Episode 8: Curiosity, Trust, and the Next Generation of Farm Leadership with Steph Towers

Overview

Agriculture is navigating a period of rapid change. Markets shift quickly, public conversations about food are shaped by social media, and the next generation of farm leaders is stepping into roles that previous generations never had to imagine.

In this episode of Future Herd, Jesse Hirsh sits down with farm leader Steph Towers for a conversation about what leadership looks like in a sector facing uncertainty and transformation.

Steph reflects on how many agricultural leaders arrive in their roles not through deliberate ambition, but because someone needs to step up and do the work. From there, the discussion explores how curiosity, transparency, and emotional intelligence are becoming essential leadership skills in modern agriculture.

They discuss how farmers communicate with the public in the age of TikTok and Instagram, why lifelong learning is becoming a core leadership competency, and how stronger relationships, both within the sector and with the public, may be the most important foundation for agriculture's future.

The conversation also touches on mental health in farming, the importance of collaboration across the sector, and why technology will never replace the human relationships that hold agricultural communities together.

If the future of agriculture depends on the quality of its leadership, this conversation offers an important glimpse into what that leadership might look like.

Key themes

• How farm leaders often emerge through necessity rather than ambition
• Why curiosity can be more powerful than defensiveness in public conversations about agriculture
• The role of emotional intelligence in modern agricultural leadership
• How social media is reshaping trust between farmers and the public
• Why relationships remain the foundation of agriculture's future

Guests

Steph Towers is a farm leader and advocate who has taken on numerous leadership roles across agriculture, helping connect producers, organizations, and communities. Her work emphasizes collaboration, lifelong learning, and strengthening the relationships that underpin the agri-food sector.