Welcome to episode 28 of This is Ag! I'm here with Tony St. James, owner of Paramount Broadcasting and host of All Ag, All Day, the only all-farm radio station in the Southwest USA. Together, we explore the core values of the agricultural community: faith, optimism, perseverance, growth, inspiration, and connection. Throughout our conversation, Tony stresses the significance of investing time in truly understanding others. We explore the merits of venturing beyond our comfort zones, embracing curiosity, and discovering common ground not only within but beyond industry boundaries. We find that the key to learning lies in the art of asking questions. Tony highlights the resilience needed to overcome setbacks, showing that perseverance defines us more than failures. He shares that the wisdom of agriculture goes beyond the fields, offering lessons applicable to everyday life. In essence, by listening and engaging in meaningful conversations, we uncover the profound insights of the agricultural community and discover paths to personal and collective growth. Join us on this journey!
Welcome to episode 28 of This is Ag! I'm here with Tony St. James, owner of Paramount Broadcasting and host of All Ag, All Day, the only all-farm radio station in the Southwest USA. Together, we explore the core values of the agricultural community: faith, optimism, perseverance, growth, inspiration, and connection.
Throughout our conversation, Tony stresses the significance of investing time in truly understanding others. We explore the merits of venturing beyond our comfort zones, embracing curiosity, and discovering common ground not only within but beyond industry boundaries. We find that the key to learning lies in the art of asking questions.
Tony highlights the resilience needed to overcome setbacks, showing that perseverance defines us more than failures. He shares that the wisdom of agriculture goes beyond the fields, offering lessons applicable to everyday life.
In essence, by listening and engaging in meaningful conversations, we uncover the profound insights of the agricultural community and discover paths to personal and collective growth. Join us on this journey!
This episode is sponsored by UnitedAg, one of the largest association health plans to offer healthcare to the agriculture industry of California and Arizona.
Kirti Mutatkar, President and CEO of UnitedAg.
Reach me at kmutatkar@unitedag.org, www.linkedin.com/in/kirtimutatkar
UnitedAg website - www.unitedag.org
Episode Contributors - Tony St. James, Kirti Mutatkar, Dave Visaya, Rhianna Macias
The episode is also sponsored by Brent Eastman Insurance Services Inc. - https://brenteastman.com
Blue Shield of California - https://www.blueshieldca.com
Elite Medical - https://www.elitecorpmed.com
Gallagher - https://www.ajg.com/
SAIN Medical https://sainmedical.com/
MDI Network - https://www.mdinetworx.com/about-us
Kirti Mutatkar : Welcome to the show. This is Kirti Mutatkar. I'm the president and CEO at UnitedAg and I am [00:00:10] super, super excited today because I get to make somebody else nervous because the roles are reversed. I get interviewed and the interviewer is on the other side [00:00:20] today. And so I'm excited to introduce my guest. Welcome to the show, Tony.
Tony St. James : Thank you so much. Excited to be a part of this. You know, I think it's [00:00:30] kind of nerve wracking when we're nervous and we're unsure about something, but I think you would agree those are the opportunities when we present [00:00:40] ourselves to grow. And so as even though I'm a little nervous about being on the other side of the table here, the interview [00:00:50] table, I'm so excited about it because it also gives me the opportunity to go into areas that I'm not real comfortable with. Yeah.
Kirti Mutatkar : So [00:01:00] I'm looking forward to that. I'm looking forward to this conversation. So just to introduce yourself, Tony. So what do you do and why? Agriculture and what got you here.
Tony St. James : Well, I'll [00:01:10] try to make this short and sweet. It's 42 years now in radio and in media. I actually got a start [00:01:20] working for about a year for a small town radio station, and the owner at the time hired me. But then he told me after a while he [00:01:30] couldn't pay me until I got an FCC license and I had to be 16 to get the license. So I worked for about a year for free in quote unquote [00:01:40] learning mode training, if you will. Finally got my FCC license at the age of 16. It was an agricultural community, [00:01:50] but I wasn't interested in it. For me, it was the big city, the lights, and I wanted to do radio. I wanted to be a top 40 DJ back in [00:02:00] the 80s, and had everything pretty much mapped out along the way. All the stops I would make, all the connections I needed to make to get there, and [00:02:10] along the way got married and thought about having kids and just decided Dallas didn't need another disc jockey. But a [00:02:20] small town could use a good radio station, and we ended up finding a station in a town of about 3000 people. And [00:02:30] my wife and I moved here, and when we started, we had another business we were in the process of selling. It would provide the [00:02:40] down payment for this radio station and would also provide some working capital to get started. And one week before we were to take control, [00:02:50] the sale of our other business fell through. And just not knowing what to do, we were at the end of the rope and she simply said, [00:03:00] open up the Bible, see what it says.
