how we make our decisions.
44:47
The data can't speak for itself.
44:49
The data's powerful, but the scientist needs to use emotion to explain
44:53
why the data is important, why it's relevant, and this is why I think
44:57
that the power of the people first concept is, is really important.
45:02
Because as you were taking my provocation around the battle place of ideas, you
45:08
were kind of, you know, recentering the people-centric approach, which.
45:13
Also to your example of the leader, right?
45:16
Who acknowledged that they didn't have the answers.
45:19
You, you, you're not relinquishing leadership, but at the same time,
45:23
you're earning trust and you're prioritising the earning of trust,
45:26
which is a people first exercise.
45:28
That, that I think is, is indispensable.
45:31
And to bring it back to this one voice idea I, I think what you were just
45:36
describing is the, in terms of the influencer and in terms of how we make
45:41
our decisions on social media, right?
45:43
And who we look to and trust, it strikes me that that applies equally
45:48
to what many of us call out and desire in terms of we want a united voice.
45:54
I kind of feel that we're in this leadership void where everybody
45:58
kind of knows what needs to happen, but you still need someone with the
46:03
kind of chutzpah to stand up and go.
46:06
I propose this as our one voice, right?
46:09
And they may get modifications, they may get haters, but you
46:14
still need people to do that.
46:16
Like you still need someone, to your point, you know, to say, Hey look, I
46:19
think you guys are wrong about GMOs.
46:22
You know, it's actually a little more complicated.
46:24
And did you know that farmers have been breeding for thousands of years, right?
46:29
So, uh, that is still an act of leadership.
46:32
How do you see that playing out?
46:34
How do you see, whether it's young people, whether it's people who have the, the
46:39
experience of decades, you know, how do we get people to show, to demonstrate the
46:45
vulnerability, to not just have everyone looking around the room going, yeah,
46:50
yeah, yeah, we agree, but one person say, I'll stand up and take the risk.
46:57
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: So one of my favourite.
47:00
Lines that I have ever heard came from a mentor of mine he said
47:06
indecision is still a decision.
47:08
just a really shitty one.
47:11
And I think that's the crossroads that we're at right now As we, we delve
47:17
into these new leadership models and with everything going on south of
47:20
the border, I think agriculture is positioned to be spectacular in Canada.
47:27
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Yes.
47:27
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: think there is so much opportunity
47:29
and the appetite is there, the export markets are there.
47:33
We're working with countries globally that we've never been
47:35
able to work with before or haven't worked with in a really long time.
47:39
potential for us to unleash as an AgriFood superpower is absolutely
47:45
there, and I think now is the time we have to have somebody step up
47:52
and we have to really focus on.
47:55
Coming together to ensure that we stay relevant.
47:59
And I think the central part of that is going to be people.
48:02
It's who are we bringing along with us?
48:05
And this idea of making sure we're involving the next generation and
48:12
ensuring that we, much like my dad did, show them that this is important.
48:18
You have to be involved.
48:19
You have to understand the commodity groups that represent you, the
48:24
policy that's being shaped.
48:26
Even something as simple as do you know what your local infrastructure is?
48:29
If town council decides not to fix a bridge that you need to access your
48:34
fields, are you gonna be aware of it in time to go and protest at council and
48:38
say, you like, no, I need this bridge.
48:41
Or are you gonna be really surprised in the spring when that bridge is out?
48:43
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: See.
48:44
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: So there's.
48:45
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Well, I, I, I, I gotta interrupt because at
48:48
the start of what you were saying, I was almost, I, I was having this emotional
48:52
reaction, which made me wonder, why am I believing Steph when she says this, when
48:57
I don't believe other leaders when they say the exact same thing, but then you
49:02
answered it because you are not saying, trust me, because I'm Steph, you are
49:08
saying, trust me, because I am connected to a whole bunch of other people.
49:13
Who are gonna do this with me, right?
49:17
And that is a completely different model of leadership than historically
49:22
our institutions have had.
49:24
And it kind of inspires me to add a new, uh, feature of the podcast,
49:30
which is Steph, who are the leaders that you're currently looking at
49:34
that are inspiring you, right?
49:36
Because I get the sense that you are not the kind of sole hero on the quest trying
49:42
to save Canada, that the enthusiasm and emotion that you just conveyed, which
49:47
made me believe you instantly, is a consequence of you feeling that there are
49:52
other people who have your back, right?
