Farming Forward: Growing the Agriculture Industry with Mosaic

Explore the challenges and achievements of the agricultural industry with Sarah Fedorchuk, VP at Mosaic. Listen to discover how the company is transforming sustainable farming with inventive crop solutions. 🚜

Transcript

(0:00) Welcome to the Tomorrow's World Today podcast. (0:04) We sit down with experts, world-changing innovators, creators, and makers to explore how they're (0:11) taking action to make tomorrow's world a better place for technology, science, innovation, (0:18) sustainability, the arts, and more. (0:21) And now, this week's episode.
(0:24) In this episode of the Tomorrow's World Today podcast, George Davison, who is also the host (0:29) of Tomorrow's World Today on Science, interviews Sarah Fedorchuk, Vice President of Public (0:34) Affairs and Government Relations at Mosaic, a chemical company that mines and produces (0:38) potash and phosphate, which are essential minerals for crop nutrients. (0:43) Sarah discusses the ups and downs of Mosaic, highlighting challenges like fluctuating prices (0:47) and environmental concerns. (0:49) She emphasizes storytelling and creativity in her position, as well as the importance (0:53) of recognizing one's strengths to achieve success and the crucial role failures play (0:57) in making progress.
(0:58) Now, here's George Davison. (1:00) Welcome Sarah. (1:01) Thank you so much.
(1:02) So why don't we start off with a little bit about what is this Mosaic company that you (1:07) work for, and can you give us a little backstory? (1:10) Absolutely. (1:11) So at the heart, Mosaic helps farmers grow their crops better and stronger and more resiliently, (1:18) which means that when there's weather events like drought, crops grow better when you use (1:23) fertilizer. (1:24) So we make fertilizer and we ship it around the world to farmers, and then we help them (1:27) grow their crops.
(1:29) Wow. (1:29) So you, let's just get a size of, like a sense of size here. (1:33) How many employees are we talking? (1:35) We have about 12,000 employees.
(1:37) 12,000 employees. (1:39) And we help farmers in 40 different countries. (1:42) So all around the world.
(1:43) What kind of scale and size of revenue are we talking? (1:47) In the billions, depending on the year. (1:49) So we're in billions of dollars and thousands of employees, but I'm sure it didn't all start (1:55) out that way, right? (1:56) It didn't. (1:57) No, it didn't.
(1:58) So Mosaic was created almost 20 years ago when a company in Chicago called IMC merged (2:05) with a portion of the Cargill Company, which is one of the biggest agriculture companies (2:10) in the world. (2:10) So they merged together and created Mosaic, and right away we were one of the biggest companies (2:16) on the New York Stock Exchange the day we were created. (2:19) But really, Mosaic goes back decades.
(2:22) In Florida we have almost 150 years of operating history, and in Canada we have almost 60 years (2:28) of operating history. (2:29) So we've been mining and making fertilizer for a really long time. (2:34) And was there, 150 years ago, was there somebody with a shovel and they discovered what? (2:40) What are we dealing with there? (2:41) They discovered in Florida, in the Peace River, that there were granules of phosphate.
(2:48) Back then it was much less processed. (2:49) And that if they used that on their crops, their crops grew better. (2:52) And that's kind of how the phosphate boom in Florida, kind of in the 1880s, really started.
(2:58) Isn't that interesting. (2:59) So everything starts off younger and kind of grows over time. (3:05) I'm sure there have probably been some little rocky paths along the way, right? (3:10) No company's like perfectly straight up.
(3:12) No, definitely we're a commodity business, which means, you know, we're benchmarked with (3:18) worldwide crop prices. (3:20) And so there's definitely some ups and downs with how much we can charge our customers (3:26) for potash and phosphate. (3:28) So sometimes we make more money, sometimes we make less money.
(3:33) Sometimes we have to kind of challenge ourselves to solve different problems like environmental (3:37) issues from being a mining company and how best do we treat the environment around us (3:42) and the communities around us. (3:44) So the company and the industry has really changed a lot over the last, you know, century. (3:48) That's for sure.
(3:49) Oh, that's good. (3:50) I'm always intrigued with the stories of companies. (3:54) And I think I've learned over the years, like after working with a lot of younger people, (3:58) that when you look at things and they're already grown up, like we're already grown up.