Tony St. James : It's like, well, where do I go? And she said, I don't know, just open it up. And I opened the Bible up and it was Isaiah 33 [00:03:10] and it said, woe is you. Death and destruction comes. It's like, okay, nope, nope, we shouldn't be doing this. But she said, no, no, keep reading on and you get to a part where it says the fear [00:03:20] of the Lord is the key to your treasure. In other words, faith. We have to rely on faith. If we only walk [00:03:30] across areas where we know there's pavement and it's safe, we never get outside of our comfort zone. [00:03:40] So right next to the Bible, were two visa cards. We maxed both of those out for cash. Each one of them had 2000 in cash. [00:03:50] We made a $2,000 down payment and use $2000 to try to buy some time. After six months, no paycheck, [00:04:00] we were still here and here we are now, 28 years later, Farm Radio. The reason I do this is I hired somebody, uh, to do [00:04:10] our farm broadcasting. He left. I couldn't find anybody else. It needed to be done. So I jumped in and I found out the best way [00:04:20] to learn is to ask questions. So 28 years later, we now have an all farm station in Texas, and we send programming out [00:04:30] nationwide. And I still ask a lot of questions.
Kirti Mutatkar : That is an amazing story. That's an amazing story. So as you were talking, it [00:04:40] made me think, usually the two paths that come our way, right? The path that is well traveled and the path that's less traveled. And it depends on the [00:04:50] fork of the road which ones have you take and that becomes your life.
Tony St. James : Absolutely. Actually, along the way, I have had opportunities to step away [00:05:00] from the business and probably should have. Recall a time back in the 80s where series of events [00:05:10] left me actually sleeping in my car and working two jobs, trying to go to school full time and sleeping in a car with bucket seats that [00:05:20] didn't recline and that wasn't very comfortable. But we're not defined by our failures. We're defined by how [00:05:30] we get up and we move forward. That's where the real compelling stories come from. And I think kind of bringing this full circle, which is why I enjoy [00:05:40] so much the opportunity to talk to farmers and ranchers and those involved in Ag and people like Kirti, because I get to [00:05:50] hear stories about people and how they've overcome odds or face challenges, or the challenges they're currently facing and [00:06:00] looking for ways to plow through.
Kirti Mutatkar : Right. And especially when you look at even when I look through my podcast, when I'm talking to people, I [00:06:10] find that in agriculture more so than any other industry, how you get up and how you move forward after you've fallen has [00:06:20] a bigger impact than anywhere else. And that's the big lesson you learn in agriculture. Because this flooding Covid was followed by flooding in California. [00:06:30] Flooding comes in there, labor issues there. So something or the other. Sometimes we don't have too much rain. Sometimes we have too much rain. It's like it's like it's all some problem or the other, [00:06:40] right? Every day a problem comes up. And that's so true. So as you have talked to your guests over these years, what has been a common kind of a theme [00:06:50] that you get from these guests? You think, do you see trends or what do you see?
Tony St. James : Optimism, and I think it ties in perfectly to what [00:07:00] we've kind of been talking about -- the fact that the way we view life in general is what sets, I think, [00:07:10] agriculture apart from any other industry and really what sets the entire lifestyle. It's not just an [00:07:20] industry, it's a lifestyle. It's a feeling. It's a statement, if you will. We're proud when we say, I'm a farmer, [00:07:30] I'm a rancher, I'm a dairyman or a silviculturist or viticulturist or whatever it is. You know, we're very proud [00:07:40] to say that. So I think optimism and, you know, that optimism runs whether I'm talking with Eric Bream, who I know, you [00:07:50] know well from Bream Family Farms in Telleria Madero counties, and just hearing his optimism, despite some of the challenges, or [00:08:00] whether it's talking to members of Congress who are facing some really tough challenges and trying to find ways to find solutions, [00:08:10] and maybe that's a Jimmy Panetta, or maybe it's a Jim Costa, or maybe it's a, you know, a chairman of the House Ag Committee, [00:08:20] GT Thompson, whoever it is I'm talking to when it comes to Ag, there's optimism.
Kirti Mutatkar : Yeah, that's so true. The reason [00:08:30] I started This is Ag! was to see from a listener. So sometimes it could be somebody in agriculture. It could be somebody outside of agriculture. What [00:08:40] are some of the lessons that you and I who accidentally fell into this industry love about agriculture? What is it? Somebody from outside [00:08:50] listening in says, oh, that's something I can learn from this industry and apply right? Optimism is one I find, long term thinking [00:09:00] versus short term thinking, because we cannot do short term thinking. It's not about the next quarter. It's not about the next year. It's about planting that seed for years and [00:09:10] years to come. My excitement or my thing when I do this is like, is that's what I get. Even I learn every time I talk to someone.
