Incremental Change - Ryan Bennett - IPWA & US-RSPE

Ever wondered how the poultry industry is shaping up globally? Join us as we welcome Ryan Bennett, the Executive Director of the US Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry and Eggs, and the International Poultry Welfare Alliance. Learn about Ryan's fascinating journey from a Maryland farm boy involved in 4-H to a key player in public policy and government relations, and eventually to his current role where he champions sustainability and animal welfare. He shares his experiences and the missions of his organizations, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and multi-stakeholder approaches in driving meaningful progress in the poultry and egg supply chain.

Gain insights into the ever-evolving global poultry industry, as Ryan breaks down the stark contrasts between regions like the US, Europe, and Asia. Discover how the rising middle class in Asia is changing consumption patterns and animal welfare perceptions and how these trends contrast with Europe's regulatory model and North America's business-to-business strategies. Ryan also highlights the US Roundtable and the International Poultry Welfare Alliance's roles in assisting American producers navigate these shifts. The significance of industry engagement and the collaborative spirit fostered at annual meetings are underscored, revealing how these gatherings help address big-picture issues and set the stage for the future of the industry.

Facing the challenges of the poultry industry requires resilience and a proactive approach, much like a well-coordinated football team. Ryan shares valuable insights into managing financial pressures from external campaigns and the importance of sustainability principles. We also dive into the human side of leadership, discussing the importance of empathy, mental health, and breaking stigmas in professional environments. The episode emphasizes the value of thoughtful, incremental change and the collective effort needed for sustainable progress. Through personal stories and industry examples, Ryan illustrates how passionate producers and volunteers are pivotal in driving positive change, making this episode a must-listen for anyone invested in the future of agriculture.

Poultry Sustainability & Welfare Summit - Sept 3-6th, 2024 Atlanta, Georgia 

Hosted by Brandon Mulnix - Director of Commercial Accounts - Prism Controls
The Poultry Leadership Podcast is only possible because of its sponsor, Prism Controls
Find out more about them at www.prismcontrols.com

Transcript

Brandon Mulnix: 0:28

Welcome to the Poultry Leadership Podcast. I'm your host, brandon Molnix. Today's guest is Ryan Bennett. He is the Executive Director at the US Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry and Eggs and the International Poultry Welfare Alliance International Poultry Welfare Alliance. I am so glad to have Ryan with us today, as he shares a lot about those two different organizations, as well as what he's doing to be a leader in this industry. So, ryan, can you introduce yourself? Yeah?

Ryan Bennet: 0:57

Thanks for having me, Brandon. So my name is Ryan Bennett. As Brandon mentioned, I'm the Executive Director of the US Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry and Eggs and International Poultry Welfare Alliance. But in terms of my background, I grew up on a farm in Maryland cow-calf operation, basically north of DC and west of Baltimore, in a little cocoon of rural life that still exists to this day. And I only bring that up because I think it has a lot to do with what I'm doing now is having a family that's been around that area for a long time but really having a lot of different types of people moving into the area, asking a lot of questions about farming and why we do it, how we do it good, bad and indifferent.

Ryan Bennet: 1:44

But was really involved with 4-H and showing livestock. Went to junior college on a junior college livestock judging scholarship. Went to Kansas State University from there where I got my bachelor's degree in agriculture, and moved back home and well, close to home, at least in DC An intern for the senator from Kansas. Then worked at the National Grain and Feed Association doing public policy there government relations work Federation, which NGFA was agribusinesses handling grain trading, grain milling, grain mill and feed whatever you can turn grain into they were doing it and National Milk that was working for dairy farmers and the co-ops that they serve and doing lobbying and government relations work there before I got involved with their Farmers, assuring Responsible Management Program, which is an animal care and sustainability platform that represents the vast majority of the dairy production in the United States, before coming over here to the US Roundtable and the International Poultry Welfare Alliance. So you might hear me say roundtable or alliance today, so that's kind of my shortened version to help us all get through the acronym soup that we hear many times.

Brandon Mulnix: 3:13

That's too true. I mean, as you introduce yourself, you know starting in 4-H, you know that's how many people that I've talked to have started in 4-H and FFA and those organizations for the youth. So that's a great place and I didn't realize your background in the milk side of it and I'm sure there's some conversations and some connections that you have with kind of what's going around the world of HPAI and how it's affecting multiple species. But we'll stay back on subject, which is where some of the organizations that you're part of and for someone who doesn't know what the US Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry and Eggs or the International Poultry and Welfare Alliance is, can you share what they do, their role in the industry?

