Young Producers Discuss How to Have Tough Conversations & More during 2022 Deadwood Event

By Lura Roti for SDFU

With two young sons and working full time as a nurse practitioner, Amy Albrecht says it’s tough to find uninterrupted time for conversations of any kind with her husband, Chris, let alone those of a serious nature. So, she found quite a bit of value in the fact she and Chris had several hours of uninterrupted time to visit during the recent South Dakota Farmers Union (SDFU) Young Producers Event in Deadwood.

“It is nice to have a break from the farm and our little boys just to catch up with each other and get to visit with other farm couples,” Amy said.

Amy’s husband, Chris, farms full time with her parents on the family’s farm near Alpena. They run a cow/calf operation and raise corn, soybeans, alfalfa, rye, wheat and millet. This is the second SDFU Young Producers Event the couple has attended. Chris says in addition to the time away, he appreciates the experts SDFU brought in for them to learn from.

“There’s a lot of issues currently going on in modern farming. Rocky does a good job lining up speakers who are on the forefront of topics relevant to these issues,” Chris said, referencing Rocky Forman, SDFU Membership Coordinator and event organizer.

John Beranek was among the speaker lineup. Communications was the focus of Beranek’s workshop, specifically, how to have difficult conversations.

“As someone who grew up on a farm myself, I have watched transitions in the family operation and watched squabbles among farm families in my area,” said Beranek, President of Intersections Consulting. “Young producers need to know how to have difficult conversations and I want to provide them with tools they can use to do this.”

Beranek began his workshop by having all participants take a personality test so they could understand their own communication style. Chris said he enjoyed this activity because it opened his eyes to not only how he interacts with others, but how others interact with him.

“I had never taken a personality test before, so I was intrigued by it,” Chris said. “And this led into a discussion about the fact that we need to have hard conversations – especially around farm transitioning before it’s too late.”

Throughout the workshop, Beranek gave couples the opportunity to visit alone about difficult topics dealing with finances, family and farm transition plans.

“Part of my task is to put them in a different frame of mind and give them an opportunity to think about questions they don’t normally have time to think about,” Beranek explained.

In addition to Beranek’s presentation, participants heard from a soil health specialist, David Ollila, and learned about policy impacting cattle producers from James Halverson, executive director of South Dakota Stockgrowers.

“Being involved in Farmers Union helps keep us connected with farmers as well as policy important to farmers,” Chris said. “I always say if you don’t do your part to get involved and fight for what you believe in, and advocate for farming, you don’t really have a leg to stand on.”

Chris and Amy also appreciated the opportunity the event provided to socialize with other South Dakota farm and ranch couples.

“It’s nice to get to visit with other farm couples and know that you are not alone,” Amy said. “Farming can sometimes be a little lonely.” South Dakota Farmers Union sponsored the event, covering all costs for members, and providing the event for only $50 to non-members. To learn more about how SDFU supports farm and ranch families, visit www.sdfu.org.