Sitting Down With Russ Morman (Part Two)

by Ag LeaderJun 5, 2017Ag Leader

In this two-part blog series, I sit down with Russ Mormon, master of the ag tradeshow, and all things Ag Leader. Russ started with Ag Leader right out of college and has been here 20 years as of this month! Many of you know him and well, you’ll probably agree – to call him an interesting character is a bit of an understatement!

Russ is a beloved member of our team because he is always willing to help out where needed, has a great attitude and no matter where you’re at, he always knows where to find a killer restaurant.

If you missed part 1 of this installment, you can find it here.

Ag Leader: I know you have many funny stories but what would you say is most memorable in your mind? (that you can share).

RM:

1. Well, that eliminates 99% of my stories.
2. Meeting Joni Ernst at the 2016 Farm Progress Show was cool
3. Sadly, I was at Husker Harvest on Sept 11, 2001
4. After Farm Progress shut down one day many years back, somebody fired up a monster truck and was doing hole shots down the aisles. This was prior to the roads being paved.
5. In 2010, at the Farm Science Review, we had a heck of storm come through at the end of the day. We had already put the golf cart in the tent for the night. It was a SOLID wall of rain and HIGH winds that we watched come across the whole show grounds. When it finally got to us, one of the reps said something like “Abandon the tent, boys! Every man for himself!” He shall remain unnamed for the sake of his dignity! The winds blew our tables over and made a complete mess. After it passed, we picked stuff up and noticed that tents throughout the grounds had been blown down and a lot of damage had been done.

6. Meeting Bill Clinton at the 2011 Kansas Agribusiness Association Meeting.
7. Helping Boyet celebrate his FIRST ticket (Parking ticket) in Saskatoon, SK

8. Meeting some colorful characters at the 2011 Farm Progress show

9. The epic blizzard at the 2009 Dealer event in Ames, where we introduced the Ag Leader® Integra and ParaDyme®, our first hydraulic integrated steering system.

10. At the 2012 Dealer event, I got to play the part of how NOT to do a customer open house
11. In 2016, Ag Leader was honored with the Innovations Award at the Western Canadian Farm Progress Show in Regina, SK. I got to meet the Saskatoon Minister of Ag, Lyle Stewart.

Ag Leader: What do you like most about being on the road/attending farm shows?

RM:

1. Freedom

2. Meeting interesting people and learning about them.

3. Being able to help folks out when they have questions on products both existing and potential customers. Many of the folks I see on the road have been Ag Leader customers for many years and come by to see me if even just to say hello.

Ag Leader is family to me. In 20 years I’ve seen a lot of changes, seen folks come through and move on. But through thick and thin, Al’s ideals still survive. I’m honored to have been a small cog in the exciting world of Precision Ag. I look forward to the next 25 years and the exciting things coming down the road. Agriculture is VERY important to me. and the fact that I get to combine my passion for electronics and Agriculture means that, as I’ve heard it said, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”

There is still an adventure in travel for me. I’ve come to realize that this life isn’t for everybody. In fact, the majority of folks decide it isn’t for them. I’m hoping that I never tire of it and I’m hoping that Ag Leader never tires of ME!