Ryan Bennet: 4:01

Sure. So they're both multi-stakeholder groups and so I'm not just an industry group focused on production, I'm not just focused on retail and food service, I'm not just focused on any particular part of the supply chain for poultry and eggs supply chain as that relates to sustainability, with the round table, and then the full life cycle of that animal as it relates to animal welfare. For the alliance, so we have members that are growers, integrators and processors, retail and food service members, allied industry, so anybody suppliers making anything from equipment to pharmaceuticals and nutrition products, whatever that might be for the industry, obviously retail and food service or grocery stores, quick serve restaurants, major brands that you would see within grocery stores. And then we have a group of civil society members which is kind of a catch-all for industry, associations, ngos, environmental NGOs, welfare NGOs, academics, professional societies. So, like this weekend, I'm going to the American Veterinary Medical Association and speaking there. So we really have a full picture of what sustainability means and what welfare means from a lot of different perspectives and we try and work on that from a pre-competitive basis to where we're all working together to remove barriers, see progress and communicate that progress as it pertains to sustainability or welfare. So on the roundtable side.

Ryan Bennet: 5:42

Obviously it's got US in the name, so it's the United States, and we've got, you know, three major pillars that we're trying to hit of people, planet and poultry and I can talk a little bit about. You know we're measuring that, we're communicating that, but we're also figuring out how to improve those. You know what we're reporting through those measurements. You know how do you actually get better, how do you actually see progress?

Ryan Bennet: 6:07

And then the alliance, international Poultry Welfare Alliance, obviously global in nature and just focused on animal welfare, although we know that there are many different things impacting welfare decisions and we do keep trying to take account of all those things. But we're global in nature, just focused on welfare, but also multi-stakeholder and really started in a different but similar way over there where we're looking at measuring the welfare of the animal through key welfare and outcomes-based key welfare indicators and then looking at how do we improve that over time through management, training, practices, research, innovation, et practices, research, innovation, etc. Etc. So it really brings in a lot of different types of people and we could build this in a way that works for one sector of the supply chain, but obviously it's a chain, so unless everybody's at the table, we feel like we're not going to have the outcomes or the success that we need to be able to see over the coming decade or decades in these two really hot topic hot collar areas for a lot of different people involved with poultry and egg production.

Brandon Mulnix: 7:19

It is interesting to think that there's so many issues that the industry deals with. Interesting to think that there's so many issues that the industry deals with and if I'm working in an allied business, like I am, I had no visibility, I had no clue that any of this existed until I was introduced to your organization, especially around the topic of, like, sustainability and you know, animal welfare. You know that's our business. But when it comes to the international side of it, you know what's what, how that affects the US and export. There's so many things that go into it from a from a level that most, most folks just don't understand, and so I'm glad that we have your leadership there trying to coordinate all of it, trying to be able to communicate back, because I'm sure these issues change. They come and go Like right now, what are the top few issues that you're dealing with?

Ryan Bennet: 8:11

Yeah, I'll get into the top issues that we're dealing with, but those change over time and you mentioned kind of the complexity and feeling overwhelmed and I just wanted to hit on that real quick before I kind of dive in a little deeper in the issues. In general, I feel like everybody is overwhelmed. Regardless of whether you've had a sustainability program with a ton of staff for 10, 15 years or whether you're just starting, I feel like everybody's overwhelmed and trying to figure out where to go. So a lot of what we do is try and simplify this down to its basic parts, not water it. You know, you read a magazine, you go to a trade show, you're hearing a lot of different things in the press. You can get lost pretty quickly. We're trying to make this more bite-sized, get people kind of on a baseline and then slowly build up from there. So I just wanted to hit that real quick.

Ryan Bennet: 9:26

But in terms of the issues that we're seeing, you know I would say on the sustainability side, climate continues to be a big issue. So one of the buzzwords that will confuse people is materiality. And when you look at the materiality of the sustainability footprint for poultry and eggs, as we've done at the US Roundtable, climate makes the list but isn't necessarily at the top. But because we are a producer of meat and a lot of the pressure that's coming there, we're getting a lot of questions and, quite frankly, we're getting a lot of pressure to improve things when we are a very efficient producer of animal protein. So we do have a role to play. I think we you know you've heard many different times we've reduced carbon emissions by X percentage since X, y, z date, right, and that's very true and I think that's going to continue in the future, or I certainly hope that it continues in the future, as long as we're able to keep getting better with our genetics, as long as we're able to get better with the environment and nutrition that we're providing these birds, our management systems, our employees. That's all going to continue to get better.

