Field to Field: Baseball Lessons for Sustainable Agriculture (Part 1)

This is the first in a series exploring the parallels between baseball and agriculture and the second in a broader series discussing how to ensure sustainability truly works for everyone.

Baseball and agriculture, two longtime parts of my life, have more in common than you might think. Ever since I was a kid, they've shaped who I am and taught me valuable lessons I carry to this day.

I grew up spending hours playing catch with my dad, chasing pop-ups off the shed roof, pretending to be Bo Jackson swinging for the proverbial fences in our backyard, and spending summers playing nearly every level of amateur baseball. Baseball showed me the excitement of winning and taught me how to bounce back after losses. At the same time, agriculture showed me what it means to work hard, take responsibility, and handle life’s ups and downs.

Agriculture has truly been a lifelong part of the equation for me. It started with playing in the pasture and prepping my Jersey cow, Ginger, for 4-H shows, then moved on to early mornings milking cows, feeding animals, summers stacking hay bales, and sweeping the feed mill after school. Those experiences taught me discipline and patience - lessons that have stuck with me.

As I got older, I learned agriculture is much bigger than just the farm itself. Throughout my career, I've worked across almost every part of the ag system, from running and owning restaurants to developing and leading retail strategies at Ag Partners Cooperative, creating Globally Responsible Production (GRP), and now serving as Chief Revenue Officer at Parcel.ag. Each of these roles has given me a unique perspective on how agriculture connects—from growing and processing to retailing and engaging with consumers.

All along, baseball was always there too, weaving its way into my farming routine. Listening to Royals games on the scratchy AM radio in our old Ford pickup while stacking bales or pushing through long afternoons in the milkhouse, baseball became the soundtrack of my ag life. Today, that connection continues through our partnership at GRP with the Kansas City Royals.

I believe baseball offers a great way to understand the nuances of incorporating sustainability in agriculture. Think about it: baseball teams draft young players full of potential each year. These players spend time in the minor leagues, testing their abilities, learning from setbacks, and becoming better athletes. Only after this tough developmental process do the best players move on to the big leagues.

That’s exactly how sustainability should work in agriculture:

• Drafting Ideas: Bringing new, innovative practices into the conversation.

• Minor Leagues: Testing and refining those ideas on farms, figuring out what's working, and improving what's not.

• Major League Adoption: Taking the best ideas and scaling them up to create widespread, positive impact.

And just like baseball, agriculture needs support to succeed:

• Fans (Consumers): Choosing sustainable products, investing in better food, and advocating for positive change.

• Management (CPGs and Brands): Providing economic support and market stability that empowers farmers to adopt new methods.

• Coaches and Scouts (Agronomists, Sustainability Advisors, and Data Platforms): These are the people and tools helping farmers refine and implement the best sustainability strategies, ensuring practices are fine-tuned before scaling.

The Difference Between Winning and Losing Organizations

The difference between successful organizations and those that continually struggle lies in how they prioritize their mission. Successful organizations put progress ahead of pride. Every component of their system is designed to maximize the opportunity for the player (farmer). This mindset is what led to the creation of GRP and Parcel, driven by the will to enable farmers to succeed rather than extracting value from them.

On the other hand, failing organizations allow individual ambitions to overshadow the ultimate goal. When one part of the system prioritizes its own gain over the success of the whole, it undermines the potential of those it was meant to support. That’s why we built GRP with a different philosophy, we don’t charge farmers or retail partners. Taking resources from those on the front lines of agriculture doesn’t enable success; it hinders it. Instead, we designed a model where the system serves the player, ensuring the best chance to win.

Building a Championship Team

Sustainability in agriculture isn’t just about good intentions, it’s about execution. Like a championship baseball team, every role in the system has to be aligned and working toward the same goal. Farmers, agronomists, supply partners, and sustainability programs must function as a team to maximize success.

The difference between winning and losing organizations comes down to how well they equip their players. That’s why we built GRP without charging farmers or retail partners, because taking resources away from the player and the coach doesn’t create wins. Instead, we built a model where agronomists can act as true coaches, helping farmers develop the best strategies for sustainability and profitability.

But having the right coaches isn’t enough, they need the right tools, insights, and support. In the next edition, we’ll take a deeper look at the critical role agronomists play in guiding farmers toward sustainable success, and how strong partnerships between agronomists and supply partners make all the difference.

I'd love your thoughts: What sustainable farming practices do you think are ready for the "big leagues," and how can we support them better?

Let's talk. Drop your comments below!