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Sustaining a Purpose-Driven Career in Ag with Matt Plitt
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What does it take to build a lasting, meaningful career in agriculture? In this episode, Matt Plitt, President and CEO of Valent USA, shares his insights on leading with intention, creating a strong workplace culture and navigating a rapidly changing industry. From personal growth to sustainable leadership strategies, this conversation is a masterclass in what it means to lead with purpose.
Matt dives into:
- Creating an Effective Workplace Culture: How he empowers his team
- Embracing a Changing Industry: Practicing innovation and an open mindset
- The Power of Personal Investment: Leading yourself well to inspire others
Matt drops some great advice for leading through people, purpose and growth to make the most out of your career.
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About The Cultivating Leaders Podcast
Real stories. Practical advice. Tangible growth. Join The Cultivating Leaders Podcast, brought to you by Agriculture Future of America, as we explore what it takes to lead in food, agriculture, and beyond. Whether you’re just starting out or leading at the highest level, this podcast is your go-to resource for leadership that matters. Listen now and start cultivating your leadership journey.
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Transcript
Accountability and Core Values
00:00:02
Speaker
How do I hold myself accountable? And that's really the goals and the results, right? How do i look at it in terms of what do I need to get accomplished and what results am I delivering? And that's probably what I would say is' my business accountability.
00:00:14
Speaker
And then I look secondly at the soft skills. How did I get those results? Am I doing it in a way that's in alignment with our core values and really the character that I want to ah present to the organization and also, you know, externally too, because I'm i'm the same person inside of AYLENT as I am outside.
00:00:31
Speaker
And I think it's really important to be true to yourself, whether it's at a work or home.
Introduction to Podcast and Guests
00:00:39
Speaker
Welcome to the Cultivating Leaders podcast, where we get inside the minds of leaders to harvest great ideas and lessons that help you grow as a difference maker in food and agriculture. I'm your host and curiosity captain, Nicole Ersig.
Matt Plitt's Career and Industry Insights
00:00:52
Speaker
Today's guest is Matt Plitt, president and CEO of Valent USA, a leader in delivering innovative crop protection and crop enhancement solutions. Matt's career spans more than 28 years across sales, marketing, distribution, and executive leadership.
00:01:07
Speaker
He joined Valent in 2010 and became CEO in 2022. Under his leadership, the company has doubled down on its commitment to sustainable agriculture, investing in both traditional and biorotational solutions, forging global partnerships, and creating its sustainable solutions criteria to guide product development and environmental stewardship.
00:01:27
Speaker
But beyond his business accomplishments, Matt is known for developing talent, building trust, and leading with clarity in an industry that's constantly moving. Matt, welcome to the pod. oh Thank you, Nicole. I'm excited to be here.
00:01:38
Speaker
So glad you joined us. Okay, I just read off a little bit of your bio, but what is something that we wouldn't find by Googling you or looking at your LinkedIn profile? ah Maybe my commitment to ag education. I have an opportunity to serve on the board of directors, both Ag Future of America, but also National FFA.
00:01:57
Speaker
And it's a real passion I have around student development and creating that next generation of leaders. Love that. Well, we'll talk about that a little bit today. But first, let's just get to know
Valent USA and Sustainable Agriculture
00:02:06
Speaker
you a little bit, Matt. For anyone who is not familiar with Valent, ah explain to us who you all are and what you do.
00:02:12
Speaker
Oh, yeah. So Valent USA, we serve as the subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical for North America. So underneath my responsibility, we manage the crop inputs portion around pesticides, biologicals, and botanicals.
00:02:25
Speaker
for both Canada, Mexico, and the United States. So it's an opportunity for us to engage in all three of those countries across North America to provide solutions to help growers grow profitable and productive crops.
00:02:37
Speaker
So you've spent your entire career in agriculture. What drew you to a career in ag in the first place? Where did your journey begin? Probably started when I was very small crawling around the floor My grandfather actually ran a Ford tractor dealership in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
00:02:52
Speaker
So my earliest toys in life were little tractors, little blue tractors that I had in my home. So growing up, I've always been around agriculture and my family, ah not my direct family, but my aunts and uncles had cattle operations. My grandfather, as I said, was in the equipment business and then moved into the seed business.
00:03:10
Speaker
So I've always been around agriculture and it's been something that's always been appealing. And I love the fact that it gives you an opportunity to be outdoors. Oh, yes, absolutely.
Path to Leadership in Agriculture
00:03:19
Speaker
Okay, so tell me about your career journey. Where did you begin and and how did you get to this top leadership position at at Valent today?