Tony St. James : I think that's spot [00:09:20] on. You know, one of the other things that those involved in agriculture are problem solvers. That's every [00:09:30] day it's a problem. You know, I think of those who are first responders. You know, let's take a firefighter. [00:09:40] How often do they get called out for a birthday party or some joyous celebration? They're always [00:09:50] headed out because somebody has a problem. And I think in agriculture it's a little different, but not much, because every day [00:10:00] in Ag is going to be a stack of problems, obstacles. They're challenges, and we have to find [00:10:10] ways to get through them. And I think that's one thing that I really pull from Ag is that it realizing that problems and situations [00:10:20] like that are the norm. If you don't like solving problems, you're going to hate being an Ag. And then the second part of that is [00:10:30] building solutions. Not for a short term. We might be fixing an issue right now. That's a short term, [00:10:40] but we're looking for a long term viable outcome. And that's why I think those in Ag who buy land [00:10:50] and those who take out the operating notes year after year, the million dollar or so operating notes do that is [00:11:00] because they're looking down the road trying to build something and leave it better than when they first took over. Mm.
Kirti Mutatkar : That [00:11:10] is interesting because the fact of leaving it better than where how they started off. And sometimes [00:11:20] you see people from outside not understanding that. And when you look at the environment issues, right, you feel you're eroding the land. But [00:11:30] somebody who is going to be thinking long term is thinking this land is going to this earth, is going to give me. And wouldn't you take care? I mean, that's something you [00:11:40] take care of, leave in a better place. So that's interesting that I heard you say that that's what Ag does. You’re absolutely right. You leave a place in a better place. [00:11:50]
Tony St. James : And again, it's whether you're directly involved in Ag or whether you're an ancillary business, whether you're [00:12:00] dealing with insurance or maybe an auto dealer or an equipment manufacturer. I think we're all doing the same thing. [00:12:10] I think it's easy and this might be a bad analogy, but we get real worked up in sports. If it's football [00:12:20] about who's going to win the Super Bowl. And oh, we're making all of these changes in the off season to win it all, or [00:12:30] an NBA championship or whatever the sport is. Right. But those in many instances are things that are being done for this [00:12:40] year. It's so hard in a sporting environment to make changes to help you win 20 years later, because [00:12:50] one, the fans won't wait that long. We want instant gratification, and I think sometimes that mentality [00:13:00] comes out in consumers and those who are not involved in Ag. They see something and see it as something immediate, [00:13:10] something that's happening and oh my gosh, it must be happening. If it's bad, it's happening everywhere. Just not understanding that what's happening today is [00:13:20] a small piece in this very large puzzle.
Kirti Mutatkar : That's a really good thought. I have to sit on it and think about that. That's a great thing. [00:13:30] What you just said and how you see that all across in agriculture. And it's very interesting that you have those day to day things that you have to react to, [00:13:40] right? You have your weather, like I said, it rains or not rains. You react to it and you're thinking long term and you're thinking, this tree [00:13:50] that I’m now I'm taking care of is going to start giving me walnuts, almonds, or year after year after year after year. And it's interesting that [00:14:00] the balance that you have to do every day, day in and day out and how that works, and that could be a big learning, not just to run a business, but to run our lives. I think [00:14:10] it's like just personal lives, like looking at it from that lens. That's amazing.
Tony St. James : Yeah. As you're saying that, I'm thinking about how you mentioned a tree [00:14:20] and, you know, let's take almonds, if you will, or almonds, depending upon what part of the state. But let's take that for just a moment. [00:14:30] You don't put that in the ground and expect production immediately. You're nurturing that. And it's something that you know how long [00:14:40] it's going to take, and it's somewhat of a relationship. Now, what if we took that and brought it back to what we do on a daily [00:14:50] basis? I mentioned earlier, sometimes consumers and those outside of Ag don't know what we do, and sometimes we get frustrated [00:15:00] with them when they ask, well, which cow does the chocolate milk come from? Which cow gives me the soy milk? [00:15:10] And we immediately jump to what a dumb question. Yeah, one of the areas that I've really started challenging myself [00:15:20] in is looking at relationships and trying to find ways to have relationships and build relationships [00:15:30] with people I might not have anything at all in common with, and for one, it gives me the chance to learn. [00:15:40] I'm kind of sounding like Forrest Gump here. I'm not a smart man, Jenny. Yeah, but I can learn a lot from people, even [00:15:50] people I don't agree with. So what if we approached life more often by saying, what if I'm wrong? What [00:16:00] if everything I've thought up to this point is wrong? What can I learn from this person? And we might not find ourselves [00:16:10] changing our mind or changing our position, but maybe it would help us to better understand where they're coming from. Why do they ask us [00:16:20] which cow the chocolate milk comes from? Why do they look at Ag and think we're polluting the water? And [00:16:30] why is it better to eliminate all fossil fuels or whatever the subject is? I think if we spent more time trying [00:16:40] to build those relationships with people we don't feel necessarily comfortable with, yeah, we could build a better outcome for Ag, [00:16:50] much like planning that almond tree. For a long term productive future.
