Ceres CEO shares his leadership philosophy

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — Jeff Troike, Ceres Solutions CEO, discussed a variety of topics during a new Field Points podcast.

After more than 40 years in the industry, he has developed a leadership philosophy that he adheres to.

“You hire good people,” he said. “You give them tools, programs and products to be successful. You help them with their career. You take care of them, and then they’ll take care of the customers. And then the business runs pretty smooth.

“I challenge our people to do the right thing. We want our customers and employees to be more profitable and successful.”

Troike also discussed changes to the industry during his career.

“In the mid ‘80s and early ‘90s there was a lot of consolidation in agriculture,” he said. “Not just at the co-op level, but at the farm gate.

“That’s also when we started to get a lot more regulations. You had to invest money in your facilities to meet the regulations, and you could not do that with every facility. So, that’s where you had to start strategically choosing where and how to invest for the future of the farm and co-op.

“It gave you that mindset — you have to think about where do you want to be? You have to invest in long-term assets, long-term programs, and your people, to meet those challenges.”

Field Points is the weekly podcast launched last year by Ceres Solutions.

Each segment addresses issues impacting the marketplace, including agronomics, animal nutrition, branding your business, price risk management, carbon sequestration, stewardship, community engagement and navigating both the volatile energy markets and fertilizer markets.

Listen to the full podcast at www.ceres.coop/field-points-podcast.