00:03:26
Speaker
So started my career in, I guess, winter of 96, 97. I joined American Cyanamid Company, and at the time, American Cyanamid was owned by American Home Products.
00:03:38
Speaker
So started my career in their training program and relocated from Mississippi up to ah West Des Moines, Iowa, and I can promise you it may have been the coldest winter of my life. It seemed quite long too.
00:03:51
Speaker
But then through that, had an opportunity to to manage a sales territory in Northeast Arkansas. Through the BASF Cyanamate acquisition, ah moved out to Raleigh, North Carolina, where I served in a marketing capacity with BASF.
00:04:05
Speaker
And then in the fall of 2003, I decided to make a career shift and wanted to get more experience in retail and distribution. So I spent the next six years in a joint venture of CHS and Land O'Lakes called AgriLiance.
00:04:18
Speaker
I was responsible for the marketing and a lot of the the chemistry decisions for the retail operations that stretched around the horseshoe of the United States. After that, I got back into the manufacturing side with a stint with RiceCo, where I managed their global operations.
00:04:33
Speaker
and then joined Valent in the fall of 2010. Wow. So did you always want to be CEO someday? I did. That was actually one of the interview questions that came during my interview with Cyanamid. They said, what would you like to do? Where do you see yourself in 20 years? And I said, I'd like to run the business.
00:04:48
Speaker
And I think that actually probably helped, helped close the deal as I was looking at different career opportunities. Oh, that's awesome. Okay. So what gave you that, that vision and that desire to be the the top leader at an organization?
00:05:02
Speaker
So I did my undergraduate in biology. And while I was doing that, I got a real appreciation for life sciences. So I knew I wanted a career in the life science space. ah But at that time, I also was intrigued with business law and some of the other courses I was taking in my minor of business.
00:05:18
Speaker
So instead of coming right out of school after my undergraduate, I stayed and earned an MBA. And I got a real passion and real energy around the business side of things. So looking at it you know, collectively of everything I'd studied over that five and a half years, what I realized is really running a life science business is something that I thought I would i'd really enjoy. And that's something that I wouldn't view as a job. I could view more as ah a career and an opportunity to grow.
00:05:43
Speaker
Okay. So what's the best part about your job today? The people I get to work with, ah whether that be, i love the people side of it. And if you look at me on the DISC analysis or DISC assessment, it shows that I really like to that people engagement and the social aspect of what I do. Okay. So on the DISC, are you and I?
00:05:58
Speaker
I am. I'm a high eye So what I enjoy is the interaction with others, whether that be internally with the team that I get to work with every day, the customer aspect of it at all levels, distributors, retailers, growers, and of course, what I get to do from an industry perspective, because I just enjoy the social aspect and and getting to know people, learn from others, and just have an ongoing dialogue.
00:06:19
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. I'm also an I, so I love that. The people side is fun. Okay, so what advice would you have for someone else who is on a leadership journey and wants to lead an organization in agriculture someday?
Managing Targets and Micromanagement
00:06:33
Speaker
Well, there's a couple of pieces. One of the biggest limitations i see today is people don't want to relocate and don't want to get out of their comfort zone. So for those that are really open to doing things different and taking on new challenges, ah relocation,
00:06:47
Speaker
ah going into a new experience and putting yourself out there, if there's always some risk in that, but it can be so rewarding. You know, for me over my time, you know, I've i've spent time living in ah Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Iowa, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and now California. So for me, each one of those has brought a unique opportunity to create a new network, to learn a new culture, to be around different people.
00:07:12
Speaker
I think that's a big piece of it. Are you willing to get out there and and get out of your comfort zone? The other piece I think is just being open-minded and willing to listen to new ideas because ultimately that's what's going to drive innovation.
00:07:23
Speaker
so Yes. Okay. Totally love both of those things. I'm also someone who's moved around the country quite a bit. And what you just said about cultural differences is so fascinating within the United States itself. And you're right, you you create little communities wherever you go. My husband and I both grew up in Oregon, moved to Kansas, then North Carolina, and now Ohio. And there's you're right, there's many networks all across the country now.
00:07:46
Speaker
So tell me, what is a leadership mistake that you made on your journey? And and what did you learn from it? Leadership mistake. I'd love to tell you I've never made any, but that's, that wouldn't be, that wouldn't be honest.
