Season 7 Promo - From the plow to the internet: a staff conversation about technology, NDFB and agriculture

In this promo episode for Season 7, Emmery introduces her new cohost, Alisha Nord-Donnelly.

Learn more about Alisha, in her own words, and find out how the communications landscape has changed for NDFB from a long-time employee, Dawn Smith-Pfeifer, who has been with the organization since before the internet.

Your also cohosts provide food for thought on the good, the bad and the ugly side of technology and how it relates to their jobs and their farms.

To learn more about NDFB staff, visit https://ndfb.org/aboutus/staff/

To contact host Emmery Mehlhoff, email her at emmery@ndfb.org

Look for their Season 7, Episode 1 on Wednesday, Sept. 20.  

Transcript

[Straight Talk theme]

[00:12] Emmery: Welcome to Straight talk with NDFB. I am your host, Emmery Mehlhoff...

[00:14] Alisha: And Alisha Nord. 

[00:15] Emmery: We are your Farm Bureau duo, bringing you your competitive edge. In today's episode, I introduce you to my cohost, Alisha Nord. We visit with Dawn Smith Pfeifer of the North Dakota Farm Bureau, and we review how technology has changed agriculture throughout the years. Join us for this episode.

[Straight Talk stinger]

[00:38] Emmery: So welcome to Straight Talk with NDFB.I have Alisha Nord Donnelly with me, who is the Southeast Field Representative. How are you, Alisha?

[00:49] Alisha: I'm good. Thanks for having me.

[00:51] Emmery: Good. Why don't you just introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about how you got started with Farm Bureau.

[00:57] Alisha: Sure. So I grew up actually, I'm a Minnesota native, so I grew up on a row crop farm. We mostly have corn, soybeans, but we also grew sugar beets, sunflowers, wheat, kind of anything and everything in between. But primarily I grew up with corn and soybeans and alfalfa hay and then registered Black Angus cattle. Grew up kind of in the typical ag activities. Very involved in 4-H and FFA. Later went to school at North Dakota State University and graduated from there and then just kind of started working right at NDSU after my graduation. Honestly, had no plans of leaving. I thought I was going to work there until the day I retired. I came to a Young Farmers and Ranchers Conference. Knew nobody, was invited, actually, by a staffer who currently works for Farm Bureau, Joey. She invited me over Facebook, and I don't really know why I went, because I knew nobody. I went by myself and had no idea what Farm Bureau really was. So off I went, and six months later, I was approached by Farm Bureau to possibly come work for them. And honestly, the rest is history and moved over to North Dakota. I currently reside just west of Valley City, and I have been the Southeast Field Rep for seven years now.

[02:16] Emmery: So Alisha and I are basically next door neighbors for how close we are in North Dakota.

[02:21] Alisha: Yes, we are.

[02:22] Emmery: Today we're going to talk about a few things. We also are going to have Dawn to talk about a little bit of Farm Bureau history. And so we have a full show today.

[02:34] Dawn: Hi, there.

[02:35] Emmery: Looks like Dawn just popped on here. Hey, Dawn. 

[02:37] Dawn: Hi. How are you doing? 

[02:39] Emmery: We're good. I have my new cohost Alisha with me today.

[02:44] Dawn: How are you doing Alisha?

[02:45] Alisha: I'm doing pretty well. I'm with Emmery on a Friday.

[02:50] Emmery: Alisha and I are just visiting. She told me the story about how she joined Farm Bureau and got started and some of the changes that she's seen. And so can you tell us about how you ended up joining the staff of Farm Bureau and how long ago that was?

[03:08] Dawn: Well, let's see. I got to do the math. It's a long time. 1985.

[03:12] Alisha: What was your very first job coming into Farm Bureau? Or do you kind of do the same job, or have they changed over the years? When you first started with Farm Bureau, what did that look like?

[03:22] Dawn: It looked like a little Compaq computer with a green screen, floppy disks, writing copy for a publication called Dakota family, and then pasting it up on some kind of paste board and kind of showing the people what I wanted to have the layout look like and then shipping it to Grafton to have them look at it and print it and then send me a proof. I mean, it was a process. It was nothing like this. Today I have to laugh because before I actually determined that writing was probably my best thing, it just came more natural to me than a lot of other things. I wanted to make movies. Now, after all these years with YouTube and all these other kinds of programs, I can actually get back to doing those things that I wanted to do way back in the old days before they had all these conveniences. So it's kind of taken me full circle, and now I have so many things that I can do at the snap of my fingers, when things don't go smoothly, second by second, you're just throwing up your hands going, oh, my gosh, this is ridiculous. And before, it took three weeks to get a publication put together. So things have changed a lot.

[04:48] Alisha: So you've seen a lot of technology change over the years within your job that not many people get to be a part of.

