Jenni Tilton-Flood Of Dairy Farmer & Spokesfarmer for Cabot Creamery Cooperative On 5 Things You Need To Create A Successful Career In The Farming and Agriculture Industries.
An Interview With Martita Mestey
Don’t let Anyone Tell You That You Don’t Belong or That You Haven’t Earned Your Spot.
The war in Ukraine and catastrophic climate events have caused a global food crisis. This has highlighted the central role that the farming and agricultural industries play in sustaining society as we know it. In particular, it has highlighted the US Agricultural industry, and its role as the “Breadbasket of The World.” So what does it take to create a successful career for someone looking to enter the farming or agriculture industries? In this interview series, we are talking to leaders or principals in the farming and Ag industries who can talk about the future of modern farming and what it takes to create a successful career in the farming and agriculture industries.
Cabot Creamery Co-operative Farmer spokesperson Jenni Tilton-Flood is a first generation Maine dairy farmer who is part of a multi generational family dairy farm that has been in her husband’s family for two centuries. Jenni is an “outspoken advocate” on behalf of her rural community, agriculture, food systems, equity & justice, and sustainability. She serves as Co-Chair of Cabot’s Sustainable Farms Committee, serves as an elected representative within the Co-op and on the Legislative Committee, and outside of Cabot she is Chair of Volunteer Maine, Maine’s Commission for Community Service, Chair of Maine Dairy & Nutrition Council, represents Maine nationally as a Director of the NDB/UDIA/DMI Board, is on the Board of Trustees for Kennebec Valley Community College, and serves on the Waldo County Bounty Board whose mission is to ensure access to nutritious food and work towards an equitable food system. She’s too bold, too loud, and sometimes too much for the world around her and she’s okay with that.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Even though I was the first generation, on both sides of my family, not born on a farm, I managed to find my way onto one after about two decades. My dad was the John Deere guy and while it seemed as if my path to agriculture should have been a fairly straight shot I worked overtime while young to leave behind my small town in the middle of Maine life and left as soon as I could. My goal and plan was University and then to feed the world by righting wrongs, bridging divides, and creating stable environments for people to live, work, and grow so I focused on Comparative Foreign Policy and International Relations. Halfway through I realized I didn’t want to feed the world…I wanted to feed my corner of it so I shifted gears and came back home. I joined my dad’s farm equipment business and from there became involved in local agriculture and eventually, as any fairytale set in Rural America would go: while delivering parts to his family’s farm the Farmer fell in love with the Parts Girl and all these years later I am in a deep and meaningful relationship with the land we steward, the cows we care for, this farm and with agriculture…as well as the Farmer.
Please share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?
I think one of the best moments that only happened because I am a farmer was walking through Bryant Park in NYC while there doing Random Acts of Cheddar with Cabot I met, totally by accident a gentleman named Thomas who was on his break from tending to the all the flowers, trees, and bushes there in the park. It wasn’t long before we fell into a really great conversation about how he had been working at this job for at least a decade and how, even though he loved living and working in the city there was something he really missed about his home in Senegal. When I asked what that something was he was very sure I wouldn’t understand…he’s said, almost shyly, “My cows.”
Of all the people to run into in NYC I met up with a man who was miles away from home, just like me, and despite all of the lights and beauty and excitement of what surrounded us, here we were, two farmers who missed their cows.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
I don’t know if they’ve made me successful but what is important to me is being proud of the work I do and putting my head on my pillow at night without guilt. And when it comes to leading I feel very strongly about following a couple rules:
Be honest: It seems so simple but it can be hard. Be truthful about expectations, appreciation, and even disappointments. Be sincere about your own strengths and your weaknesses. Be honest about what you believe in and stand up, speak out, and make noise.
Be yourself: Authenticity inspires as well as comforts others. Being your authentic self gives you the freedom to work harder and better instead of focusing energy on being something or someone you are not. It isn’t license to do whatever you want and treat people badly-it is license to be and do better by being you.
Be proud: Make sure you do things that make you proud and make sure you express pride, both in yourself, what you do, and in those around you, especially your team (and everybody is on a team-nobody is successful or a leader alone). Be proud of you and the work being done and seek out work, set goals, surround yourself with people that make you proud.
Please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Right now what keeps the fire stoked in my belly is this, from the amazing John Lewis:
“My philosophy is very simple: when you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, we have a moral obligation to say something, to do something, and make a little noise. … continue to stand up, speak up, and speak out, continue to be brave and bold and courageous.”
In life, in everyday challenges as a farmer, in being an anti-racist, and in trying to be a better me and create a better world this is the way.
Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about the farming industry. The idea of farming has a very romantic and idyllic character to it, especially to some people living in a busy cosmopolitan context. Do you think now would be a good time for younger people with no farming history to get involved in the farming industry? Can you explain what you mean?