00:08:00
Speaker
Probably two different mistakes. I would say ah one is just getting in line and accepting ah whether they be goals or ambitious targets without really challenging and pushing back on the reality of the marketplace. Because that puts not only myself at risk, but it puts the entire organization at risk in terms of expectations And that's more of an internal type thing, but it's what I've learned is let's always be honest with senior leadership in your board of directors. Let's talk about what's really going on and let's not hide from the facts of the marketplace, because if you're not going to be able to achieve the aspirational goals that are put in front of you, everyone's going to be disappointed.
00:08:35
Speaker
So transparency and communication is critical. The other one for me personally has been micromanagement. In my early stages as a manager, especially a people manager, I felt like I needed to really control everything and need to have my hands in it to make sure it was done, not correctly, but the way I wanted it done.
00:08:54
Speaker
And what I've learned over time is can have much more of an impact on the business if I delegate those responsibilities to people. Give them the guidelines and tell them what results we're really looking for, but then trust them to to use their own skill sets and their own intuitions to get to those results in the best pathway possible for them.
00:09:11
Speaker
Do you have any advice for someone who is maybe a newer manager and who struggles to let go of some of those things or may not even realize that they're not letting go? Any advice for driving those decisions down and letting those team members take more ownership so that they can step into a different role or or even maybe just be a better manager?
00:09:30
Speaker
Yeah, I think a real critical component of that, we call it the RPI process. It's basically results, progress, and issues. And what this has done for our organization, and it's allowed managers, both new in the management capacity and those that have been around for a long time, to take a different approach where you set that goal, you set the work streams and what the deliverable really is for the employee.
00:09:50
Speaker
And then you meet on a weekly or biweekly basis to talk about the results, the progress, and the issues that are coming up related to that goal. So it forces the manager to step back. It allows the employee to go and do their job and focus on the deliverable that they have ahead of them.
00:10:06
Speaker
But all along, it allows the manager to stay in tune with the progress and it allows the employee to have a transparent dialogue back with their manager around how that project's coming together. So it takes away the micromanagement and allows that transparency engagement for the manager that they really crave to have.
00:10:21
Speaker
hmm. Love that. So curious your perspective. If I was a employee at Valence and I felt like I was being micromanaged by my own manager, what advice would you have for me?
00:10:34
Speaker
First, have that conversation with your manager. Go back, sit down, say hey, this is what I'm trying to accomplish. But based on the way and the kind of the culture or the atmosphere you're creating, I'm not being successful because of these things.
00:10:46
Speaker
Have a very open dialogue about that. If you're not getting the progress and you're not getting the results out of that conversation that you want, I think you bring bring that to either their manager, you bring it to ah HR, and you have more of an open dialogue.
00:10:58
Speaker
the The beauty of the organization and the culture here at Valant, we have an open door policy. So we strongly encourage anyone who's struggling, whether that be personally or professionally, ah that especially if it has anything to do with the culture or the work environment, elevate that. Let's have a discussion and put corrective action
Innovative Culture at Valent
00:11:14
Speaker
in place. Yeah.
00:11:15
Speaker
So tell me about the culture at Valent and what are the leadership core values or philosophies that that you lead by and you try to create a culture around? Culture at Valent is quite interesting because we're owned by Sumitomo Chemical, which is a very large global ah chemical manufacturer. So we have the luxury of having the great mothership with a lot of resources and infrastructure to support us.
00:11:37
Speaker
But we also have a lot of regional autonomy. So we have some freedom to operate within the three countries that we manage. We're expected to to deliver and represent their portfolio along with Valent Biosciences and MGK into the agricultural space. we've got some freedom to operate, which is great.
00:11:53
Speaker
So it allows us to really have an entrepreneurial and I'd say innovative type culture. where we're not afraid to bring up ideas and take some risk and try some things that are good for the business and good for our customer base.
00:12:04
Speaker
You know, for me specifically, when you look, we have six core values. The two that I really strive to support, ah one is around commitment to our employees. To me, our employees are our single biggest asset.
00:12:17
Speaker
And if we're not committed to our employees and making sure they've got a safe, healthy culture that they work in and we're not working to develop them and their careers, we're missing a major part of investing in our assets.
00:12:28
Speaker
The second one is professional excellence. I believe in professional excellence in everything that we do. Cutting corners should never be an option. Let's make sure we've got a high bar that we set for ourselves.
00:12:38
Speaker
And then let's make sure we go and try to not just achieve that bar, but let's exceed it in everything that we do. I love that. So tell me, how do you, as the leader of Valence, maintain that culture?
