Reflections on a Career: Little-Known Influences and Professional Highs and Lows
Jan 20, 2016
Reflections on a Career: Little-Known Influences and Professional Highs and Lows
God for His gifts and opportunities Family for their support, patience, and endurance
Appropriate “Thanks”
People and events that influenced me and altered the path of my life and career
Mention a significant accomplishment – and its negative consequences
Describe my lowest professional period – with its positive side notes
Focus today
Two books and a trophy◦USDA Yearbook of Agriculture – Marketing◦I Dare You◦Trainee of the Cycle award
Begin with
Topics which occupied much of my professional interest and time – market structure, market channels, prices, pricing, market information, price reporting, cooperatives, etc.
Formed my concept of agribusiness and directed me toward a B.S. in Agribusiness
At its publishing date (1954) I was 10 years old
Marketing yearbook
To be your best – 90% satisfied at a plateau, 4% strive for leader level, 1% reach the “kingly” level
Four square balance in your life – mental, physical, social, and religious
My square became more like a pie with several pieces – husband, father, professional career, church/spiritual, physical, community/volunteer
Whatever the number of pie pieces - maintaining a balance has remained very important to me
I Dare You …
Second training school in the army – named the Trainee of the Cycle – seemingly inconsequential honor
Trainees were evaluated on several criteria – I was not the best in any category, but ranked near the top in each
Reinforced the “I Dare You” concept of balance Helped form a philosophy: never strived to be the
best at anything but tried to do well everything I did
Reinforcement from a trophy
Remember opening a letter about the time of my HS graduation
Awarded a four-year scholarship to Iowa State University to study Agribusiness
Along with the money was a guaranteed summer job with one of the seven cooperatives sponsoring the scholarship◦Importance – paid tuition, summer income for
school, work experience
Back up a few years
After my BS degree, became a management trainee with Farmland Industries
Plans for the Peace Corp were altered by Uncle Sam – and I “volunteered” for the US Army to attend OCS
Usual path for newly commissioned infantry officers was 7 months in a training unit, then off to Viet Nam
However – an army major at Ft Gordon, Ga may have saved my life when I reported for duty – assuredly at least, he greatly changed it
A Food and Agriculture Officer???
Life-saving change?
Poor undergraduate academics at Iowa State – 2.4 GPA
Mother said I majored in fraternity and drinking Rejected for graduate school by all but one school Given a second chance at only one – Kansas State
University – where I was admitted on probation due mostly to one person – Milton Manuel◦Why? Because of my interest and work experience
with cooperatives and my service in the army and Viet Nam
Where to after Viet Nam?
Hired by Ron Knutson, then Administrator of the Agricultural Cooperative Service-USDA
Gave me several opportunities and one piece of lasting advice◦About 10% of your time should be spent on
something of intellectual interest◦This philosophy led to my first journal article – 6
years after finishing my PhD
First professional position
Second boss at USDA – Randy Torgeson Gave me an unmatched career-enhancing opportunity◦Packerland Packing Co.
Resulted in a little-known publication◦“Slaughter Cattle Pricing and Procurement
Practices of Meatpackers”, USDA Agriculture Information Bulletin, 1979
Career-influencing opportunity
Credit Leo Blakely with me coming to OSU Presented a paper at a southern regional research
committee meeting on price discovery in October 1977
Learned of the OSU Livestock Marketing position Began here in April 1978
Path to OSU
Only 31 years to go!!!
Time check?
WORC (ND, SD, MT, WY, CO, ID) expressed their concern to Congress about packer concentration and captive supplies in 1995
WORC petition to USDA for rulemaking in 1996 USDA received over 1,800 comments◦1,757 “for” (73% in form letter form)◦ 45 “against” – including mine
USDA rejected the rulemaking petition in 1997
Dubious professional accomplishment
Petition process followed closely our results of a study on captive supplies which didn’t find the “correct” answer
Began hearing my name criticized, noticed a reduction in invitations to speak, and my name was specifically mentioned – blacklisted – from participating in subsequent USDA studies
Downside
Fortunate to receive several awards – mostly in association with teams – evidence of having the opportunity to work with many accomplished professionals◦Electronic Marketing◦HAYMARKET◦Alfalfa Integrated Management (AIM)◦Oklahoma Quality Beef Network (OQBN)◦Grid Pricing of Fed Cattle◦Packer-Feeder Game ◦Master Cattleman program
Professional recognition
Key for me was doing work on the fuzzy border between extension and research◦Offered me dual credibility◦Synergism in terms of accessing data and
presenting results Access to unique data was extremely important to
publishing several articles
Whatever degree of success…
As NAMA student chapter advisor, recruited a student to work on strategic alliances in the beef industry
Did some innovative, unique research Then ego swamped common sense! Published a Beef magazine article with table of
strategic alliances and their ranking Wrote an apology/retraction/errata statement for Beef
magazine
My professional low
Beef magazine editor also wrote an editorial comment Later spoke on the same beef program with the breed
association executive
Two positive footnotes
Have some – but few – regrets Mostly, I have good memories --- of many people,
opportunities, and experiences at OSU
Simply like to just say -- Thanks!!!!!
Looking back