49:55
Who, who are there, uh, equally committed and motivated.
49:58
So, not to put you on the spot, but uh, you got any shout outs of other
50:03
people who our listeners should be paying attention to for the sole reason
50:08
that you are paying attention to?
50:11
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: so I have a tonne of people that are wildly
50:14
influential in my life that I turn to and look at both within ag and outside of ag.
50:20
And I think maybe that's something we don't talk about enough is looking outside
50:25
of agriculture for things that can bring into the industry that maybe are concepts
50:31
in other industries that have been proven and ongoing for quite a while.
50:36
So I actually, at a Grain Farmers of Ontario event, I met Hamza
50:40
Khan, who is a very influential leadership guru, we'll call him.
50:46
something he said in that presentation really resonated with me, and it was
50:50
that leaders make themselves redundant.
50:54
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Hmm.
50:56
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: So they're so focused on empowering
50:58
people and pushing people to be the best versions of themselves.
51:03
That they know they're gonna put themselves out of a job.
51:05
And
51:06
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Mm-hmm.
51:07
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: That's
51:08
four or five members of their team could step up at any time and do their job.
51:13
And that's the mark of a really great leader agriculture.
51:16
I think Jennifer Wright from Kark is amazing with all of the
51:20
work that organisation is doing.
51:22
54% of people can't name a job outside of farmer.
51:26
That's wild.
51:27
And they're working so hard to show the potential that is here to
51:31
try and not have those a hundred thousand job vacancies by 2030.
51:36
I think that we have a phenomenal one of the co-ops I'm part
51:40
of Suzanne from Gay Lee is.
51:43
Absolutely a fantastic example of someone who empowers the people around
51:47
her to step up and do their job.
51:50
I think that there are a number of CEOs across commodity groups and senior
51:54
policy advisors that are fantastic.
51:57
Yeah, there's so many people
51:59
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Right on.
51:59
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: industry, but also outside
52:01
that we can learn so much from.
52:03
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Right on.
52:03
And that's such a fantastic attitude to have.
52:06
Which kind of leads, uh, uh, to this next question, although I, I do for a
52:11
process perspective, say, I, I, I lament that so much of Canada's approach to
52:16
leadership is the tall poppy syndrome, where we get jealous of leaders and,
52:21
and start, you know, hating them.
52:23
I want to do the opposite here.
52:24
I, I want to be us.
52:25
We're boosting all the leaders, right?
52:27
And, and, and giving them the gas.
52:30
But you, you, you started off, uh, this talk really, uh, in
52:34
expressing your joy of learning.
52:36
And it, it kind of, you know, where you just gave that last answer, especially
52:40
the idea that the leader needs to put themselves out of a job, that they
52:43
need to empower the people around them so effectively that they can do
52:47
an Irish goodbye and no one's gonna notice because the organisation will
52:51
be in great hands towards that end.
52:54
What are you currently learning?
52:57
Like what, what, what are the sorts of things that has you as a leader,
53:01
but also you as an active learner, kind of excited to add to your
53:06
repertoire of knowledge and skills?
53:09
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: so I'll start with what I'm currently doing.
53:11
So currently I am taking the Ag Women in Ag, so women in Ag from Carc.
53:18
They're they've got 10 week course that I, it's a leadership course, so I'm
53:22
doubling down on leadership skills,
53:24
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Right on.
53:25
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: to the toolbox.
53:26
And I am also working on getting my bilingual certification because I think
53:31
that as we have these conversations about collaboration, it is essential
53:35
to be able to communicate in both of our official languages proficiently.
53:39
I can do it now, but it's less than perfect.
53:41
Luckily, my French counterparts, I have a good sense of humour and appreciate
53:45
me at least giving it the old college
53:47
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Right on.
53:47
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: but something that I am really passionate
53:50
about and something that I have been working on now is an engagement.
53:55
Piece to our offerings at Fresh air Media.
53:58
So I think that in order to get the collaboration that we're talking
54:02
about and really having that united front as Canadian agriculture,
54:06
we really need to put the work in to engage our primary producers.
54:10
We need people at the front lines.
54:13
Acknowledging that there are time constraints, that there are
54:16
stress constraints, that there are different challenges that maybe are
54:20
preventing them from being engaged.
54:22
And we really need to work on creating a platform for communication
54:27
that meets them where they're at.
54:28
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: I'd love for you to elaborate.