00:12:50
Speaker
Because I think culture is something, if you're not constantly stoking and developing and ah sometimes reminding folks that that it can erode. So we do put the core values front and center quite often. It's part of our onboarding process. We reference it at least once a quarter through all employee meetings.
00:13:07
Speaker
ah We have a list of behaviors and competencies that come up in our annual performance reviews. So ah we review the core competencies, the behaviors, core values at our mid-year reviews and at our year-end reviews, how are employees stacking up on the expectations and what we want to see out of those values. So for me, it's about living it out.
00:13:25
Speaker
How do you How do you do it every day and make sure that you're not falling short of those expectations? Because as a leader, if we're not taking those core values to heart and we're not behaving in a way that's ah positive and productive and what you want others to emulate, it sets a really, really bad example for others.
00:13:42
Speaker
What advice would you have for a leader who is stewarding an organization or maybe a team and they've had a good culture in the past, but they've seen that culture erode and they know that things need to be addressed and and maybe reframed and and maybe even readjusted for where the business is today?
00:14:00
Speaker
Yeah, I firmly believe you have to address that head on. It's not one of those things that you can sit back and allow the culture to eventually self-correct Because you control so much of the culture from the top.
00:14:12
Speaker
And that means you, your leadership team, you have to engage the issue head on, understand, you know, what what are your biggest hurdles and where you are today versus where you want to be, and then take it head on. Communicate it to the organization, set the right expectations, and then ultimately you have to hold people accountable to it.
00:14:29
Speaker
Absolutely.
Balancing Work and Family
00:14:30
Speaker
Yeah. Well, thank you for the thoughts. So I want to ask about you as a leader. You're just talking about accountability. So how do you hold yourself accountable as a leader? And who do you turn to for honest feedback?
00:14:41
Speaker
Oh, that's a really good one. So the the simple way of how do I hold myself accountable, and that's really the goals and the results, right? How do i look at it in terms of what do I need to get accomplished and what results am I delivering? And that's probably what I would say is my business accountability.
00:14:57
Speaker
And then I look secondly at the soft skills. How did I get those results? Am I doing it in a way that's in alignment with our core values and really the character that I want to present to the organization? And also, you know externally too, because i'm I'm the same person inside of Aalent as I am outside.
00:15:14
Speaker
And I think it's really important to be true to yourself, whether it's at a work or home. And then when it comes to feedback, of course, I always have a a really open dialogue with my supervisor.
00:15:24
Speaker
and the board of directors, you know, what do you want me to do different? How can I do things better? I have a personal CEO coach that I do work with and have very, very candid conversations around things that I can do better or differently to have a greater impact on the organization.
00:15:39
Speaker
But the true testament to how I'm performing comes from my family. And they give me great feedback. I've got three three kids ranging from 16 to 21. And then of course my wife, they give me really, really good honest and candid feedback on how I'm behaving at work and at home.
00:15:57
Speaker
Maybe sometimes honest, it sounds like. Exactly. Oh, yeah. All of our families are are a great litmus test for that. Curious, as you talk about your family, how have you balanced leading an organization and then also being a dad? And it sounds like if your family is your litmus test for success, that's an important piece for you too.
00:16:16
Speaker
It is. I'm a big believer in work-life balance. In my early stages as a manager, I traveled an awful lot. And as we started having a family and raising kids, I quickly realized I didn't want to be an absentee father.
00:16:28
Speaker
So whether it be sporting events, whether it be ballets, dance recitals, piano recitals, whatever those might be, I put those on the calendar and I protected them. ah There's always going to be certain things that come up from a work perspective that are business priorities that you have to take care of.
00:16:44
Speaker
But there's only going to be Only one dance recital. There's only going to be one, whatever it might be in your child's life. You don't want to miss those type things. So you've got to protect them the best that you can. So we're very intentional about our family time. We're very intentional about getting things on the calendar and then protecting the calendar ah just to make sure we've got that right balance.
00:17:03
Speaker
Yeah. I had a friend who, the way she always described it is she had her non-negotiables with her kids. And her one of her non-negotiables was she wasn't going to miss more than like four events a year. And that was something that she communicated with her manager. So it was like, hey, here's here's what matters to me.
00:17:19
Speaker
willing to make the sacrifice when it's necessary, but only so many times. And I can't tell you how many red eyes I took this fall so that I was at the Friday night football game. Then I took the red eye to be wherever I needed to be.
00:17:32
Speaker
on Saturday or Sunday or for the following week, especially if it's something that's international. Yeah. I love that you bring that up though, Matt, because it shows that that work-life balance is is hard work and it's something that you have to work at too.
