Leadership in Agriculture

In a world facing chronic and increasing shortages in food crops and natural resources, visionary leadership in agriculture becomes more and more critical for building and maintaining a sustainable future.

In their new book Leadership in Agriculture: Case Studies for a New Generation, John Patrick Jordan, Gale A. Buchanan, Neville P. Clarke, and Kelly C. Jordan – veteran agricultural educators and administrators -- define leadership as “motivating other people to follow you in a given direction to achieve a specific goal”. Specifically, agriculture is evolving into an enterprise based more on science and technology rather than on resources -- which requires a greater degree of visionary leadership.

Using case studies from research, industry, education, administration, and extension services, the authors present real-world circumstances ranging from natural disasters to major restructuring that demanded problem solving, new initiatives, consensus, and organizational commitment. Drawing on their own experiences and covering topics as diverse as closing facilities, mounting a national research initiative, reinventing a major corporation, and dealing with invasive termites, the studies contain examples of booth good and bad outcomes and refer back to the leadership principles and qualities outlined in the opening chapters.

For more on Leadership in Agriculture, or to order your own copy, please visit our website or call 979-845-0147.