Let me be very clear: NEVER LET ANYONE TELL YOU THAT YOU CANNOT BE A PART OF AGRICULTURE. I do not care where you were born, whether you have ever stepped foot on a farm, and I don’t even care if agriculture is your third career choice- THERE IS A PLACE FOR YOU IN AGRICULTURE. More importantly, we need anyone and everyone who wants to be a part of our food system and a part of agriculture. We need people in science and research, engineering and arts. We need visionaries, dreamers, doers and darers. They don’t all have to be standing in a barn or a field, they just have to want to make this world a better, well nourished place.
Where should a young person start if they would like to “get into” farming?
If someone is thinking they might want to get into farming they should reach out to someone who is already in a deep and meaningful relationship with agriculture.If they don’t know a farmer (and you all know one now- Me!) the can contact 4H, FFA, Cooperative Extension, State Departments of Agriculture. Find out what opportunities there are and what speaks to them. And you don’t have to be young…you can be life experienced too!
With greater attention being placed on the importance of the farming and Ag industries, what do you predict will be different about the farming and Ag sectors, over the next ten years?
I HOPE that over the next ten years what different about the farming and Ag sectors is who is part of them and that how they are treated has improved. And I won’t beat about the bush- farming and Ag needs to accept, acknowledge, embrace, and empower the people who do the work and those who want to be a part of this endeavor…ALL OF THE PEOPLE. No more gatekeeping, no more political pyramid schemes of getting the labor in the fields and factories staffed and simultaneously marginalizing those same people socially and economically. People of color, people born in other countries, people who are not the spitting image of what we have been taught to be “a real farmer” are making our world go ‘round and they need to be afforded rights and freedoms and security. Now. For far too long Agriculture and farming sectors have accepted the embedded and systemic racism that drives our food systems and those inequities show up from field to market to table, and they persist in all of those places. Either farming and Agriculture dismantles the barriers and systemic marginalization of the people it depends upon or it dies.Hopefully it doesn’t take 10 years.
I’m very passionate about trying to help minorities to become more engaged in gardening and urban farming. What do you think can be done to engage more minorities and people of color in the farming and Ag industries?
So, I think first it is very important to acknowledge that ‘minorities’ are not limited to gardening and urban farming. Folks who live in more urban areas should definitely be encouraged to be engaged in gardening and farming and how to integrate that into their landscape meaningfully , sustainably, and productively. I highly encourage people in urban settings to look to the example and learnings of Natasha Nicholes and We Sow We Grow to see how planting a seed in a city is an amazing thing.
I think it is also important to recognize that people of color and other ‘minorities’ are already actively engaged in agriculture and farming. (You need only look at the Federation of Southern Cooperatives and United Farm Workers to see who is powering our food systems) We also have to acknowledge why their numbers smaller than those of non-hispanic White people, why the historical references have been minimized and erased/whitewashed, and why there is such a lack of equity with regards to ownership and incomes and opportunity. Much of it is embedded and systemic racism that is deeply rooted historically. While no farmer alive today was part of the creation and erection of these barriers we must focus now on the impact and not the intent and get to dismantling. And it is incumbent upon us to recognize and acknowledge that the land upon which we do our farming belonged to others before it was stolen, taken, or bartered for. The land our farm family has called home for generations for over 200 years is unceded land that was once home to and stewarded by the Nanrantsouak and Wabanaki Tribes. Understanding and acknowledging the past is a crucial step to moving forward.
We all know that inflation is affecting so many parts of our lives. How does inflation affect farms? What steps have you taken to keep costs down?
Inflation affects farms like it affects families and households: our costs of living and doing business go up, our dollars don’t stretch as far, and we don’t have the power to increase our income. It’s frustrating, infuriating, and creates such a feeling of being powerless. As a dairy farmer responsible for animals it is even more stressful as cutting corners and cutting back isn’t an option when it comes to the health and quality of life for our herd. But, we do what we can to stretch our dollars, we try to economize and create more efficiencies, and we keep hoping our stubbornness lasts longer than inflation.
Here is the main question of our interview. Please share your “5 Things You Need To Create A Successful Career In The Farming and Agriculture Industries”? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
1. Don’t let Anyone Tell You That You Don’t Belong or That You Haven’t Earned Your Spot.
2. When Doing the Small Things Do Not Forget the Big Picture.
3. Do Not Stop Learning.
4. No Matter How Much You Know Always Keep Learning.
5. Grow Something Good.
If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
If I could inspire a movement it would be one that creates a world where food was not a weapon. A movement that makes availability, accessibility, and affordability of good food from a good place commonplace. Just imagine what amazing things our world could accomplish if people were not overwhelmed by the challenges and corruption of our food systems….
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I am who I am wherever I am and that includes social media platforms:
Twitter: @jtiltonflood
Instagram: @jennideere
Post.:@jtiltonflood
Mastodon: @jtiltonflood@mastodon.social
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/jennitiltonflood
Facebook: www.facebook.com/FloodBrothersFarm
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Jenni Tilton-Flood Of Dairy Farmer & Spokesfarmer for Cabot Creamery Cooperative On 5 Things You… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.