00:17:44
Speaker
And sometimes it's sacrificing sleep or sacrificing somewhere else, but it's not something that's just given to you by a role an employer. It's something that you have to protect and work at. you have to be very intentional about it.
00:17:58
Speaker
If not, the scope creep can happen very, very quickly. Oh, very, very easily. Yeah. Okay. From your perspective, what is a belief or leadership practice that you have let go of over the years because it no longer served you?
00:18:12
Speaker
It would go back to the micromanagement comment. And I would also say through that micromanagement, I became emotionally invested in a lot of projects and things. And what I quickly realized is there are certain things that are outside of your control.
00:18:25
Speaker
So do you really want that sucking your energy and your emotion out of things you can't control commodity prices, you can't control global trade and those type things. Why do you allow that to be something that's really going to just consume you and who you are and your attitude about ah your job or your life?
00:18:40
Speaker
So stepping back and looking at things at a more holistic approach and delegating a lot to others has helped me have a better balance on all of those things. Absolutely. I'm curious, Matt, you are someone who's obviously very driven, very focused, seem like goal oriented.
Positive Mindset and Leadership
00:18:56
Speaker
Have you ever come across a challenge or an opportunity in your career that you were like, I have no idea how I'm going to do this, or I'm not even sure if I can do this?
00:19:07
Speaker
I've never, ah say never, but I do not recall a time that I've ever said, I don't know that I can do this. Because I do like the challenge and some of the excitement about whether it be career or personal life decisions we make is the challenge of, can I get this done and how do I push beyond what I believe I'm capable of? So ah that kind of drives me to some degree.
00:19:26
Speaker
I think the biggest thing for me is the cycles. We live in an industry that's full of cycles and we can't control a lot of those things. So we can't allow the things we don't control to consume us.
00:19:38
Speaker
And those are the things that are hardest probably because as an organization, as ah especially as a leader of an organization, you want to fix everything. You want to make sure we've got a clear path, a clear sailing for the organization. And it's not going to happen in agriculture. We have ups and downs.
00:19:54
Speaker
So it's really about building that resilience and that mindset to push through and control the things that you can. What I'm hearing from you, Matt, is that mindset is the key to your success, both in navigating uncertainty, but also dealing with things that maybe seem impossible or unpredictable or out of your control.
00:20:13
Speaker
I do think mindset's critical. I think it's one of those things that you've got to look at it and say, you can have a can-do attitude or a I'm not going to do attitude, right? And ah taking that that positive approach, and I am an optimist. I believe that ah anybody can accomplish things if they really put their heart their ah they soul, their mind to it. and And so, yeah, I do think mindset's critical in success.
00:20:34
Speaker
If I was to shadow you or if anyone was to shadow you for a week, what would surprise them about the way that you lead? I think probably the relational aspect, because I believe you have to have that relationship.
00:20:46
Speaker
And im I'm an active leader, so I'm engaged in what goes on within our organization, whether that be what we're doing with our employee resource groups, whether that be what we're doing on key projects, how we're communicating with our board, all of it.
00:20:58
Speaker
I'm very active and we're a lean organization, which gives me the benefit of being able to have touch points throughout the organization. But I think what someone would see is not only am I an active leader, but I'm also one that wants to be supportive and help those people achieve what they have ahead of them, help make them successful.
00:21:17
Speaker
Yeah. Seems like that is just part of who you are, because one of the things we talked about at the beginning was your passion for agriculture education and stewarding the next generation. Where does that desire come from? I mean, obviously, you you make time to serve. So so why why make time for that, Matt?
00:21:34
Speaker
For me, I think it's because when I came into this industry, like I said, I grew up around agriculture, but not in agriculture. So when I came into this industry, I had a lot to learn. And I had some great mentors through the years that really poured into me.
00:21:48
Speaker
And I had some organizations that that really spent dollars and time to get me up to speed, both technically, agronomically, but also from a business and a leadership perspective.
00:21:59
Speaker
And I will never forget that. And I think I have an obligation to then turn around and provide that same type of ah resource, but also experience and opportunity to the next generation.
00:22:10
Speaker
I want to see people succeed. And I love this industry. So to make sure we have leaders for years and years to come.
Future of Agricultural Leadership
00:22:15
Speaker
Yeah. What do you think the next generation of ag leaders needs most to thrive in this industry? I think they've got to have, I mentioned this earlier, and an open mindset.
00:22:25
Speaker
Innovation is key in agriculture. And we're going to continue to evolve. We know the number of acres produced is not going to increase. We know the population is. We have to be more productive with what we do.
