Why Creando Mañana – Creando Mañana is an agricultural consulting company catering to individuals, organizations, and companies looking for a fresh perspective, insightful review, and the opportunity to create untraditional approaches that result in substantial and meaningful change, Creando Mañana is a 100% minority-owned and operated small business.

Opportunities abound, it is finding the ones that can lead to success for our stakeholders that is Creando Mañana’s ambition and calling. Likewise, it is important to identify and avoid the minutiae that entrench us away from our primary objectives. Creando Mañana strives to focus on opportunities that help create positive change.

The Principal, Florentino Lopez – My past experiences have molded me into an accomplished professional that seeks to find ways to help individuals and businesses flourish. I strongly believe that I can assist you and your organization continue to excel. I look forward to a meaningful discussion about how my past experiences can strengthen your future effectiveness and lead to even more success for you, your team, and your operation.

I am a South Texas native with deep roots in the area and agriculture. My family history stretches back to Rancho San Jose and the area around Ben Bolt and the Calaveras Cemetery circa 1830. Although I grew up in Corpus Christi, I spent much of my time on farms and ranches throughout the area including Benavides, La Sejita, and all points in between. I received a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education from Texas A&M University at Kingsville.

After graduation, I started a 20+ year career in the swine industry that led, most recently, to a 10+ year career in the farming industry. I have worked, built, trained, led teams, and started operations in multiple countries while giving educational and promotional seminars in over 25 countries. Additionally, I have had the opportunity to introduce multiple project strategies and key development items that, when combined, continue to provide farmers with the potential for added profit.

As a person, I am relatable to any audience, from dignitary to consumer, domestic or abroad, from the boardroom to turn row, office to farm. Acceptance into any circle is a fundamental personality trait that has enabled me to listen, learn, grow, and produce at high levels. I am an analyzer, developer, and implementer who thinks and creates beyond the front porch.

As a manager, I have built, trained, and led various teams from on-farm production employees working to provide high-quality products to the public, to technical professionals responsible for research and promotion. I have touched on all areas of management including human relations, internal and external communications, accounting, marketing, strategic development, and budget development. I have served as a mentor throughout my career.

As an executive, I have created and monitored policies and procedures for the administration of for-profit businesses and a federal organization. I have analyzed market dynamics and developed strategies and programming to increase opportunities for farmers. From contract negotiations to partner collaborations and project development, I have been focused on creating tomorrow.

As an advocate, I have led conversations, provided technical expertise, conducted on-farm visits, and gained and shared knowledge in my extensive world travels. I have given educational and promotional seminars in over 25 countries. Additionally, I have served as an ambassador to international visitors coming to learn, understand, and do business with our great American farmers and agriculture supply chain.

As an advisor, I have helped educate, counsel, and develop business interns into skilled professionals. My years of experience have provided me with an ability to meaningfully understand individuals and situations and use those skills to further their professional and leadership opportunities. I am an astute, seasoned professional that has a strong willingness to share my experiences and knowledge to help others more easily navigate the intricacies of our roles in work, society, and home.

As a public relations professional, I am skilled in the diplomacy of creating tactful conversations in difficult situations that lead to understanding and a willingness to listen. I have served as an informative voice for several industries and in many situations on radio, print, and in public settings. I have served on boards, committees, and groups intended to foster development and leadership.

As a networker, I have built and maintained an extensive connections base that offers a sounding block, mentorship, and experiences that serve useful in many settings. Comprised of both domestic and international individuals from many industries, backgrounds, and occupations that can help assist in multiple areas.

As a human relations professional, I have hired, worked with, led, managed, and counseled multicultural teams in many capacities from line workers to professional researchers. These experiences have provided knowledge and insight that will be useful to teams, individuals, and companies in their development and success.

As a strategist, I seek innovative solutions that can lead to success. I seek to identify the goal(s) best suited to provide you success and work to find a path towards those goals while avoiding the pitfalls, forks in the road, and squirrels that inevitably present themselves along the way. The mission is to achieve the goal not to succeed in the individual trials or shortfalls. One must illuminate, reiterate, and, persist to be successful in attaining the goals most likely to move your organization forward.