54:30
I, I, I, again, what I find so emotionally rewarding about our conversation today
54:35
is you keep triggering these like yeah.
54:39
Reactions or, I, I'm, I'm really inspired by kind of how you're
54:44
approaching what I think both of us see as a set of opportunities, but
54:48
if ignored a set of growing problems.
54:51
And I think the communication piece is central to that.
54:54
So, uh, elaborate, please tell me more about, you know, both the,
54:58
the kind of services that you're providing, but I think more to your
55:01
point, the capabilities that you're trying to help the sector build.
55:07
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: Yeah, so I think what we're
55:08
seeing across sectors is this.
55:12
Really robust engagement around that early twenties.
55:17
So coming out of, maybe you went to college, maybe you went to university,
55:21
maybe you've been home for a few years now, but you are really getting into it.
55:25
So it's typically prior to being married, typically prior to kids, we
55:29
have this little bit of a burst of energy where people want to be involved,
55:34
they wanna influence change, they want to get into it, and then life happens.
55:41
And so what we see is that organisations that are giving back
55:45
to their producer members that have meaningful workshops, that are
55:49
providing meaningful opportunities, that are giving actual credibility.
55:54
So they're generating positions where there's actually some level
55:59
of authority given where there is an actual decision making or
56:03
ownership piece that goes with it.
56:05
They will retain those people through the ups and downs of kids and farming
56:11
challenges and all of those things that hit you in your thirties.
56:15
They may be, have a reduction in the participation that they're
56:18
they have, but you'll see them come back full force in their kind of
56:21
late thirties to early forties.
56:24
That being said, if we take that same group and we offer them token seats where
56:29
they don't have any meaningful impact on the organisation, they're not building
56:32
any credible skills, get to a point where you're evaluating different options for
56:38
your time and you go coaching minor hockey actually seems a lot more rewarding,
56:43
whatever I did here for three days.
56:45
Then you lose those people.
56:46
They don't come back.
56:48
it's very hard to try and motivate someone in their mid to late forties
56:55
to come back to an organisation that they say, eh, tried that once.
56:59
It burned me.
57:00
Or it felt like a waste of time.
57:02
It's very hard to get them re-engaged and reenergized to want to contribute to
57:08
the sector, to agricultural as a whole.
57:11
And they're no longer seeing the value in doing that.
57:14
They say I just, I, I farm and I'm just a farmer.
57:18
And that is the single most damaging line that we have in our
57:21
industry is I'm just a farmer.
57:25
Nobody is just a
57:26
We're business people.
57:28
We're entrepreneurs.
57:29
We're like, the vast level of knowledge that you have as a
57:33
primary producer is incredible.
57:37
when we build networks where we are giving back to our farmers as well as.
57:43
Actively taking in information from them and building an organisation that
57:47
accurately reflects the things that they want and the things that they need.
57:53
We empower them to not just be a farmer.
57:55
I'm not just a farmer.
57:56
I'm a leader.
57:57
I'm a policy change driver.
58:00
There's so many things that we have the ability to do with a little bit of
58:06
research and a little bit of development on our communication vehicles and
58:11
the messages that we're sending out to really foster that engagement and
58:16
getting those people back to the table.
58:18
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: and I think part of the reason that I so
58:20
intuitively believe in your model of leadership and it evokes such the, an
58:25
emotional reaction in me is you understand the role that media plays in the social
58:30
fabric, in our sense of identity, in our sense of community, and where a lot
58:36
of certainly older leaders just dismiss media as like this thing out there.
58:42
You recognise it as being central to how we connect and how we
58:46
do stuff, and how we organise.
58:48
And in that regard, future Heard is here for you.
58:51
Anytime you need any help, any support, we got your back.
58:56
I am absolutely thrilled, uh, that you accepted my invitation to come
59:00
on, and I would like to say you're welcome to come back at any time.
59:04
I don't want, uh.
59:05
Future heard to be like one off and done.
59:08
I want us to become a kind of leadership culture, right.
59:11
In which we get the kind of intergenerational, uh, diverse perspective
59:16
kind of, uh, fostering that sense.
59:18
Is there anything, uh, that we haven't talked about that you'd like to discuss?
59:22
Any final thoughts?
59:24
Any subjects, uh, that you think are relevant given the, the various
59:28
threads we've weaved and ducked and gone into tangents with today?
59:33
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: Honestly, I think we've covered like a
59:35
pretty vast variety of subjects matter.