00:22:37
Speaker
ah So I think have an open mindset to innovation, how we can how we can grow food and fiber differently is going to be really important in the future. How do you balance that in an industry so rooted in tradition? i think that sometimes getting farmers to, is you like you're talking open mindset, we're going to use technology, Valen is focused on sustainability, but there is still a lot of, you know, this is the way that granddad did it. So how do you balance that?
00:23:03
Speaker
I think a lot of it's just telling that story and making sure you show the right value proposition. ah We've seen technologies that have really revolutionized agriculture, especially in the Americas, North and South America, as new technologies come on, especially if you look at some of the GMO traits and the things in the past.
00:23:20
Speaker
So there's definitely the ability and the willingness to do some very quick changes and adoption of new technologies when it's got the right value and the benefit back to the grower. So as we look at those solutions, I think every every organization has to be focused on what are you going to innovate with? What are you going to build? And what's the real value to the grower?
00:23:40
Speaker
Because if it doesn't bring value, then going to have a hard time getting adoption. If it does bring value and you can put the right value proposition in place, you can see a lot of change very quickly. Yep. Yep. If you can show them bottom line impact, it makes the change a lot easier.
00:23:54
Speaker
Absolutely. Okay, I'm curious. One of the things that has changed in the industry, I would say, even during my career, is a focus on sustainability. Not that farmers weren't sustainable, but obviously that term, that word.
00:24:05
Speaker
Tell me about why that has become an important piece of what Valent does. So Valent and Sumitomo Chemical are very unique in that we have true discovery all the way to commercialization on three categories.
00:24:16
Speaker
ah Biorational products, ah botanical products, and then conventional chemistry. So the fact that we have all three of those really is a unique opportunity for us to leverage an integrated portfolio that aligns so closely with what growers need as they look at sustainable agriculture.
00:24:34
Speaker
There's no true definition of sustainability out there today. ah Most growers, if you ask them, are you sustainable? They're going to say absolutely. And we fully agree with that. Our goal is to provide tools to meet a grower wherever they are.
00:24:47
Speaker
Are you in an organic acre? Wow, we can help support you there. Are you working on transitioning more in regenerative ag? We can engage you there. We can also engage some of the most intensively managed farms in the United States too.
00:24:59
Speaker
Tell me about your journey with sustainability and what that has looked like. I don't come from the crop world, so you'll have to forgive me, but I can i can speak from the the livestock sector that there has been interest, there has been energy, but also pushback and and challenge in how do we how do we turn this into something valuable ah that someone down the supply chain can use? so Yeah, so there's really two questions there. One is, you know, how did we move into the sustainability approach? And then um I'll touch on the food value chain as well, if that's all right, Nicole.
00:25:28
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. So as we were evaluating our portfolio and our unique value proposition that we bring to the industry, the fact that we do have all three of those categories, the biorational, botanical, and conventional chemistry, is one we said, hey, wait a minute, we can engage anywhere.
00:25:43
Speaker
We had a really strong and still have a very strong position on the organic acres, so especially in the fresh markets that occur in the southeast, in the Rio Grande Valley, and on the west coast. So we're really proud of that.
00:25:55
Speaker
but we didn't want to be pigeonholed in that space. And as we saw growers that were having to move because of ah the food value chain and the consumer demands ah move more on traceability and move more on how you grow your crop and how that's been sold through to the grain companies and the food companies, we quickly saw an opportunity to move with them.
00:26:15
Speaker
And that's where we said, okay, we can start on this journey with the grower, regardless of where you are from organic to traditionally grown crops. We have solutions that fit all along that that pathway. And that's what brought us into our position as a leader in sustainable solutions.
00:26:29
Speaker
Amazing.
Staying Updated and Personal Growth
00:26:30
Speaker
I love to hear that. It seems to me, Matt, that you you're a leader that embraces change and stays up to date on a lot of different moving pieces in agriculture. How do you stay up to date with where things are, the input of information that I'm sure you're consuming, both from a like industry perspective, but then also sharing it with the team?
00:26:48
Speaker
Well, my morning routine is consuming a lot of information. So ah i'm I'm consuming that on ah different digital platforms, whether that be you know LinkedIn post, what's going on out there. I can see what my competitors are saying you're doing. I can see what different industry leaders are saying.
00:27:05
Speaker
Definitely read a lot on what's happening with ag policy. Every morning I'm looking at the the latest ah reports or the latest ah emails that are coming out, the digital messages and the digital news that's coming out from the different media sources.