(4:02) Companies are all, some of a lot of companies are, let's say, a hundred years old, 150 years (4:07) old for the original company you're talking about. (4:09) But I'm always interested in how things get started because young people are always wondering (4:15) how do I get started in life and how did all these people before me kind of do this? (4:22) So I'm hoping you'll share with us, you know, can you walk us back in your life? (4:27) Like what was going on in your life when you were younger that maybe got you onto a launch (4:33) pad to get you in this direction because you're a successful individual now. (4:37) So how did this come about? (4:40) So I think that when I was younger, when I was in elementary school and when I was in (4:44) high school, I didn't know what I wanted to do when I grew up.
(4:49) In fact, when I went to university, I only went for a year and then I dropped out without (4:53) telling my parents. (4:54) So I don't suggest anyone does that. (4:58) But I think I thought that, you know, I had to take all these classes that didn't really (5:03) interest me and try to like, you know, figure myself out.
(5:06) And it just really didn't work. (5:09) And so I think what I realized was you really have to like lean into your strengths and (5:13) what you're good at. (5:14) And for me, it was always telling stories and being creative.
(5:18) And eventually when I did go back to university, I went more into, you know, film and television (5:23) and media production and studies. (5:25) And I really kind of gravitated towards those things instead of the maths and sciences and (5:29) things that all my friends were really gravitating towards. (5:32) And now I work with, you know, amazing technical people and really respect their skill sets.
(5:38) I know, you know, how smart they are and how much like that clicks for them. (5:42) But for me, it just didn't click. (5:44) So I kind of had to find my own path.
(5:46) You know, what's funny is I know people in both camps, really good storytelling people (5:50) and really good technical people. (5:53) And I think there's a deep mutual respect for both because most of the deeply technical (5:59) people are not the best storytellers. (6:02) They're like, I can't get out there and tell that.
(6:04) But it works when we all come together. (6:07) And storytelling is such a very, very important part of what every single company does. (6:12) We have it for like in the political world, you might have to have interaction between (6:16) your company and the political world and you have to tell your story.
(6:19) Or maybe it's an advertisement for TV. (6:22) It's a marketing story that you need to tell. (6:26) Or, you know, there's a hundred different examples that we could go through.
(6:29) But I think it's a thank you for that, because I think some folks get confused on, you know, (6:34) the value of like, why would I want to become a good storyteller? (6:39) Well, it's really important because sometimes you have technology and you have complex business (6:46) situations that your audience can't understand until you have somebody like yourself that's (6:53) good at telling the story. (6:54) Yeah. (6:55) And I love my job now.
(6:56) I get to tell stories all day about a company that I'm really passionate about. (7:00) And so I think, you know, when you kind of find your groove and find what you're good at, it (7:04) really is a game changer of like where you can go in life. (7:07) Right.
(7:08) And in high school, if you would have taught me I was working for a mining company or a (7:11) fertilizer company, I would have been like, what? (7:13) And I've been with Mosaic for 15 years and really just enjoy every day and enjoy the work I do. (7:19) Well, that's great. (7:20) So I love the fact that you didn't know what you wanted to do and you navigated the world just (7:25) like all of us.
(7:26) Right. (7:27) OK. (7:28) Let's see here.
(7:29) Did you have any mentors when you were growing up? (7:32) I think I had quite a few mentors. (7:34) I think I've had my grandmother, who, you know, is 94 years young still and just a real (7:42) spitfire and kind of as a tell it as it is really kind, fun person. (7:47) And I really gravitated towards her.
(7:50) And we were very close and still are. (7:52) I think career wise, I've been very lucky that right when I needed it, a good mentor came in to (7:58) kind of teach me a skill or something that I needed to kind of go on to the next stage of my (8:03) career. So when I was younger, I worked in television and really enjoyed that.
(8:09) And then when it was time for me to do something else, kind of an opportunity presented (8:11) itself. And I think it's really important to kind of ask for advice and get mentors. (8:17) And sometimes you have to ask because people are busy and they don't realize that you might (8:21) need that mentorship or that guidance.
(8:23) Right. When you, you know, might be questioning what you want to do. (8:27) And I think but then when you ask people are always so flattered and they want to give (8:31) their time.