Ryan Bennet: 10:52

But you know in terms of where we sit and you know from a materiality perspective, which is our most important issues. Climate definitely makes the list, but we've got a lot of other things that we care about. I mean welfare is one of is a sustainability indicator, a sustainability measurement that we include in our sustainability reporting framework for the roundtable People. You know you heard a lot about how we treat our workers, right, wrong, indifferent, true or not in the press during COVID. That's going to continue to be, you know, a major area for us. And then you. And then there's more localized issues like water, whether it be water quantity or water quality, and then, on the welfare side, I would say, top issues for us continue to be having people think about how to measure welfare differently or how to think about and communicate about welfare differently, because what we're really asking people to do makes a lot of sense to us, but it's different than the way it might have been done in the past.

Ryan Bennet: 11:52

We're saying, if we're going to measure welfare, if we're going to talk about welfare, let's actually look at the bird, let's actually figure out whether they are responding well to their environment or not responding well to their environment or not responding well to their environment, and focus on fixing things if there's an issue.

Ryan Bennet: 12:11

But if there's not an issue, then we're not going to waste a bunch of time on things that are not a problem. And so I think we're really focused on actually improving welfare and not focused as much on kind of the string of production practices or different kind of pigeonhole concepts that we've seen come across in the past. So that is, you know, on the welfare side there's a lot of external factors, I would say, focused in on altering how we raise birds and, regardless of whether we view folks intentions as honorable or not, I would say that we are taking kind of the general direction that they are going in, putting it into a more practical format that makes it actually focused on welfare and able to, you know, achieve results. So a lot of different things there, but you're the podcaster, so I'll let you kind of unpack from there if you have any questions.

Brandon Mulnix: 13:19

While most of our listeners understand, you know, what animal welfare is I mean, whether they're allied members working on nutrition or genetics, I mean they understand the welfare side of it and I mean you made some really good points in there, specifically about welfare needs to be about the bird.

Brandon Mulnix: 13:37

You know, when we look at you know, measuring that from a production method and that's one of the things you know I learned early on is, well, a happy bird, a healthy bird, produces more eggs or better eggs or all of that. And I guess that may not be true. And I keep hearing of some of the science and the different ways of whether it's using, you know, video cameras to watch birds and you know, see their movement and and audio to hear, be able to determine if the bird's happy and healthy, and those are all really cool uses of technology that you know is moving forward. From a US perspective, how much influence do you see, because you're on the international side? Is what happens throughout the globe maybe Europe or China or somewhere else, I don't know affects the US over time?

Ryan Bennet: 14:30

Obviously, we are all very interconnected. I think Europe is not a major export market for us, but they are an exporter of ideas good, bad and indifferent. So I think paying attention to what's going on over there is always a good idea. We have a lot of members that are active in Europe On a panel last week with a lot of Europeans. It's a different mindset, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it's all right or all wrong. And then you're seeing kind of an environment where you have kind of export markets from the US perspective speaking, but also thinking about how things are evolving somewhere else, like in Asia, where you know, welfare has not traditionally been on their list of top issues. Right, I mean, they're going to look at productivity. Just being able to get people to a point to where they can afford to consume meat and poultry and egg, dairy products is of key concern for them.

Ryan Bennet: 15:33

So price, but as people enter the middle class, we're seeing their own version. It is not the European journey, it is not the North American journey, but their own version of this start to develop. And it's not my place to tell them how to write their story. But at the same time, I do think that history is bound to repeat itself, albeit differently, right? So I think there's a lot of lessons to be learned and we're seeing that start to change as people under the middle class have more disposable income and start to care and think more about animals, quite frankly.

Ryan Bennet: 16:14

So the European kind of command and control, very regulatory, government focused model is still something to pay attention to, to be aware of, because you know, there's a lot of businesses operating in the United States and elsewhere that are going to have to live up to those regulations and it's going to affect production elsewhere, whether you like it or not. Their rules if it's a multinational company based in Europe, their rules are going to perforate other parts of the world. But also watching how other parts of the world and major poultry customers, major growth regions like Asia, southeast Asia, are evolving is also very much of interest as well. You know, in North America we've definitely seen more of a B2B model rather than a government model, and that continues to develop and change over time as well. So we're monitoring that right along with the government model in Europe and the growth model seen throughout Asia the growth model seen throughout Asia.