As a developer/implementer, I have implemented and audited several programs within the regulatory framework of the USDA. These programs were created by USDA and initiated by organizations to serve producers and/or markets. One such program was designed to allow for specific marketing of swine products in the EU. The program required meticulous recordkeeping of specific parameters that met the USDA and EU standards allowing for product sales.

As a consultant, I remain focused on analyzing, developing, and creating untraditional approaches that allow for opportunities to leapfrog our limitations. Continuously assessing, adapting, and achieving is a central focus of a long-term strategy. In a rapidly changing landscape, it is not nearly enough to be like the mainstream we must strive to be more.

My past experiences have molded me into an experienced professional that seeks to find ways to help individuals and businesses flourish. I strongly believe that I can assist you and your organization continue to excel. I look forward to a meaningful discussion on how my past experiences can help strengthen your future effectiveness and lead to even more success for you, your team, and your operation.

Leapfrog Thinking and Creating– In a rapidly changing landscape it is not nearly enough to be like the mainstream. Consumers, end-users, stakeholders, and the public are looking for something they don’t even know they were missing or needed. It is critical to avoid the pitfalls of getting to be as good as the competition or what we see as our limitations. In this type of scenario, you are always playing into the hand of the competition while always being a follower. Exploring, analyzing, developing, and creating untraditional approaches allows for the opportunity to leapfrog our limitations or the competition. Continuously assessing, adapting, and achieving must be a central focus of the long-term strategy.

cSmart – Collaborative Sorghum Marketing Transformation Program, served as the developmental architect of the program. I developed the foundational document that allowed for the development of the program that led to the USCP Board of Directors funding $1.15 million as a founding member. cSmart similarly to CSIP shall work to leverage investments made to the program.

CSIP - Collaborative Sorghum Improvement Program, served as the developmental architect and founding board member of the program. I developed the foundational document that allowed for the USCP Board of Directors, Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Board of Directors, Kansas State University, and Kansas Department of Agriculture to accept and fund the project. Base established funding of $5 million. Since its inception in 2016, the program has now attracted/leveraged an additional $4.1 million.

LEAP –Served as the catalyst in the development of LEAP initially intended to represent Leveraging Energy, Aspiring Progress that later became Leveraging Efforts to Accelerate Progress in the sorghum industry. LEAP was successfully developed by Dr. Bill Rooney at Texas A&M University with a $1.4 million investment from the USCP Board of Directors.

Sorghum ID – Served as an advisor to offer an understanding of the fundamentals of U.S. checkoff programs and USCP to facilitate awareness and increase sorghum’s footprint internationally. This has led to the development of sorghum in multiple EU countries at a growing rate and increased consumer awareness and use.

Creando Mañana – Serve as the primary in building Creando Mañana into a credible agricultural consulting company. This has, is, providing services to several agricultural companies. Creando Mañana has become the largest outlet for general sorghum information. Currently, Creando Mañana has amassed over 100 data slides on the industry as well as countless additional items being used by National, State, and Local organizations, seed companies, buyers, sellers, farmers, and others to understand the dynamics within the industry.

Creando Mañana will continue to develop proprietary, leading information that has and will be useful to all industry parties. Creando Mañana serves as the source of information for almost all internationals. See attached examples of information provided to producers, buyers, sellers as well as others.

Container Project – As a result of Creando Mañana’s continued efforts with USCP and sorghum, I have remained engaged in the development of a container project. Although independent of my work with the Checkoff, this would not have happened if I were not in some way working with sorghum. This project, if it becomes a reality, will offer a new avenue for the export of agricultural products that is so desperately needed.

Project Brand – As my efforts continue to strengthen, I can help buyers and sellers connect and develop relationships. My current goal is to develop a master relationship whereby a large producer can develop a sales relationship that will supply a specific market end-user with a branding opportunity. Although this is an area that has not been overly developed by buyers and sellers, customers are ready for such activities.

Seed Company Solutions – As my efforts and experiences continue to develop, I have been able to support the industry in many new ways. With worldwide contacts and discussions with seed companies here and abroad, I can help them gain knowledge of what producers and end-users are in search of. This information could help increase demand for sorghum and improve competitiveness. I have attended multiple meetings to assist companies with producer education.

Due Diligence Research – Expanded efforts towards providing information, SWAT analysis, data, and assumptions to aid in the determination of potential value, long-term viability, and return on investment potential.