And so I think that was a lesson that I learned is don't be afraid to reach out (8:35) and ask people to, you know, have conversations or because it's, you know, you're (8:39) figuring yourself out. So it's important to kind of ask people that have been there before (8:42) you. That's a wonderful lesson.
(8:44) Did you have a teacher or two that you remember back in the early days? (8:48) I did. I do. Yeah.
(8:49) I had a couple of really great teachers. (8:51) I had a teacher, Alice Parkinson, who was in kind of theater and English. (8:57) And she was fantastic and really took a lot of time to kind of shepherd her students (9:02) along.
And then there was another teacher, Miss Chouette, again, an English teacher who was (9:06) just really passionate about teaching and what she did, but then also, you know, really (9:11) had high expectations, too, and ensured that she treated us like grownups, even in high (9:16) school. And I think that went a long way to kind of getting all of our respect. (9:19) That's great.
Yeah, it's wonderful that we, I know, I think we all have a few very (9:24) cherished memories of teachers that made great impacts in our lives. (9:28) So. All right.
(9:30) Well, that's great. Thank you for sharing that. (9:33) Let's see here.
If you had a child and you were going to give that child some advice (9:38) and you're looking at the world today and thinking about how to maybe help them on (9:44) their way, what would be a word of advice that you might give your own child? (9:49) So I have two teenage boys and they don't listen to me. (9:52) But if they did listen to me, I think there's two things. (9:56) I think you have to work hard.
(9:57) Right. And there's just no substitute for really, you know, when you find what you want (10:01) to do, just like really put in the work and the effort. (10:04) And a lot of times you're going to get the result that you want.
(10:08) And I also think, you know, don't be hard on yourself and don't be worried about like (10:12) reinventing yourself. Try something. (10:13) And if it doesn't work, it doesn't have to be the end of the world.
(10:16) You can go on and try something else. (10:18) And if that doesn't work and eventually if you just kind of keep curious and keep (10:23) exploring, you're going to kind of find what you're meant to do. (10:26) Wow.
I really like this interview so far. (10:30) Me too. I'm going to save this and show it to my children when they do start listening (10:35) to me.
(10:38) Oh, that's wonderful. (10:39) OK, let's see here. (10:41) Let's jump back to Mosaic for a minute.
(10:43) Yeah, absolutely. (10:44) Can you tell me something that you or Mosaic tried to do that failed? (10:50) And, you know, what did you do in response to that failure? (10:54) Did you pick yourself back up or did the project get just tossed to the side? (11:00) And how do you manage failure? (11:02) I think one of the examples that really sticks out for me is our automation work. (11:07) And so for years and years, Mosaic was really trying to automate our operations.
(11:12) And we were bringing in consultants and experts. (11:17) And, you know, we're kind of a unique kind of mining. (11:19) And it just really wasn't working the way we were hoping.
(11:22) And finally, there was a level set and our leadership really started to put a bunch of (11:28) like young engineers that we already had in the company on this project and kind of gave (11:32) it to them as a challenge. (11:33) And that's when we really started to see movement in that space. (11:38) And now, you know, when you guys came to visit us, you saw how much automation is in our (11:42) operations and we can automate things a kilometer underground from surface and we can (11:47) monitor, you know, different parts of our operations from 80 miles away in central (11:53) Florida.
And so if it hadn't been for the company to really realize that maybe we had (11:57) like the skill set internally and to put those, you know, really smart technical (12:03) engineers on this project and kind of let them go. (12:06) I don't know if we would have got the success that we've had to date. (12:09) So taking the chances, not knowing where you're going to go with it and just find the (12:14) best people you can take your shot.
(12:17) Yeah. And don't be afraid to like stop when you're down a path that's not working and go (12:21) into a different path. (12:23) It's kind of like life and like you were talking about earlier.
(12:26) Yeah. So I think in what we refer to that we fail our way forward. (12:32) And we say that all the time.
(12:34) So people like to kind of come in sometimes they think, oh, my gosh, everything you do (12:38) always is working. It's like, no, we just we fail a lot. (12:42) No, we just talk about the successes all the time because we don't talk about the (12:46) failures.
Right. Storytelling on the success is not the failure. (12:50) Right.
Maybe one day we'll have to flip that and see what kind of horror story we can put (12:56) together. All right. (12:58) So let's see here.