Brandon Mulnix: 17:21

Well, listeners, as you can see, there's folks like Ryan and his team that are doing their best to represent the US producers. You asa producer, you as a supplier to the industry. So my hat's off to you, ryan, and your team, because without folks like you, that means each of the farmers, each of the producers, are having to deal with this on their own. And so, thank you, thank you for what you guys do. How can suppliers, producers that may not be members, how can they get involved with either the US Roundtable or the International Poultry and Welfare?

Ryan Bennet: 17:55

Alliance. We are a membership-driven organization so you can apply to join, you can be a part of what we're doing. But we have a lot of information posted publicly that I think there's an ability to learn and think about these things, whether you want to be learning or thinking about them or not. I would say that it's probably a good idea that in today's operating environment, regardless of where you are, it would behoove you to be aware of kind of the general trends of how this is going. Obviously, we can help folks with that and we provide a lot of value to a lot of people. We continue to grow, but there's other avenues for you, through trade associations, through other entities that you're involved with, to get involved and be active in this as well. But my biggest advice is always to try and figure out how to keep it simple. I think we've developed a method to try and do that and help our members do that and really build out from there and allow them to track their progress and communicate that more effectively over time.

Brandon Mulnix: 19:01

So, ryan, you know you mentioned that there's associations or stuff like that. You have an annual meeting coming up. What is? Why should our listeners attend that event?

Ryan Bennet: 19:13

Yes. So that's a really interesting event and it's one that we obviously put a lot into thinking about creating the right environment and experience for people to learn from one another. So we have the multi-stakeholder concept so we do not allow everybody from that same constituency to sit at a table with one another. If you see a friend there, you've got plenty of hallway time, dinner time, reception time to be able to see them. But we're really focused on mixing different types of people together so that way they get to know one another. We build in a lot of interactive events. We build in a lot of interactive events, off-site educational experiences.

Ryan Bennet: 19:59

One of my favorite things about our meeting is I always tell people the number of people that are there and they're like, wow, that's a really small meeting. And then they get there and they realize who we put in the room is pretty impressive. We are not really focused, quite frankly, on having a bunch of people at our meeting. We're focused on having the right people at that meeting and fostering a really cool culture where people feel comfortable and confident, speaking about their perspectives, learning from one another, mixing with different types of people and really looking you know, really coming away from this as not only having every individual person gain something from this, but the entire group, almost creating a product that we can have, live on and influence how we are operating as an organization from there. So it's a really thought-provoking space, great networking opportunity, educational opportunity and, I think, bang for your buck-wise it probably doesn't get any better than that it's. You want to come talk about not only sustainability and welfare, but big picture issues impacting the future of the industry.

Brandon Mulnix: 21:14

Yeah, after attending one of your guys' events in the past, it was interesting to see, you know, walking in the room with a quality of people. I mean there were people from all walks there that really you could tell were passionate about the topic and wanting to move forward together as a group. And those events are great for that, because you're able to kind of put aside the day-to-day production stuff, the day-to-day. And you're able to kind of put aside the day-to-day production stuff, the day-to-day and you're able to focus on one core topic and that's big picture and you're able to see the passionate people that are working together beside you and it really does motivate you to want to get more involved. I know that's. I was excited to leave that and attend a few other sustainability events and I go back to you guys did a really good job there in Washington for that event.

Ryan Bennet: 21:59

So well, thank you. Yeah, it is big picture but we also try and make sure we keep it practical so you can see the big picture but understand how that relates to you and come home with something that you can use within your organization, within your farm, within your sector. So it is a neat space but I don't need to promote it too much because we, like kind of the hometown, feel that we get there.

Brandon Mulnix: 22:26

to be quite honest, Awesome, let's switch a little bit. You've been around the industry. You've met a lot of the great people. What do you value most about poultry and egg industries?

Ryan Bennet: 22:39

Yeah, so obviously I've worked in agriculture.

Ryan Bennet: 22:42

There's some common themes there, but I would say specifically to this industry is the level of innovation and efficiency that we've gained over time, how adaptive we've been to different marketing and production environments.

