Taking Charge

It was January of 1999 and my dad was due to go in for surgery on his knee. A couple of months prior he had torn his meniscus, and after struggling with it for a while this surgery was supposed to get him back to full strength in a day or two. Little did we know, this would be far from what really happened.

After surgery dad was not doing any better. He woke up the next morning with a severe fever, extreme pain, and was sweating heavily. Mom immediatly took him back to the hospital where dad was diagnosed with a staph infection. This landed him on bed rest for the next six months. Questions began to arise every day to follow. Who would milk the cows? Who was going to plant the crops? How would we manage the farm? Would the farm survive?

The road ahead was definitely not an easy one, but thanks to the leadership of one individual, the farm continued to run and manage profitably. That person was my oldest brother, Mike. As a senior in high school, Mike was taking college classes, and serving as the Forest Lake FFA chapter president. This soon became just a fraction of what was on his plate. I remember as a seven year old first grader sitting on the foot of my father's bed, discussing with my brothers, which cows to sell and which fields to plant next.

Mike saw the need to step up and take a leadership role on the farm. It was his leadership in milking cows before and after school, and working to plant the crops and harvest hay, that allowed dad to focus on getting better. It was Mike that kept the farm afloat and ran the business.
There is always going to be a need for young people to step up and become leaders in today's world. In my case it was Mike stepping up on our farm, but agriculture needs to stay progressive and continue to develop future leaders.

CHS is a diversified energy, grains, and foods company committed to providing the essential resources that enrich lives. A company owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Northwest and from the Canadian border to Texas, along with thousands of stockholders. CHS provides products and services ranging from grain marketing to food processing to meet the needs of customers around the world.

In conjunction with the CHS Annual Meeting, emerging leaders involved in production agriculture gathered at the the CHS New Leader Institute. Participants were all nominated by their local cooperative or a producer organization. Over the course of three days, they examined indepth issues and challenges facing agriculture, cooperatives and rural America. They also discussed ways to build their leadership skills, and how to use them to benifit cooperatives and communities. The program's goal is to enhance critical thinking and leadership skills in individuals who show promise as leaders in their rural communities.

We will always have a need for leaders. Will you be the next to step up?

Stationed by the plow

Andrew Miron