How about when you're working on a team? (13:01) Often there are lots of ideas floating around on how to solve a problem or improve (13:07) something. At Mosaic, how do you prioritize things so that you can make your progress (13:14) in a manner that is acceptable to, you know, getting the job done? (13:19) Yeah, I think, you know, as a company, obviously our prioritization has to be really (13:23) driven by business results. (13:25) Right.
We have a responsibility to our shareholders to drive revenue. (13:30) And so when there's always great ideas coming up from either our hourly workforce or (13:36) different engineering teams. (13:38) And so to really prioritize, we ask a lot of like questions about the economics of a (13:44) project.
I think one of the interesting things happening now in the company is, you (13:48) know, how are we balancing all of our sustainability projects against purely just, you (13:54) know, financial decisions? (13:56) Because sometimes the two aren't completely aligned. (13:58) So I just think that we're in an era as a company where there's like lots going on and (14:03) lots of times it's really about where our strategy is driving us and what the projects (14:09) are that we think are best going to get us there. (14:11) Yeah, it's interesting, the business that you're in now that you're bringing that up, (14:15) because it's challenging in the mining business and where, you know, the world of (14:19) sustainability.
And I was looking at some of the but there are so many unique pieces of (14:24) technology that you've come up with on how to transfer very heavy materials. (14:31) How can you transfer them more sustainably, which also tends to be more affordable? (14:38) So those can be in alignment with each other. (14:41) And so you get sustainability out.
(14:43) It's like a double win sometimes. (14:45) Now, I don't want to maybe create a slurry. (14:47) But if I create that slurry, I can transfer that by pipe and I don't have to have (14:53) thousands of trucks, all those engines running and all that wear and tear and all that (14:58) maintenance.
So there are so many different ways to think about sustainability and (15:02) technology that, yeah, I just really look at the way old ways of the way things were (15:08) done and the improvements that have been made today, as well as improvements with like (15:14) to human beings, like the AI or the robotics, how the sprayers in your business were (15:20) moving. That's all controlled remotely. (15:22) And I don't, you know, back in the old days, that would be done by somebody actually (15:27) holding on to that.
(15:28) Yeah. And that is hard on the body. (15:31) That's hard on the ears, everything.
(15:34) And so there's so many improvements in so many areas just in your business of mining and (15:39) whatnot. And I'm sure there'll be more improvements, which we're going to talk about (15:43) here. Yeah, absolutely.
(15:44) Let's chat about visual communication since you're liking storytelling. (15:49) OK, so when you're dealing with challenges and you're trying to communicate to others, do (15:56) you ever sketch or have artists do illustrations that might help others that are less (16:03) informed become informed about what could be? (16:07) So it's not a photograph of something that's already in existence, but we're going to (16:11) conceptually think something out. (16:13) How important is learning how to sketch and draw and convey your story that way? (16:21) I think learning to convey your story with whatever like medium or tools work best for (16:26) you or how you think is really important.
(16:28) And I think, you know, the more we research, the more we realize people, you know, (16:32) connect to storytelling in a different way. (16:34) Some people are so visual, some people are so tactile, some people prefer words. (16:38) And so I think figuring out what's easiest for you and telling your story is kind of (16:44) important.
And then, you know, the people that are going to gravitate towards your kind (16:48) were probably like minded. (16:49) Right. And so then how do you work as a team or, you know, be able to use other tools to (16:55) kind of cohesively tell a story that anybody can get is important.
(16:58) That makes sense. Yeah, I can see that. (17:01) Yeah, we do a bunch of like we'll do sketches that will go on to storyboards.
(17:05) Sometimes if it's a something that's going to be turned into a hard object, you know, (17:10) if you're trying to pull what's out of that imaginary mind and what's going on there, we've (17:14) learned it's so valuable to be a really good sketch person so that you can literally say (17:20) this is this is what I'm thinking. (17:21) Yeah. And so that's another type of storytelling that we that we do.
(17:26) But I like the other idea, too, because learning how to verbalize, maybe it's a form of (17:31) public speaking, but also learning how to convey your thoughts to your audience. (17:37) So we do a lot of that study as well in storytelling. (17:40) Know your audience.