Ryan Bennet: 23:01

And then I would say my members are a very principled group of people and some might call that stubborn, and at times it's good to be stubborn and I wouldn't change that for the world because we are who we are and you know, I think really trying to build around that or strengthen that and play off of our strengths is where I see this going, because I'm talking about two very scary topics for people sustainability and welfare and really all we're trying to do is use that same kind of entrepreneurial, innovative spirit and applying that to these issues.

Ryan Bennet: 23:42

So I'm always continually impressed with where this industry has come from, but also really where it's going, because it's becoming very clear to me that we do have a very bright future, and not saying that we should be reckless by any means, but we should be more optimistic than we are at times. So that's maybe my role to play or my piece to throw in there, but we've got a really neat group of people who have figured a lot of things out and are going to continue to figure a lot of things out in different environments in the future.

Brandon Mulnix: 24:21

So stubbornness is a great trait to have is what I hear from that and I'll have to remind you, know, as listeners, guys, you're stubborn. That's a great trait to have, especially in an industry like this. I don't think that's really what Ryan was saying. I think he appreciates that stubbornness, but no, it's all great stuff, ryan. I mean it is so true that we need to be resilient and have that stubbornness, but understand that it all goes back to those core principles.

Brandon Mulnix: 24:52

One of the things I love about the industry is those values. I mean I might not agree with them, but they've built them for a reason. It's done over time and that steadfastness or stubbornness is important because it is what helps everybody through those really trying times where there's so much change being forced on them and to do it right, to do it efficient, to do it economical, because sustainability and welfare are all costs that don't necessarily always add to more profit and it's hard for farmers and producers to see that. But in the end there's other values that do help the bottom line in that and I'm not trying to simplify it too much, but you know, I've kind of been witness to that as more cost and more cost and more. It's just it's hard for farmers to see that and being in a group like that is pretty cool.

Ryan Bennet: 25:50

And we definitely. I mean, we get asked all the time what's our definition of sustainability? Well, what is it? Why don't you tell us what it is? And we have our own definition, and it happens to be in line with what a lot of other people's definition are, and it's being economically viable is the number one thing that we say, because we've got to obviously stay in business to be sustainable, environmentally sound and socially responsible. Now, what that means from there is what we're here to talk about, right, but we do have a definition, and economically viable is the first of those three different pillars that we discuss, and those three pillars are core to a lot of people's sustainability definition and is embedded in everything that we do people's sustainability definition and is embedded in everything that we do.

Brandon Mulnix: 26:42

Ryan, as a leader that I look up to in the industry someone that's, you know, leading the charge out there, progressive, doing the great things listeners really want to know what are some of your biggest challenges that you work through.

Ryan Bennet: 26:51

Well, brandon, haven't you ever heard the phrase? I could complain, but nobody would listen anyways. So no, I'm kidding, but obviously we're one industry of many facing these challenges. Obviously, animal welfare is kind of central to animal agriculture, specifically, specifically. But sustainability wise, and all the money going into this, all the different forces going into this, can be very overwhelming for people. And it is one of those things that you see people spending billions of dollars, not millions, billions of dollars going into campaigns that can sometimes not actually improve the sustainability or the welfare of animals, animal production. So that's one of those things that a lot of our members get really bogged down with. And who are we with our budget, with our number of employees? How can we ever come up against that?

Ryan Bennet: 27:59

And I have taken the tact and will continue to take the tact that I've just put my blinders on. I can't control what other people do, but we can control what we are doing and we can control where we go from here to an extent, especially if we are all working together to get ahead of things, stay on the front foot and be proactive. So, just to come up with a football analogy, I've always said we have some of the best defensive coordinators in the game, but we need some better offensive coordinators. We need to be more proactive and we need to do it together as a team. It's nice to have the star wide receiver, but it takes the offensive line and the right kind of quarterback, the right kind of blocking to get there.

Ryan Bennet: 28:49

And that's really where pre-competitive concept comes into play, because this is something that is facing an entire category and we like to think that we're very important and we are, there is no doubt in my mind, as a part of feeding the world, food security, economic development, all the great things that come from producing poultry and eggs, we are very important, but when you start to look at this, we're part of a much larger agenda and we can't focus on what everybody else is doing. We have to really put their blinders on and chart our own path and our own story and not just come to a Y in the road and stop and worry, because I think we, like I said before, had a really bright future to look forward to really bright future to look forward to and a future with the mentality, as you said, football team mentality.

