We all eat. We all need food for sustenance. And most of us genuinely enjoy food.  Food doesn’t have to be a political statement, particularly when 1 in 6 people go to bed hungry.  Isn’t it about time we leverage our commonalities, rather than bicker over our differences?

Leveraging has likely been the single most important thing I’ve learned in my career. Since cows have always towered over me, I first experienced leveraging on the halter to manage my animals. Early in my career at the National FFA Foundation, I found that leveraging executive networks could literally raise a building (the National FFA Center).  And while I was in that capacity, I called on Tractor Supply Company and discovered how to leverage a cause; TSC turned their $1,000 donation into $100,000 for FFA by asking their vendors to invest in the same cause.

Is agriculture a cause? I certainly see it that way, which led me to found Cause Matters and start professionally speaking a decade ago.  My greatest hope in the next decade is to leverage connections around the food plate. I created 10x Connect to challenge people to go beyond the choir and reach a hand across the aisle. Part of the challenge is in the 10 grants to creative food and ag organizations who can leverage their voice. Another part of 10x Connect is sharing personal success stories from individuals who rise to the challenge (not that success does not mean agreeing, it’s in the discussion). And some of it is a challenge to myself.

Since farming only represents 1.5% of the population, we have no choice but to leverage our voices. Consider theses simple actions; ask 10 people about their food concerns, volunteer with 10 organizations or spend 10 minutes  in daily 10 conversations on Facebook. It doesn’t have to be time consuming or difficult to go from one voice to hundreds. That’s the power of leveraging – and it’s absolutely necessary to build food literacy. What would happen if 1,000 people rose to this challenge?  You’d impact 10,0000 new voices  to help carry your message, which has the potential reach to 100,000. Now is the time – and here are some simple ideas to help you get started.

My vision with 10x Connect is to engage people in building a broader, more connected community around the food plate. Over the next year I’ll be looking back at the last decade of difference and plan to give some thoughts about the next ten years of the “agversation.”  At the request of several folks, I’ll be sharing my own personal story of of giving back and the more about the organizations Cause Matters Corp. selects through the 10x Connect grant program.

Reminder; challenging yourself means your voice may be different than others at the table - and that's O.K.

Action inspires reaction. Will yours be to proactively build connections or wait until another stake is driven into the food plate? Our family makes choices that are best for us, both in the food we buy and that which we raise. At the end of the day, shouldn’t we all be having a conversation about the importance of the freedom of our choices as a commonality around the food plate? Go ahead… I challenge you to leverage your voice.