(17:42) Who are you speaking with? (17:43) Yeah. And then how can you dream up the words that will capture their attention? (17:48) Yeah. And even with our employees now, you know, some people want to be hands on.
(17:53) So they want to like learn, you know, something, how to do something by being really hands (17:57) on in our operating environment. (17:59) Some people we have VR now. (18:01) So some people are really visual and they put the VR on and then they get to see what (18:05) they're supposed to do from an operational setting because they feel like they're like in (18:08) it.
And then some people are reading the manuals. (18:11) It's just so fascinating how different people learn now and how many options people have (18:15) now to learn. Right.
(18:17) It's that it's wonderful nowadays. (18:19) All right. So we're hearing that storytelling is important in your business.
(18:24) That's great to know. (18:26) And so let's get to the last big question. (18:29) OK.
What do you think is the next big innovation in tomorrow's world (18:35) from the Mosaic perspective? (18:38) And if it's not just Mosaic, it's the industry as a whole. (18:41) What's what's coming up? (18:42) So I think for all mining, we're looking at things like how do we use green (18:48) energy better? How do we reuse and reduce the amount of (18:54) resources that we're using? (18:55) So I think that's like a common theme. (18:57) I think one that I'm especially really excited about is the idea of circular economy.
(19:01) So for 100 years, we've mined phosphate, we've removed a byproduct called (19:06) phosphogypsum and we stacked it. (19:08) And then there was no need to ever look at it again. (19:10) But now we know that there's rare earth elements and there's other minerals in those (19:15) stacks.
And so how do we go back and look at something that we would have called waste 50 (19:19) years ago and find valuable things so that there doesn't have to be greenfield mines (19:24) that would be really resource intensive? (19:26) We can just reuse what we've already mined and it's just pretty much sitting there. (19:29) And I think more and more mining companies are going back and looking at their byproducts (19:34) and figuring out, can they have a second life? (19:37) And I think that's kind of going to be the new big frontier for a lot of different mining (19:41) companies. (19:42) That is so interesting.
(19:44) So there are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of products that have become useful (19:50) from other process waste. (19:53) And we actually include that in our design process. (19:57) We always try to design the waste out.
(20:00) But if there is going to be waste, what can you do with it? (20:02) Right. And so, yeah, I won't get into those kind of stories. (20:06) I think that's interesting to look at what you're taking in that world and then putting (20:12) it over here in a pile and then re-looking at it.
(20:16) Because maybe something today could use that, whereas 30 years ago it wasn't a useful (20:22) thing. Like maybe a circuit board wasn't, well, we didn't need this 50 years ago. (20:28) So that would be legitimate waste back then.
(20:31) But now we might need that rare earth inside that whatever that material is going to be (20:36) inside there. That's interesting. (20:38) And we're shipping it from China.
(20:39) So why wouldn't we just use something that's sitting right there and it's closer and (20:44) there's no transportation costs or environmental impacts from transportation. (20:48) It's just really sitting there. (20:50) And so that's wonderful.
(20:51) Trying to reimagine our entire process and using all the waste at the end, I think is (20:55) going to be a game changer for mining companies. (20:58) That's exciting. I hope you guys find some more discoveries there.
(21:01) That sounds like something I'd be interested in. (21:04) Absolutely. There's lots happening in the space.
(21:05) Yeah. We're gonna have to do a second episode where we just focus on all of the R&D (21:09) work that our chemists and researchers are doing in that space. (21:13) Oh, I'd love to hear more.
(21:15) Maybe we can bring some of that out to the TV show. (21:17) Yeah, absolutely. (21:18) Well, Sarah, thanks for coming in.
(21:19) Thank you so much. This was fantastic. (21:21) Well, everybody, Sarah gave us a great show today, and I appreciate her being here and (21:27) sharing some of her wisdom with us.
(21:29) I hope you learned something and you enjoyed yourself. (21:31) Thank you so much. This was fantastic.
(21:33) Thanks, everybody. (21:34) Bye, everybody. (21:35) Thanks for listening to this episode of the Tomorrow's World Today podcast.
(21:41) Join us next time as we continue to explore the worlds of inspiration, creation, (21:46) innovation and production. (21:49) Discover more at Tomorrow's World Today dot com and connect with us on social media (21:55) at TWT Explore and find us wherever podcasts are available.