Forest for the Trees: Thought Leadership at BFG

Linking a long-dead Austrian philosopher to the agriculture industry was a thought I had the other day. Instead of letting it go, I wrote it out to see if the connection I was making had any legs. My editor/wife claimed it did.

The piece on Wittgenstein, along with a much more substantial piece written by Matt McIntosh, officially launches Burr Forest Group’s commitment to contributing to the agricultural Thought Leadership landscape . This area of our website is intended to facilitate, encourage, and distribute the thoughtful treatment of issues affecting farmers, the ag industry, and the culture that surrounds them.

Being curious, feeling supported enough to be wrong, and being sceptical about what you’re told – these, and others, are tenets of thought leadership worth cultivating. Spaces for critical thought in agriculture are important. They are needed.

There are ideas with the power to propel the ag industry forward that some won’t express, others can’t, and the rest haven’t conceived. I am interested in these.

Take a moment to put these pieces together, reflecting on their implications, and, more so, what is all lost as a result.

• Government capacity for agricultural policy development has diminished
• Provincial and federal government offloads policy to farm groups
• Farm groups/commissions are unable to fill the gap, as they are mandated to use their levy dollars for research
• The little policy they’re allowed to be involved in is by way of farmer-directors (not policy experts) informing national groups like Grain Growers of Canada or Canadian Federation of Agriculture of what the key issues are
• The heads of many of these national groups are more lobbyist with an understanding of politics than they are policy developers with expertise in agriculture

We’ve become so used to this vacuum that we don’t see it anymore. This is a problem, and this supports the need for content that recognizes these gaps, the inherent benefits of filling them, and the need for the sharing of ideas from a place of knowledge and experience. These are the qualities I want this space to demonstrate.

I think it’s important. I hope you do, too.

Our contributors are paid, vetted, and professionally edited. If you have an interest in submitting, contact Toban Dyck at toban@burrforest.com or Ashley Robinson at ashley@burrforest.com.

We are open to sponsorship, and we’re available to discuss bespoke opportunities for your organization, which could include thought leadership training and/or just supporting our efforts to improve the industry.