Gratitude for 2020

As I sit here penning this intro to our Harvest blog, self-isolating in my downtown condo, I find myself staring out the window, in deep, appreciative thought, thankful for a moment of peace after a year of recurring trials & tribulations. Just outside my window, less than a block away, opposite the park and littered with fallen leaves, is the site of many recent protests. Not those of a political nature, nor racially motivated but rather protests opposing the development of a 16 story skyline-altering, two tower, mixed use building that many fear will cast ominous shadows and impact their quality of life. Like so many of the protests of late, I find myself on both sides of the issue. For one, I know progress and growth is inevitable and support and encourage planned development and private property rights. And yet on the other side, I too oppose change that may disrupt my selfish status quo, that may interrupt my views, or that may corrupt my comfortable habits and patterns.

But I digress. Afterall, this is supposed to be an ag focused blog. 

It certainly has been an interesting year to be in agriculture, business, or any other walk of life. The COVID-19 pandemic and the shutdowns associated with it have turned markets, supply chains, and how we do business upside down, accelerated some trends and slowed others. Our Presidential Elections further added to the turbulence.

One benefit of it all was the stimulus to rethink our long, complex supply chains and bringing focus to the strategic importance of agriculture and food. Retailers are looking closely at their supply chains to gain more control and certainty, accelerating the existing trend forced by traceability needs. Governments, notably China, are attempting to shore up their reserves and self-sufficiency, in part lifting US commodity prices coming into the fall.

The potential longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on fundamental patterns of consumer behavior, production inputs, and logistics have and will continue to ripple across the food and agriculture system. The pandemic has triggered pronounced changes in consumer behavior and business processes as the world has adjusted to social distancing, quarantines, the suspension of business operations and the ramping up of remote offices.

Closer to home, at Scythe & Spade, we continue to refine our systems and processes to better track the market and spot opportunities, but what we are really excited about is moving forward with our plans to scale up regionally in the coming year. We are pleased to introduce Helene Cser who recently joined us bringing with her a wealth of experience in GIS mapping, data management, and row crops. This is in line with our strategy and plans for Scythe & Spade 2.0 enabling us to greatly expand our regional expertise to better serve our clients in deploying capital, broadening portfolios, liquidating assets, and managing those assets. Stay tuned for major announcements in the spring of 2021.

We are also moving forward with multi regional beta testers for FarmBase©,  our proprietary farmland analysis software, as well as formalizing other key strategic alliances. Additionally, we have and will continue to expand our Social Media outreach, including early experiments with Pod Casts and Live Interviews.

Looking forward to next week, we are reminded that gratitude is the most important of values, and that ingratitude is the worst of vices. Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; and to the fortunate, it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.

I am thankful for so much today... family and friends, safety and nourishment of course; but for the difficulties we all face daily as well. They are really opportunities, stepping stones to greater and more diverse, deeper experiences.

We have so much to be thankful for!