#WomeninAg Profile: Tracie Egger, Leadership & Organizational Development Director for Ceres Solutions

Tracie Egger’s life-long trajectory into the agriculture industry began with a small Future Farmers of America project and grew into a lengthy professional career with the Purdue College of Agriculture. During her tenure at Purdue, Tracie became the Assistant Director for the Office of Academic Programs where she left a lasting legacy for her career and leadership advising for students and student organizations. In 2009, she earned a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction/Ag Education from Purdue University, using the program to further her research interest in student leadership participation. And that small FFA project? Since then, has snowballed into breeding Berkshire pigs for the last 45 years.

 

 

Tracie’s current role is the Leadership and Organizational Development Director at Ceres Solutions, an Indiana-based agronomy cooperative, where she creates programs that support 650 employees. She’s also active with the Indiana FFA Foundation, serving as board secretary and mentoring the current Indiana State FFA.

 

 

 

 

Tracie recently sat down with Land Values to talk about her passion for leadership in the agriculture sector, the importance of building a network and why being a life-long learner is beneficial.

 

Land Values (LV): Did your background in extension naturally propel you into the ag leadership field?

 

Tracie Egger (TE): No, not at all. I was super active in FFA and, at a very young age, I enjoyed the leadership development side of it and was always involved with livestock judging and horse judging. Having the opportunity to travel to meet breeders or leaders within the industry – I always sought out those opportunities and I really appreciated connecting with people who shared some of those same interests. While working at Purdue in the Office of Academic Programs, I developed a leadership development certificate program for college students at the time that I was finishing my research for my Ph.D. on that particular topic. That’s really what propelled me into the career that I have now within the ag industry – only now I’m working with a different age group while still really helping them achieve career success.

 

LV: What types of opportunities or professional development should college students focus on for future career success?

 

TE: I encourage college students to really step out of their comfort zone and challenge themselves to try something new. Maybe learn a new skill or maybe just become stronger in a specific area. For me, for instance, that was livestock judging. I really loved to do that. I was a very good communicator. I like to give speeches and do public speaking. But, of course, there are lots of other little skills that you hone along the way. I would encourage college students and high school students to really choose a type of activity that’s going to give them the opportunity to become stronger in specific areas. And then, as they begin their career, I think having the mindset to be a lifelong learner is so important. Really understand what you can do to set yourself apart from your colleagues that presents you as a leader.

 

 

LV: Where do mentors fit in? Why is it important to have one?

 

TE: What’s been most beneficial for me instead of a single mentor is something like a whole executive board, if you will. Who can I get together to bounce ideas off of, to ask for some really key feedback, that I may or may not want to hear? Those are the opportunities that help me grow the most. Having that network of people to really gain from those relationships helps me build the skills that I’ve needed to get where I am.

 

LV: Why is a network so important? How does it help when challenges emerge?

 

TE: Here’s an example of the importance of networking and what it truly means to have that group of people in your back pocket. While I was at Purdue – for 20 years – I really thought that was going to be my career. I loved what I was doing. I loved working for Purdue’s College of Agriculture and, obviously, I enjoyed the students immensely. A former student of mine was at AgReliant Genetics [where Tracie took a leadership position in 2018]. She’d been with the company for about 10 years and called me out of the blue one day and said, “We’re hiring for a new role. It’s a leadership training role and we think you would be ideal.” However, I really loved what I was doing so I passed initially, but she called a few weeks later, encouraging me to apply. It forced me to update my resume for the first time in years and I had to really think about what I consider strengths of mine as it relates to a career that I wanted to have. I ended up taking the job and was thankful to have the opportunity.

 

LV: Is that how you also found your current role with Ceres Solutions?

 

TE: Yes, it was another former student of mine who directed me to his father, who is actually a part of the leadership team here at Ceres. We began conversations about what could I do to really make an impact here. And lo and behold, that’s how I got the role that I have here today [as Leadership and Organizational Development Director]. The bottom line is that networking and keeping that list of contacts really up-to-date is essential.

 

LV: What kind of skills would you say someone would need in your field?

 

TE: I think people skills are undoubtedly one of the most important things. I hear so often people refer to leadership as soft skills, but I refer to them as essential skills. One of the things that I’ve picked up on most is the power of reflection whether it’s written like journaling or if it’s talking face to face with somebody and having that verbal reflection. It’s an introspective way of being able to really determine your actions of the day and how they affected you, how they affected others and how it affected the circumstances of the day. Listening is also a key skill. When you work with people day in and day out, you really have to hone in your listening skills to hear truly what it is that that person needs or really thinking broadly about the agriculture industry and how it relates to our organization so we can stay ahead of the competition.

 

LV: What do you think the best thing is about your job?

 

TE: For me, the best thing is knowing that I make an impact not only on the organization, but with individuals. If I can make an individual more valuable in their role, to the people they serve and then to the organization, that I will feel like I have succeeded.

 

LV: Do you participate in professional development for yourself?

 

TE: I do. I just came back from the Women in Agribusiness Summit where I won the Women in Agribusiness Demeter Award of Excellence. That was an amazing conference. Any time I have the opportunity to network with other female leaders in agriculture, that’s really important to me. I also participate in the Indiana Agribusiness Council. They do a set of women’s events that I’ve been part of establishing over the years and I like to stay active with judging so I participate in the national FFA career development events.

 

LV: Do you have any advice for someone who’s new to the ag industry?

TE: “I would suggest that they continue to build their network and meet as many people in their organization or industry as possible. Really start thinking about that “board of mentors” who can help them grow in their career. Make sure to learn all facets of your organization. If you’re hired into marketing, don’t just become an expert in marketing – also become an expert in production and an expert in research and get a feel for all of the pieces because that’s really going to empower you by understanding all of the pieces that make that particular organization successful.”