00:27:18
Speaker
So yeah, I'm spending a lot of time trying to just stay in tune with what's happening from that perspective. And then I do spend a lot of time investing more in myself and how I'll become a better leader.
00:27:28
Speaker
So I'll take the time and, you know, whether that be through devotionals that I do on a daily basis, whether that be through books that I'm reading to to make me a better leader or to advance my skills. And then, course, working with my professional coach is a big piece of that too.
00:27:43
Speaker
Have you always done that, the investment in yourself? I have. I guess it probably goes back to my mother. She's an educator for over 30 years, and she was one that says, you know, never stop learning. So she pushed me always to to continue to keep it, like I said, an open mind, but to put myself in a situation where you continue to learn and grow.
00:28:01
Speaker
ah Yeah. ah I also am a big reader, big consumer of content. Do you think other leaders that might not be staying up to date on things, like I think it's so easy for us to get busy and consumed with the to-do list and the ah number of people to respond to and all of that, to hear you as a leader of an organization saying, I'm taking time to read the news, to invest in myself, to pour into yourself first.
00:28:25
Speaker
What do you think people are are missing out on if they're not doing some of that? Well, think it's critical for leaders to have that right balance. So um some roles are very operational, some are strategic in nature.
00:28:37
Speaker
If you're a strategic leader, you've got to make sure you're carving out that time to give you time to think strategically, both at the business, but also how you're gonna grow and and benefit yourself because it's that healthy mindset that's gonna make you successful and then ultimately make the organization successful. So I think it's about being intentional.
00:28:55
Speaker
We carve out time. You talked earlier about the work-life balance. We carve out family vacations. We make that something that is a priority. And then on those type vacations or on those sets where I'm away from work, that's where I spend a lot of time reading those books and trying to figure out new ways or new approaches to to leading people and leading an organization.
00:29:16
Speaker
I also am an avid reader. And you know like you you read a new business book, you've got a new idea or a new process or a new system. How do you avoid oversharing with maybe the team that you lead of, hey, here's another thing that maybe we want to implement?
00:29:30
Speaker
Well, what I do... We have an annual meeting where we pull everybody together, typically late July, early August. And it's become a tradition. I'm going to present four or five slides on whatever book I read that summer.
00:29:41
Speaker
And it's going to be, these are the key takeaways. Here's a picture of the book. These are the key takeaways. And these are the things I think you ought to consider as an organization. And I just put that out there because then they know kind of where my head is and where I'm going to be leading from. So some of that's about transparency in terms of how I lay it out there.
00:29:57
Speaker
I'm not a big fan of just jumping from you you know, what's the hot topic or the hot trend of the day, you have to be a consistent and steady leader. ah So for me, it's about taking that vision and the mission of what you want to accomplish and then complimenting it along the way with the different tools or resources you pick up through some of these different books or trainings or other things you might be going through.
00:30:20
Speaker
What's the best book you've read recently? So I read a book. This has actually been a couple of years ago, but I presented it to the team called The Hero Effect. It goes back to mindset. ah You never know what you're going to engage in a person, but how you approach them and the topic you're talking about could have a huge difference, not only on the results, but also the impact you have on them.
00:30:39
Speaker
So it really is about engaging everybody with an opportunity to be ah more of a solution provider. Awesome. I'm going to add it to the list. It's going to be on my TBR. What you just said, Matt, the hero effect and the impact that you leave on people, being an eye on the desk, you're very relational.
00:30:56
Speaker
What do you hope your legacy is at Valent and and maybe on the agriculture industry as a whole? I want it to be about somebody who cares, cares about the business, cares about the people, and was willing to invest in in growth and change, whether that be for the organization, for high-performing employees, or just for the the industry itself.
00:31:12
Speaker
Okay, Matt, now we are going to move into a more rapid fire type of questions. so just answer a quick first thing that comes to your mind. I already asked you best book, but maybe best leadership resource you have come across recently.
00:31:27
Speaker
Best leadership resource would be my professional coach because it really ties into what I need to get done personally and professionally. Who is a leader that you admire outside of agriculture? I get this question quite often, and there is not one.
00:31:41
Speaker
um I look at leaders and I look at the different pieces that I want to emulate. I don't believe there's a perfect leader that that walks on this earth. So I want to emulate certain characteristics and then bring those into how I lead my organization.
00:31:54
Speaker
One habit that makes you a better leader? Work-life balance. A common leadership mistake that you see too often? in Afraid of change. Your favorite way to reset and recharge?