[04:56] Dawn: Yeah, I mean, I remember a young man who was an agent for Nodak at the time, and he said, "You know there's this thing called the Internet. Trust me, it's going to be huge." And it was like, wow, his name was Dave, Sokolovsky I'll never forget that. I wonder where he is know, because it's like, I want to say to you, "Nan, you were right!" So, yeah, there have been a lot of changes, and I found that fighting them, it's like, no, it probably isn't a good thing because it's going to just keep coming. So the more you learn how to make use of those things and the more you embrace what it can do to enhance what you're doing, the better off you are. And so even now, with all the AI stuff I'm saying, yeah, it might make us dumb, it might make us think things are too easy. But you know what? If you're not embracing it, you're probably going to get left behind. And I don't want Farm Bureau to get left behind in that realm. So everything that comes up, I try to take that philosophy, "Hhmm! Is there some way that we can make use of this? Is there some way that we can, instead of fighting it, is there some way that we can enhance what we're doing?" So that's kind of my philosophy with the whole thing, I guess as technology moves forward.

[06:26] Emmery: It's really interesting to hear your philosophy of it because I was talking to Alisha and I said, I think Dawn is the most adaptable person I know. I said, I have no idea how she's gone from prior to the Internet to one of the projects you're working on now, which is creating animation, and then you're also running some of our scripts through an AI program just to proof them.

[06:53] Dawn: Well, I think it's just that I'm curious. It's just because it's like, well, I got to get in there and fiddle around with it a little bit and see does this make me a better writer? And I will tell you, I have used Chat, GTP or GPT. Sorry, TP toilet paper. Yeah. [Laughs] No, it's like I'm having trouble with a sentence and I'll go, can you make this a better sentence? And if I like it, it's like, oh yeah, good job, good job. But it's not like I take what it gives me and just go, yeah, that's perfect. No, I go, I think I need to tweak that some more, but at least it helps me get ideas and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I just think that being curious is always a good way to go with things.

[07:49] Emmery: Thanks so much, Dawn, and I'm really thankful for you joining us today on Straight Talk with NDFB.

[07:57] Dawn: You bet. 

[Straight Talk stinger]

[08:00] Emmery:I like what Dawn said about how the new technologies are a tool. I think that's really interesting because she's talking about some pretty controversial things like AI, and we talk about that out in the field, even. With these new technologies, thinking about them as a tool is helpful. Like, how you use them really matters. But what do you think about this question? Are there some technologies that branch out of the tool category and into the just plain good or bad category?

[08:43] Alisha: That's a loaded question. I have many opinions on that. I guess one of the things that I struggle with just because I see it the most from my dad and brother are the ability to fix your own equipment. You used to be able to change filters on your own and change things and be able to get back in the field in 10 minutes, 30 minutes. And now some of the stuff is so tech based that you have to call out a rep to come fix it. And it can be a day, it can be three days, it can be you having to haul your piece of equipment in. And that's where I see the biggest struggle of some of the equipment has been so tech-based that we can't fix it ourselves anymore. And that costs us time, and in the end, it can cost us money because as we all know, as farming and ranching, we're weather-based. And so if there's rain coming and you're waiting on a rep to come out, that can cost you lost acres right there. And so I do agree technology serves so many great purposes, but certain things like that do become a struggle.

[09:56] Emmery: This is my concern in general, with some technologies, is obviously like increased efficiency. The ability to get stuff done is just, like, crazy. But my biggest concern isn't necessarily that technology is always evil, but just that.. What it is... Well, I guess it's twofold, right? The one area that you mentioned, Alisha, just the loss of the skill yourself. Your dad knows how to fix an old tractor, but does your brother? Well, he probably does, too, but will your brother's son? Like those questions. I don't think anybody could go out and plow a field and plant a crop anymore by hand. Nobody remembers. Maybe Bagman's grandma does, but nobody does. And so people might be like, well, you don't need to know that anymore. But that's my concern, is if the technology fails us, what's going to be left if all that skill is gone? Because we've all outsourced it to technology.

[10:57] Alisha: Correct.

[10:57] Emmery: So that's my first concern. Do you want to hear my second one, too?

[11:00] Alisha: Yes.

[11:00] Emmery: Well, you should add on to my first concern.

[11:02] Alisha: No, I agree with the lost skill, and that's come with a lot of things, is we are so reliant on the computer or the microchips or whatever it is, it's going to take us through it that we've lost certain skills to be able to do things on our own. And so we're always waiting for somebody else to come fix it for us.

[11:22] Emmery: My next one is like, okay, this one I don't know, but are we smart enough that's maybe the wrong word, but are we smart enough to use the technologies? There's the hammer, right? Like, we know how to use a hammer properly. We use a hammer to pound in nails. Sometimes we use a wrench to pound in nails. We know how to use a hammer. We don't go use a hammer to try to fix a piece of glass or deal with a confrontation with our neighbor. Right. And maybe I'm kind of going off a little bit into some philosophical conversation here, like I like to do, but are we wise enough maybe that's a better word, to utilize some of these technologies that get into some pretty intense stuff? Like we're going into the biology of animals, we're going into the biology of people, and we're using technology to change genetic code. And then we're also talking about using technology to farm on a mass scale without any human involvement at all. Self driving cars. So my question is, are we trustworthy wise enough to be able to do all of this stuff? If you don't have an answer, it's kind of an off the wall question.

