Episode Details

Is your farm ready to be ran like a college sports team?

• Introduction
• Answer questions
  • Listener Question: Sometimes I feel like my employees have no passion, attention to detail, or motivation to do the job right.  I then have to do it myself for fix it.  Have you heard from your guests’ ways that they are dealing with this?
• Reminder that you can submit your questions to farm4profitllc@gmail.com or on all social media channels.  Please like, rate, review, and leave your comments on this episode as well!
• Jamie Pollard Interview
  • Jamie Pollard is in his 15th year as the Director of Athletics at Iowa State and his vision for success and energy to execute that plan continues to have major impacts on campus, in the Big 12 and nationally. 
  • The 2018-19 Cyclones recorded the Big 12’s second-best student-athlete graduation rate (88%), won three Big 12 championships and registered its best-ever finish in the league all-sports rankings (third), and saw 13 programs reach post-season play.
  • Pollard was recognized as 2019 Athletics Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA
  • Jamie and his wife, Ellen, have four children: Thomas, Annie, Maggie and James. Thomas was 2017 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year in cross country at Iowa State and Maggie competes collegiately in track for at Nebraska. 
• A question for you as the listener to be thinking about…..Is it time to create roles, empower others, and win a championship?
  • How much more fun could your “job” be if you thought of it this way?!
• Iowa State University is having success is many sports.  To start off - What do you feel have been the key decisions made that have led to the success of the programs at to University?
  • Co-Host: Follow up with comparing the answers to how a farmer could incorporate those.
• Nothing against other sports but for the conversation today let’s focus on a well-run football team.  Could you explain the different roles within a college football program that help it to function as whole? (Co-Hosts will help relate roles to farming)
  • Head Coach
    • Boss, Motivator, Lead Strategy, Director, Goal Creator, Burden-carrier
      • Farm/Business Owner
  • Director of Football Operations
    • Day to day direction, interpreter, communicator, HR, priorities
      • Owner, Farm/Business Manager, 2nd Generation
  • Positions Coaches
    • Specialized, drivers, give & take
      • Livestock, Row Crop, Custom Work, Divisions
  • Scouting/Recruiting
    • Research, testing, trials, metrics, sales
      • Employees with agronomy, IT, Prescriptions, Mechanical skills
  • Strength & Conditioning/Nutrition
    • Health, wellness, energy, plans
      • Spousal support, team member with a passion, stay healthy
  • Public Relations/Marketing
    • Communication, sales, branding, specialists, visual direction
      • Who is in charge of sales on your farm?  Who recruits more acres or more business? How about person in charge of donations? Funeral Flowers? Etc…
  • Administrative/Graduate Assistance
    • Glue, organization, details, catching mistakes, sacrificing
      • Delegation, book work, accountant, advisory team
  • Players – Listener Question is about keeping good help around and motivated.
    • Buy in, hard work, respect, motivated
      • How do you keep the good ones around? 
      • How can we create culture and buy in so staff never leaves?
• Listening to your descriptions of the staff you have, shows in order to achieve the end goal it takes the whole team.  The AD o