Kirti Mutatkar : You know, as you're talking [00:17:00] about it. I just recently this morning had a conversation with my WomenAg group and I was explaining, there are two sets of individuals, right? [00:17:10] One person comes in with, I know it, I, I'm going to teach you. I need to just change the way I talk to you or the way I market [00:17:20] to your brand, to you, because I know it and you don't know it. Right? And the other person comes out saying, I don't know, I'm modest, I'm [00:17:30] curious. I just need to understand. And I related that back to how a business can also be run, because even a business can come in and say, I [00:17:40] know how health plans should work, and I know this is the best thing from a health insurance standpoint, and I know how to do this and you run that company a certain way. But [00:17:50] when you start from being modest and saying, okay, I need to understand, I need to grow, I need to not speak to people, but I need to converse [00:18:00] with people. And together we learn and together we create this. And that's what you're saying. Because, yeah, you could take two different ways of looking at how [00:18:10] people react to agriculture.
Kirti Mutatkar : One would be, oh yeah, you're stupid enough. You don't understand how this works. And then my message is different. But for me saying, oh, [00:18:20] maybe I don't understand, let me be that curious self to understand why somebody is asking. That was a very dull, beautiful. Right on. So [00:18:30] as you're talking through this and as I go through United Ag, as I go through learning from my guest and this is Ag and my WomenAg Academy, I [00:18:40] find that I am a better person today than I was yesterday. So you and I talked yesterday or two days ago. And that's a very different person [00:18:50] than today because I've learned a few things just talking to you. I mean, I'm taking notes like crazy and I'm like, I'm going to use this in my personal life too. Do you see that happen as [00:19:00] you're going through your journey in the last couple, 28 years in this position and 41 years in broadcasting and doing this? Does the Tony, the 16 year old was looking [00:19:10] for that certification and the Tony of today, what has this taught you?
Tony St. James : You know, I thought I had it all figured out. Of course, at 16. Who doesn't? [00:19:20] You're right. Don't we know everything at 16? And by the time we're 22, we really know it all. There has been so many changes. I've kind [00:19:30] of been thinking about this over the past week. A couple of the largest companies involved in broadcasting radio [00:19:40] have filed for bankruptcy, and just recently, a broadcaster in our region who has [00:19:50] a couple of handfuls of radio stations, had to file bankruptcy as well. And it really got to thinking about what sets. And [00:20:00] this is radio, but I think we can apply it to health care or Ag or whatever. But I think one of the downsides [00:20:10] of being in an industry for a while is that you're right. We think we have all the answers. We figured out how [00:20:20] to do it. Oh, well, that didn't work. We're not going to do that again. Or yeah, I don't know. That's kind of far fetched or that's going to take a lot of [00:20:30] time. Today was the first day, I think, in a long time that I told a co-worker, that's impossible. [00:20:40] I try never to say that's impossible, because once you do that, you've put yourself in a box and we're all in boxes. I [00:20:50] think those that live in small boxes, they're comfortable with feeling the sides of that box, and they don't accept change so [00:21:00] much because that's not comfortable to them. People like me, I live in a very large box, and that way I can run around and before I bounce [00:21:10] off of a wall. But I found myself where a bit of maturity is finally stepped in and I said, that's impossible right [00:21:20] now for me because I know my limitations.
