Every day it seems more common to listen to the word sustainability, a lot of farming operations say they are committed to sustainability, but in this episode LeAnne Ruzzamenti chats with Scott Mabs, CEO of Homegrown Organic Farms, and Gunnar Avinelis, CEO of AgriCare, a sister company of Homegrown, to see how they are taking sustainability up the notch.
Further, then the benefits sustainability has brought to their companies, Scott mentions their commitment goes with it because it is the right thing to do. It is important to treat people well and to care for the environment, for the land. Yet, some of the benefits mentioned were seeing people coming to work, and enjoying work, people feeling excited about what they are doing, excited about improving their lives. In addition, sustainable farming practices also have a positive impact on the dirt by making the soil healthier and with more nutrients.
Several years ago, Homegrown and AgriCare started to work with EFI to keep improving the people factor. EFI teams have helped by creating a framework where people can care for others, feel heard, and unlock the potential of teams more broadly. It has helped them to change the concept of working for a role and executing tasks, to give them a voice to improve systems and improve their lives. In addition, Scott mentions an internal program that is engaging and changing the community called Cultivating Care. Listen to the podcast to learn more about it!
To close up this episode, one of the biggest pieces of advice Scoot and Gunnar gave us is to go beyond consumer trends when it comes to sustainability and finally, to keep promoting examples and best practices for more people to get inspired to transform agriculture.
