A Life of Giving to Agriculture

STORY BY NANCY L. SMITH | PHOTOS BY REMSBERG, INC. AND NANCY L. SMITH | “IT’S REALLY ALL ABOUT AGRICULTURE,” SAYS JENNY RHODES, CURRENT CHAIR OF THE MIDATLANTIC FARM CREDIT BOARD OF DIRECTORS. REFERRING TO HER MANY ROLES IN MARYLAND AGRICULTURE, JENNY COULD HAVE ALSO BEEN DESCRIBING HER ENTIRE LIFE—EMPHASIZING AGRICULTURE FROM HER CHILDHOOD TO HER CURRENT FULL PLATE OF ACTIVITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

Jenny was active in 4-H and FFA at a time when young women were uncommon in the industry. She received a business degree from Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Maryland. “Later, when I was running a farm, taking care of children, and working for Extension, I went back to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and got my degree in agriculture and my masters in extension education.”

Jenny has been growing chickens for 31 years and currently grows about a half million birds a year for Allen Harim. She also operates a 100 acre irrigated grain farm.

She has been on the Delmarva Poultry Industry board for many years, serving as President in 2012 and currently serves on the executive committee.

In 1997, she joined Queen Anne’s County Extension. Now as a senior agent, “I focus on agronomy, poultry, and risk management, and under that comes women in agriculture.” Jenny is proud of Annie’s Project, an Extension program created to empower women in agriculture to develop networks and skills.

In 2006 she graduated from LEAD Maryland. LEAD Maryland fellowships focus on public issues, education, skills building, and leadership development.

“4-H and FFA were a foundation, but it was LEAD Maryland that pushed me to the next step of leadership,” says Jenny.

“My class went to China. There is hardly a day that goes by when we don’t talk about China or trade with China, so being able to be there and see the way they farm and the government, I think it all ties back to really making me a better board member.”

In 2008, she was recruited to run for the Farm Credit board. “I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a pretty big honor.’ I was pretty humbled by that.

“Part of being in LEAD Maryland is to give back in leadership and I thought, ‘here’s my time to give back.’”

Since joining the board, she led the human resources, governance and audit committees before ascending, in less than 10 years, to the position of chair in May 2018.

“The role of the Chair is to be the leader,” explains Jenny. “To listen and generate good discussion, to make sure, before we vote, that we’ve had enough discussion and that everybody understands what the topic is; to help to set the board agenda; and to have good discussions with the CEO [Tom Truitt] to make sure we are thinking strategically because we really want to be a leader in the Farm Credit system.”

Jenny stresses the importance of “the relationships you build with board members of other associations. Anytime you go to a meeting, it’s about learning,

but it’s about the networking, too. “I can bring that information back to make our board a better board. That’s always my goal—to improve and make things better.”

“The hardest thing about being board chair,” she says, “is that you really don’t get to vote unless there’s a tie. I’m pretty boisterous, so for me it is important to learn to listen and make sure everybody is being heard.”

She explains board operations, “The chair and vice chair work together with senior management and the CEO to set the agenda. The board works collaboratively together. My job is to navigate the board in making decisions through open discussion.”

In recognition of Jenny’s leadership and contributions, Chesapeake College recently created an endowed scholarship in her name.

“The school raised $30,000 for the scholarship. That is proof to me that the things I have done really do pay back. Each one of the poultry companies gave $5,000. Even though I grow for one company, [as a DPI board member and Extension agent] you represent all of them when you speak about the whole commercial poultry industry in general. To me, that was one of the ‘aha!’ moments.”

When the college approached her about establishing the scholarship, she stipulated, “My scholarship was not only for tuition, but it could be for books, it could be to pay for child care, it could be to pay for gas to get there. There is so much more to college than just paying the tuition.”

A plaque in her office reads, “This is no ordinary farm girl you’re dealing with.”Nothing could be more true.

“FAMILY FOR ME IS THE MOST IMPORTANT. I COULD NOT DO ALL THAT I DO IF IT WASN’T FOR MY FAMILY,” SAYS JENNY RHODES, WHOSE ENTIRE FAMILY LIVES NEARBY. HER SON CHRIS FARMS AND RAISES CHICKENS FOR PERDUE; HE AND HIS WIFE SHANNON HAVE TWO SONS, HUNTER AND COLE, AND A NEW DAUGHTER, AUDREY. HER SON RYAN GROWS FOR ALLEN HARIM AND ASSISTS IN HIS MOM’S CHICKEN OPERATION; HE AND HIS WIFE RACHEL HAVE A SON OLIVER AND ARE EXPECTING A NEW ADDITION. JENNY’S PARENTS, TEMPLE AND PAT RHODES, OPERATE CHESTNUT VALE FARM LANE FARM.