Brandon Mulnix: 30:00

In business, where you can go and you can hire that team. In an organization like yours, you're looking for people to volunteer and step up to help, and that's a completely different mindset compared to where you can go and draft the next star quarterback for your team, to where you can go and draft the next star quarterback for your team. But in this case you need that star quarterback to step up. You need those producers that have the passion to change, to have a positive effect on the industry, to step up, and that would be a big challenge. I've been humbled by.

Ryan Bennet: 30:34

We're a small organization. Without our members we are basically nothing. And obviously dollars currency is important, financial resources are important, but our human resources, our human capacity to do all of these things, has been humbling to be a part of, to see the amount of energy from many people within many different organizations, how much they have cared, how much they like doing this and the amount of work that they put into it, the amount of thought that they put into it. Just being along for that ride, I'd like to say it's all because of me. It is certainly not.

Ryan Bennet: 31:16

I'm along for the ride with this group of people that are very, very, very good at what they do and very good at what they do in different ways, and being able to put together a team, play those different roles and see how that come to fruition roles and see how that come to fruition, and to really get mentored by some of these people who have a lot of very elite, prestigious life experiences has also been something that's been really cool for me as well. But we are a member-driven organization. I'd love to say we're 50-50 with SAP and members in terms of doing the work, but the members really are what our motor is and what makes us go, and there's no way that we could have gotten done what we've gotten done and, by the way, we founded right before a pandemic, global pandemic without our volunteer leaders, without everybody playing a role in pitching in. So that's been kind of the most fun and shocking part of this to me, because I didn't know that I would get all of that when I started in this position.

Brandon Mulnix: 32:23

Over the past few weeks. You know, just looking at a shorter period of time, what's a win for you?

Ryan Bennet: 32:30

I would say we're continuing to grow as an organization and, like I just said, the financial aspect of that, that's great.

Ryan Bennet: 32:38

But the fact that there are people still realizing that they want to be a part of the team, that they want to contribute, and not just financially but also contribute on committees, getting active, being a part of what we're doing, they like the direction that we're heading, they like being a part of something bigger than just their organization or themselves or just their industry or their sector, that is really neat and I would say that win, once again, is not because of anything I'm doing by myself.

Ryan Bennet: 33:11

We've got a membership committee that works a lot, but also our members involved with every aspect of our group, talk to other people and even if there isn't that human touch before somebody comes to us as a member, there's a lot of people just seeing what we're doing and, you know, wanting to learn more and reaching out to me or somebody that they know within leadership and getting active. And so tomorrow I've got a board meeting tomorrow where we've got a whole stack of new membership approvals to look through, and that's really exciting to me that it's not just this kind of core group people still plugging along. We continue to grow and there's people that are stepping up and really coming that haven't been here already, that within a year's time, are already key players in different positions. So that's the thing to me is that that win is really a win of the value that we're creating for organizations, but also how the amount of excitement that our members show and that we show is really, you know, leading other people to say that they want to become involved with us.

Brandon Mulnix: 34:24

I want to go back and touch on mentorship and some of the people that have affected you. What has surprised you about your job? I mean, you started during a pandemic, you got two organizations that's going. But what has surprised you about your job? I mean, you started during a pandemic, you got two organizations, that's going. But what has surprised you about your job that you didn't know before you took it?

Ryan Bennet: 34:40

I knew I would have different people with different perspectives and I knew that I'd have to find a way to facilitate through those things. I knew that we had plenty of challenges and pressure in terms of how we were producing poultry and eggs. I knew that we were a young organization and we had to build our base right to be able to grow and be a healthy non-profit organization. I knew I'd have to manage boards and personalities, but I guess what I didn't realize was the personal component to all this and really how well you get to know many different people throughout their life right, because life keeps going regardless of what your job is doing at the time. So, whether it be babies being born, babies graduating from college or high school, people who have lost their parents and I've had different things happen to me personally and the amount of support I got from people throughout. That kind of health issue that I had a few years ago was humbling. Health issue that I had a few years ago was humbling and we also recently lost former board member of IPWA or Secretary, angela Basinger to cancer. Just the human aspect of this and how that plays a role. We're still human beings. We might work for a particular sector. We might be really, really good at what we do. But the personal aspect of this is not something that I foresaw having to spend as much time talking to people, being with people about, but is something that I'm really humbled and honored to be a part of.