Tony St. James : It's a funny thing. As we get older, we suddenly can't do [00:21:30] some of the things that we've done our entire life, whether it's a physical thing, might be something dealing with mental or whatever, but [00:21:40] we start to recognize that we have limitations with what we can do. And I told him, I said, it's impossible right now for me [00:21:50] to put anything else on my plate. This is possible. But in order to do that, we have to wipe all this other stuff off [00:22:00] of the plate. I can't put this big tomahawk steak on my plate if I've got it full of pasta [00:22:10] and salad and everything else, and I think there's a level of maturity for us where we finally realize, not necessarily impossible, [00:22:20] but sometimes doing more is not the right thing. Maybe stopping and saying, let's rethink what we're doing [00:22:30] right now. Are we doing things the best way? Are we using the best technology that we can? And I said, somebody might be in [00:22:40] that small box. That small box sometimes keeps us from finding the answer that we need in order to survive another day. [00:22:50] And I think that's what's happened to some of these radio companies, is they've relied on a model that worked 20 years ago. It no longer [00:23:00] works today. And if you're not willing to step out of that box and be uncomfortable, and again, bringing it full circle to the way we started our conversation, [00:23:10] if I'm not willing to step out and be uncomfortable, answering questions from you will never grow. And if we're not growing, [00:23:20] then our business, our relationships will suffer over time.
Kirti Mutatkar : That is so true. I would see it as if you stop growing. [00:23:30] I think that would be the end, right? I mean, the minute we stop growing, that's the end of who we are, because what's the point to anything after that? And [00:23:40] that's the exciting part. And I hear that in your voice as you're talking about this. And it is interesting that we have talked a couple of times over the years. [00:23:50] And this as I'm talking to you and as I'm writing notes and reflecting on some of the things that you're saying, there [00:24:00] are so many nuggets out there. It's like, it's just amazing. This was so energizing. I don't think you even realize the impact of it. And I [00:24:10] as I'm thinking, even if this doesn't go and we don't publish this, I think this has been an amazing conversation because just the thought process of how you approach [00:24:20] things, and that's extremely inspirational. Thank you for this. I'm really, really glad I saw this side of you.
Tony St. James : Well, I'll admit [00:24:30] I'll stay on that same analogy here. Anybody who goes out to eat with me very often, unless it's going [00:24:40] to the same restaurant, which I do from time to time, but especially when I'm on the road, I'll look through a menu, but usually we'll never order off [00:24:50] the menu. My first question, and if I'm not real sure, I might say to the staff, the server, what are your two [00:25:00] favorites? Give me two recommendations. Now that can go very badly, uh, very badly. However, [00:25:10] it also gives you the opportunity again, this whole idea of stepping outside of your comfort zone. [00:25:20] You know, for me, Whack-a-mole was something I would need as a kid because I didn't like the way it looked. It must be horrible. Or Brussels sprouts. I [00:25:30] hate the fact that I was on this earth 40 years before I found a love of Brussels sprouts, and we'll [00:25:40] only find those things if we're willing to step out of that comfort zone and try something new. You know what? You've had hamburgers everywhere. Maybe [00:25:50] there's another meal sitting there waiting for us. So maybe sometime you and I can have lunch together and you can show me something different. [00:26:00] And hopefully I'll have a different meal for you as well.
Kirti Mutatkar : Sounds like a plan. We should do this. And it's so interesting. Right? It's like, uh, you and I have, like [00:26:10] I said, have talked so many times, but there's sometimes things connect and it suddenly forms a deeper connection. You were talking about relationships earlier and kind of [00:26:20] looking at relationships at a different level from a going deeper into your relationships. And I've been giving that some thought and this connection [00:26:30] with you. I definitely want to share a meal with you and definitely want to come down. And you come here and we connect because this is awesome. I love, [00:26:40] love, loved connecting with you. This was really cool. Anything else you think we missed?
Tony St. James : I just think that it's ironic that you ended that your [00:26:50] words there by saying connect. And isn't that the conference thing?
Kirti Mutatkar : Yes.
Tony St. James : Of the conference.
Kirti Mutatkar : Maybe it is perfect. [00:27:00] The annual conference coming up in two weeks in Napa. It's in my mind and I'm thinking, right, as I was mentioning to you a couple of days ago, how [00:27:10] do connections and going deeper into your connections help solve for business problems? That's the challenge I'm kind of taking [00:27:20] on.
Tony St. James : Thank you. Thank you for taking the time and the interest again. It's easy to look at our days and [00:27:30] Paramount Broadcasting is our parent company, but Paramount Broadcasting is my wife and me. Yeah, she's a teacher and [00:27:40] we have two employees here, so there are three of us that run our business, if you will. And that's not uncommon for farm families and [00:27:50] those in agribusiness already. But it's real easy for us to kind of get in a place where we go, well, I don't really have time to do this. And the fact [00:28:00] that you took the time to reach out and say, hey, I want to visit with you for a few minutes and I just want to talk free form. That speaks volumes. I [00:28:10] think we need to be doing that more often. I need to be doing that more often as well. Because again, back to that whole connection thing. There's so much for me to learn, [00:28:20] and I've already learned so much just in this conversation from you, but so much for us to learn. If we'll just stop and [00:28:30] spend a little time with each other.