00:32:05
Speaker
Definitely vacation, whether that's on a beach or walking through the Rocky Mountains, chasing elk, something like that, outdoor vacations. Oh, I didn't know you hunted. Man, someday we're going to have to go down that rabbit hole together.
00:32:15
Speaker
What is one piece of advice you would give to your 25-year-old self? Don't let fear hold you back. Okay, Matt, we like hot takes at AFA, so controversial opinions, that kind of thing.
00:32:27
Speaker
Do you have a hot take or bold opinion on leadership or agriculture? Well, hot take on agriculture we have to tell our story. We're the worst at telling the value we bring to a growing population.
00:32:39
Speaker
I think as an industry, we have to engage, drive policy, but also tell the benefits of all that we do in agriculture to those that are out there consuming the goods that we produce. Yeah, absolutely. Connecting people across the supply chain.
00:32:52
Speaker
Okay. What is one piece of conventional leadership advice that you think is overrated? I have heard some people say don't get close to your employees, because if you've got to make personnel changes, then it becomes very complex.
00:33:04
Speaker
I don't agree with that. I think you have to have personal relationships with your team. You need to understand what drive and motivates them. And if you're doing that, you can help change the results and ultimately the the trajectory of their career.
00:33:17
Speaker
So follow-up question to that, because I agree. I love it. I love ah when I lead people, it's i want I want to know you as a whole person and the relationship is for for the foreseeable future, no matter whether you're here in my care forever or for a little short amount of time.
00:33:33
Speaker
How do you or what would you recommend to people who are maybe skeptical of that when it comes to having the hard conversations or you have to deal with some of the pain of those relationships, maybe not working out the way you hoped or intended?
00:33:46
Speaker
Well, it should never be a difficult conversation if you're tracking progress along the way. So if you're looking at results, progress issues, and you're having that conversation and you know something's falling short, whether it be behavioral or performance driven, have that conversation on a regular basis on what the corrective action has to be.
00:34:02
Speaker
That way, if it doesn't turn out the way that either one of you wants, it's not a surprise. It's usually surprise that creates the heartache. Great advice. If you had to pick, would you hire for culture fit or hire for skills?
00:34:16
Speaker
culture every day. You can train and teach skills, culture, behavior, drive, initiative. Those are natural and you really want those as a hire for culture.
00:34:28
Speaker
What is one ag trend that you think is overhyped right now? Online commerce. Everybody has a different definition of it, but I'd say online commerce gets a lot more media time than probably what it's actually doing out there in the marketplace.
00:34:45
Speaker
Okay. i comes back to that personal relationship piece. If you could wave a magic wand and fix one challenge in ag overnight, what would it be? Definitely the farm economy. if If I could change global trade and get commodity prices up to a level where everybody's thriving, that would make life so much easier for everybody in our industry.
00:35:04
Speaker
Yeah, I would love to give you that magic wand. And I think a lot of people want to, Matt.
00:35:10
Speaker
Well, thank you so much, Matt. This has been such a fun conversation. love I've learned so many lessons just hearing your story and your journey. If there was one thing you want people to take away from today's podcast, what would
Communicating Agriculture's Value
00:35:22
Speaker
it be?
00:35:22
Speaker
We work in a great industry. We work in a very noble industry where we get to feed and clothe the world. We have got to step out as an industry and tell that story. ah We have a lot of outside forces that like to attack what we do in agriculture, whether that be the production practices or the products we provide.
00:35:39
Speaker
I think as an industry, we've got to come together and really, really tell the story of the benefits we bring to to a growing population. Okay, Matt, thank you so much. This has been wonderful. We really appreciated the knowledge that you shared. Now, at AFA, you know we are all about building bridges. So where can people connect with you and learn more about Valen?
00:35:59
Speaker
Yeah, to learn more about valence definitely Valent, valent.com. Our website has a lot of information around us as a company and our commitment to sustainability through our sustainable solutions. ah LinkedIn, Facebook, all of those. We have sites on both social media platforms for Valent.
00:36:15
Speaker
And then for me personally, LinkedIn is a great way to connect and happy to build those networks and then engage in dialogue in ways that we can you know look at business opportunities, but also help others as they look at their career development.
00:36:26
Speaker
Well, thank you so much, Matt. We appreciate you joining us on the Cultivating Leaders podcast. Thanks for listening to the Cultivating Leaders podcast brought to you by Agriculture Future of America. you've been here before, you know we value feedback as a gift.
00:36:39
Speaker
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