Ryan Bennet: 36:29

Angela just speaking about her she worked, she was animal welfare lead at Merck. She was our secretary on the IPWA board. Anybody knew her that knew her knew she had some of the best stories. She lived life, you know, with a sense of excitement and adventure. I mean, I can remember a board dinner one night where she would tell stories about different adventures that she had taken and she was a very larger than life person and while that is very sad, I'm just honored that I was able to know her and that she was involved with our organization and that I was able to see all the things that she had done with her career but also with her personal life. That I'm even able to talk about knowing her today is a great honor.

Ryan Bennet: 37:18

But there's many, many stories out there about people overcoming life, things that come up and that's a big part of our lives that, you know, I I hope people don't take for granted. With your coworkers and we're all going through something. Keep that in mind, because really, that's what's core to what's important in terms of you know what I believe it's not necessary, it's not money, it's not fame, it's not power, it's it's you know who we are as human beings and how we relate to one another and how we're there for one another. So that's been a big to me. Uh, something I didn't understand was going to be a big part of this job, because you really get to know people and they really get to know you.

Brandon Mulnix: 38:07

Wow, you really hit it on the fact that you didn't know just the people aspect and that is the empathy people have and the realization that crap happens Crap happens to leaders, crap happens to big companies, crap happens to everybody. And to have that empathy, that care, that compassion for others really makes the human side of the industry amazing. I've got to experience it with some of our folks across the industry. Go to events that are sponsored or written fundraisers for people that have been either hurt or suicide has been an issue. The mental health side of the industry, especially as we go through depopulating and HPAI, just the mental side of that. And there's so many human aspects that every leader has to manage through. And you know, ryan, I know you've grown through that. I'm curious. I'm sure the listeners are more curious about your story and if you want to share that, that's at your liberty. If not, I understand as well. So, ryan, how has this all made you a better leader?

Ryan Bennet: 39:31

Well, I think I'm a lot more patient with people and understanding of people. I'm not really afraid to dive into things and you know, like you said, there's, you know there's there's a certain amount of privacy that some people want and expect, and I'm obviously very, very aware of that and respectful of that. But at the same time, I think the stigma for some of these sorts of things that are going on that, you see, has got to go away. This is not to get too millennial on you, brandon, but I mean this is the generation or the X, or it's got to be X, millennial, don't let it get to C. But we've got to be the ones that put an end to that, to some of these stigmas that are out there, to being able to talk about weaknesses, to be able to talk about failures, to be able to open up and not be ashamed of having problems, because we know that everybody is having those problems. And so I've certainly you mentioned suicide I've certainly you mentioned suicide I've certainly, you know, had a cousin, um, and then a mentor of mine go through that and you know this, last time it was a mentor of mine and it was one of those things to where you know, in both instances it was both people that did a, that cared a lot about others.

Ryan Bennet: 40:55

That nest didn't necessarily care enough about themselves. So I, I, you know, I'm a strong believer in making sure to look out for for folks, checking in on them, making sure they're doing well, you know, helping them where you can. But, um, you know, I hope this is is a generation that will kind of let some of those kind of stigmas go, because it's not. I can tell you, when you deal with something like that, it's not something you ever want to experience ever again, and it's a very, it's a much more complex emotion than when you have somebody at the ripe old age passing away. It's a much more complex emotion than when you have, you know, somebody at the ripe old age passing away. It's very different process.

Brandon Mulnix: 41:38

So Paul Ryan, thank you for sharing that and sharing what needs to change in business. You know I grew up in a world where I was in a paramedic before I transitioned out. I call myself a recovering paramedic and just the stigma around PTSD, around healthcare professionals, it's out there. It's not just healthcare professionals, it's not just cops, it's not just firemen, it's people that are going through crap.

Brandon Mulnix: 42:10

And just starting a conversation with somebody, or starting that, you know being willing to dive in with people, to seek to understand first what they're going through before you necessarily go down the road of business and I know that doesn't happen every time but you have to develop relationships in this industry where you're comfortable asking people tough questions just to say, hey, how are you doing? And not taking that fine as an answer, because there are times where they really want the next question no, how are you really doing? With everything going on, and that's when they realize that it is important to you as a person. So thank you for having that conversation, ryan, and I know our listeners will be blessed to have that. Last but not least, is there any advice for our listeners that you want to share that we haven't really touched on because it really wasn't a question that I was going to ask touched on because it really wasn't a question that I was going to ask.