[12:39] Alisha: But no, it's a good one. And I love your deep thinking, because I don't think in today's society, we sit down and think. We're such a go go society that we don't sit around and brainstorm anymore. We don't think about option A versus option B. It's whatever is the easiest, most convenient, maybe quickest and it might be the most expensive, but it's at our fingertips so we're going to use that one instead. And I agree. I like technology and I think all the advancements have been really good, especially in the medical field and there's so many different things that you could go off of where technology has been a huge benefit. But I think also it's moving so quickly, like you said, in animals, plants, creating different protein sources, whatever it is that we're moving so fast that we're not doing the best job at it. We're making a product and we're throwing it out there. We're making a vaccine, we're throwing it out there. We're making different things and tossing it out to the public without knowing 100% this is the best option. And I think that's where people are so confused these days because there's so much out there and there's not a lot of history or development behind it where people are explaining it, they're just kind of throwing it to people saying, "Use this, this is the next best thing. Use this, this is the next best thing." Without much almost like thought, is this actually the best? Or like maybe let's sit down, work on another project, this might be a better option. It's who can get things out the fastest and what companies can outcompete another company too, I feel like is a struggle where we're lacking putting in our best effort because we just want to be first.

[14:31] Emmery: They want to be first, right? Because of money, right? Because if they get the new technology out there first, they get the new vaccine out. If they get the new genetic hybrid out, they make the money. And so it's this motivation towards constantly being first but for a profit. The question is, is this really the best thing? And I will say, like the consumer isn't super worried about it either. They want the next piece of technology too because they want the most efficient crop. They want the vaccine that's going to make them the healthiest. They want the new advancement that's going to make their life easier. So it's kind of a system that somehow we all of a sudden are living in where we have a society that is so driven towards how can we give the consumers the next thing that they want? And then us as consumers, how can we get that thing the fastest?

[15:27] Alisha: Right? I'm just thinking about was it Ocean Gate? So all I can think about is the information again, what information we know. And parts of the submarine were not qualified to be on that submarine and it was very clear that they weren't good parts, they were low quality. And so what was the push to go down there? Was it to be the first, I don't even know what it was, whether it was they were in competition with other friends to be the first to go down there and see what they wanted to see or what it was. But I just can't fathom knowing that it wasn't up to par and they knew about it, and to still go forward and risk your life on something. That just mind boggles me of. And again, I don't know if that information was privy to these people going on it or what that was, but it seemed like it was very basic out there, knowledge that there were parts on this submarine that did not meet the specifications to actually take that trip that they went on. And so you have people now risking lives to be the first to do what, I don't know. But things like that just mind boggle me.

[16:40] Emmery: And it kind of leaves you wondering, how do you even navigate this world of craziness? Well, and you let me know what you think. But think about what Dawn was saying about the new technologies that she's had to navigate and everything. I think there might be a key in something that she said, and that is that she's looking at the new technologies that are coming out and asking the question, how can this serve our members? Maybe that's a really good thing to ask when something comes out, to look at it and say, okay, how can this serve my family? How can this serve my farm? Because I think ultimately, at the end of the day, we want our tools to serve us, and we don't want to serve our tools. Just a thought.

[17:26] Alisha: I really like that, and that's a really good perspective and I think will maybe help people sit back and think. Like, that's a really good way to think about things, because there is there's so much out there, and obviously you don't need to utilize every piece of technology that's out there to thrive or be the best at your game or whatever it is. There are certain ones that are going to help you, and then there are certain ones that aren't going to help you. So I think that's really good. Whether you're farming and ranching or you have an office job or you're in the tech world, or you're not, to sit back and really say, okay, is this new technology, is this going to really help me move forward? Or is this something that can probably sit aside and I can pass on it? I think that's a really good way to think about it, especially for our members, because it can be very overwhelming when stuff is thrown at you constantly. It can be like, where do I even go? Where do I even start? Like I said, kudos to Dawn, because I don't know how she's thrived in her job, but she has. And maybe it is because she took it step by step, saying how will this serve me in my job and our members? And if it doesn't, maybe I just kind of let it go or, oh, this could be a really interesting way to connect to this group of our membership. Let's do some research and let's figure this one out. So I think that's a really good way to think about it is to figure out if it's going to serve you, and if it is, is the impact going to be good enough where you want to take the time to learn about it?

[18:54] Emmery: And the risk.

[18:55] Alisha: And the risk, yes. Always risk.

[18:58] Emmery: Well, thanks again, Alisha, for being my cohost. Been a lot of fun. Thanks for driving here and having breakfast with us.

[19:05] Alisha: Absolutely. I really enjoyed it.

[19:07] Emmery: You've been listening to straight talk with NDFB. Check out more of our next season of Straight Talk with NDFB. Click the subscribe button and don't miss an episode.

[Straight Talk theme]