59:39
I really enjoy it.
59:40
I think it just goes back to that, that people first mentality and, we're so good
59:45
in ag at adopting innovation and adopting technology and there's this, current
59:52
rumblings of oh, AI this and AI that.
59:56
I think what we need to do is just centre that idea.
1:00:01
that technology is never going to replace relationships.
1:00:05
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Yeah.
1:00:06
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: is never going to replace that connectedness
1:00:09
and that interwoven fabric of community and wanting to support one another.
1:00:14
What community looks like may change, and it may evolve, but at the centre
1:00:20
of it, it's people centric, and it's all about using people and
1:00:27
your relationships that you build to elevate the industry, to elevate your
1:00:32
own business, and understanding that those people relationships, those
1:00:37
relationships that you build central for
1:00:40
jesse-hirsh_1_03-02-2026_100514: Mm-hmm.
1:00:41
Mm-hmm.
1:00:42
And you know, , your point about, I'm just a farmer as kind of a dangerous phrase,
1:00:47
, you kind of evoke just now the other dangerous phrase that I fear, which is I'm
1:00:52
too old to learn or I'm too busy to learn.
1:00:56
'cause I think that's also, kind of central to, to what you're
1:00:59
describing , and what we're teasing out.
1:01:01
Uh, I would to your other evocation love, , , to have you back at some point to talk
1:01:06
about ai, from the media perspective, not so much from the technology perspective.
1:01:11
'cause I think it, it is also another dynamic, that we've discussed today,
1:01:15
but we've, we're run way past.
1:01:18
And it, uh, if it wasn't, uh, uh, for my A DHD, we could keep going.
1:01:22
But I have a million other things I've been neglecting that I need to get to.
1:01:26
But Steph, this has been an.
1:01:28
Absolute pleasure.
1:01:29
Uh, IYYY.
1:01:31
Your ideas around leadership and, and around people-centric, agriculture
1:01:36
organisation, policies is revolutionary.
1:01:40
So, , again, , I wish you all the success.
1:01:42
We got your back.
1:01:43
Anytime you need our support, we're there and we'd love to have you back.
1:01:48
steph-towers_1_03-02-2026_100513: I'd love to come back.
1:01:49
So thanks very much for having me.
1:01:52
Jesse Hirsh: If you've listened or watched any of our previous episodes, you can
1:01:57
tell that I get really excited when I start learning something and I'm easily
1:02:02
infected by other people's passion.
1:02:04
And in Steph's case, I, I could barely contain myself.
1:02:07
It is phenomenal to meet leaders who inspire you and
1:02:12
make you really think that.
1:02:13
The future we are all entering is exciting and and filled with opportunity.
1:02:20
What stayed with me after we wrapped the recording was how grounded Steph
1:02:24
is in the human side of agriculture.
1:02:27
We spend a lot of time in this sector talking about production, trade,
1:02:31
technology policy, all the systems that surround and enable food production, but
1:02:38
staff kept bringing the conversation back.
1:02:40
To the people, to the realities.
1:02:42
Farmers are navigating every day and to the responsibility leaders carry
1:02:47
when they speak on behalf of others.
1:02:50
There's a quiet honesty in the way.
1:02:52
She approaches leadership, not pretending to have every answer, not hiding
1:02:57
uncertainty, instead showing up with curiosity, empathy, and a willingness
1:03:03
to keep learning even when the pressures facing the sector are intense
1:03:09
. That mindset matters.
1:03:10
Right now.
1:03:12
Agriculture is operating in a period of rapid change, geopolitical
1:03:17
shocks, shifting markets, evolving, expectations from the public, and
1:03:22
a new generation stepping into leadership roles across the country.
1:03:28
Conversations like this remind us that the future of the sector isn't just gonna
1:03:32
be determined by policy or technology.
1:03:36
It's going to be shaped by the character of the people willing to
1:03:39
lead through that uncertainty, willing to take risks, willing to step up.
1:03:45
And Steph is clearly one of those people.
1:03:48
If you enjoy this episode half as much as I did, please share it with someone
1:03:54
in your network who's thinking about the future of food, the future of
1:03:58
farming, and the future of this country.
1:04:01
And if you know of a leader we should be speaking with, whether they're on the
1:04:05
farm in the boardroom, and policy and research, we'd love to hear from you.
1:04:12
So thanks for listening to the Future Herd.
1:04:14
And we'll see you next time.