Ryan Bennet: 43:22

Um, we've kind of touched on it, but in terms of you know, when you get a new job and I'm just you know, I'm speaking from my own personal experience Um, but everybody wants to be the change agent, everybody wants to be put their stamp on things and I I I certainly hope to say that I've made an impact, that I've been able to show measurable progress and what I'm influencing. But at this point I've been in agriculture my entire career and there's those common themes throughout agriculture that we kind of already discussed. But each industry is different and each company is different. Each you know culture is different and I guess I'm kind of of the belief now that being changed for the sake of change isn't always good. And so, putting aside your ego and really figuring out what you've been dealt, what are our strengths, what are our principles we talked a little bit about how much I love our principles, are grown to love our principles and playing to those strengths and making sure that we're building things in a way to where you're not getting so far over your skis and looking behind you and you don't have anybody that has followed you anywhere.

Ryan Bennet: 44:37

So everybody wants to be the change agent, everybody wants to win the Nobel Peace Prize or whatever it might be, but I'm a big fan of looking at what your strengths are, looking at what you've been dealt and navigating that in a way that is true to that industry or true to that organization and, yes, maybe allowing that to be the change and charting a new course, et cetera, et cetera, but not necessarily coming in with grandiose ideas of revolutionary change, because we're in an environment where we all have different types of people. No job's ever been 100% perfect, no organization is perfect, no industry is perfect. Person is perfect. So I think that looking at what your strengths are, what you've been dealt, and charting your own course that's true to yourself and true to your own principles, whether that be individually or as a group of people or as an organization or as an industry, is still very important and you can make change, but doing it within that vein, I think, is something that I've picked up on over the years.

Brandon Mulnix: 45:50

If I have any advice, Ryan, as you said that, I go back to your word of stubbornness or steadfast those terminologies come with consistency and moving forward. But just getting through the crap, getting through all of the outside influences and evaluating that it comes through, that that change will happen over time. It just may be a lot shorter than the instant gratification that our world has come to know. You're not going to get change in this industry overnight. But what you can do is you can work towards a common goal, build partners, build a team, be part of committees and work towards that change and then look back and say, wow, we did have a chance to have that change and you don't need to. There are no superstars in this industry. This is an industry with a lot of team players. There isn't that? At least, I haven't seen those people that want to be the LeBron James or that want to be the outspoken crazy people in the industry. Everybody wants to work together to have a positive effect and as leaders, as developing leaders, in this industry, that's important. If you want stardom, this isn't probably the industry for you, because the stubbornness of our industry is what's going to frustrate the heck out of you as a leader, that things aren't going to change. But you know what, if you can get people on board with the vision, if you can get them rowing in that direction of positive change, people will see your passion, they'll get on board, they'll support you. But if you're changing for change's sake which it seems like a lot of the outside influences want us to do it overnight, whether that's animal activists or whatever else, it's not going to happen. But it doesn't mean change doesn't happen.

Brandon Mulnix: 47:40

This is an industry that has adopted to some amazing change. They've adopted to cage-free and animal welfare, and they agree that the environment's important, that climate change is an issue, they agree. All this stuff is going on and so circling it all back, ryan, that's where an organization that you're part of is so important, because people can be part of that change and work together. Join the group, not just spend money to spend money, but and get their name hey, we're a supporter of this. But no, that's an investment. It's an opportunity to have a huge influence on the industry with a like-minded group of people like yourself, as someone that has to be the coxswain of the boat and yell out the direction of everybody's going. So thank you, ryan, for what you're doing in the industry, that you're willing to be steadfast, that you're willing to be willing to lead that change but also organize it. Thank you, thank you for doing that.

Ryan Bennet: 48:38

Well, thanks so much for having me, Brandon.

Brandon Mulnix: 48:40

Well audience. I look forward to getting this edited. This has been fun. You know some disclaimers here. If our audio is a little off, it may be because I'm sitting in a camper Stopped my family vacation so I could get this podcast recorded. Just appreciate Ryan his time. Appreciate you listeners and, of course, I also appreciate Prism Controls for allowing me to do this. They are a partner in this topic of sustainability. They are a partner with our industry of you know, providing better animal welfare, and so it is important for topics like this to be on the podcast. It does support what Prism Controls is working on as well. So please reach out to them, thank them for sponsoring this show. They appreciate you as listeners reaching out to them. So thank you for that. And again, listeners like share, get this podcast out to others. It's how it continues to grow. So thank you for that. And again, listeners like share, get this podcast out to others. It's how it continues to grow. Have a good day.