Ag Leader the Podcast

Welcome to ag leader, the podcast. I’m your host, Russ Mormon in celebration of Ag Leader’s 30th anniversary. I’m here to bring you a limited edition series about the evolution of agriculture and Ag Leader. Ag Leader has been and continues to be an industry leading innovator in the precision ag sector. We provide a complete line of top tier products, designed and tested to help growers plan, plant, apply and harvest more efficiently and effectively. Our products are backed by a full technical support team and a commitment to quality unmatched in the industry.

As your host, I’m here to guide you through the 30 year journey that started with the first ever commercially successful on-the-go yield monitor created by our president and CEO, Al Myers to the full line of aftermarket agricultural solutions we offer today.

I’ll be sharing how both everyday farmers and influencers like the New York Farm Girls and Mark Thomas utilize our products to improve the day to day functions on their farms. But first, to set the scene you must be wondering who is Russ Mormon. You really should know that already, but how am I qualified for the role of host for Ag Leaders first ever podcast?

Well, as John Levitz, once famously said, let’s get to know me. Who is Russ Mormon? So for a little background, I’m originally from the small town of Bouton, Iowa, which is about 45 minutes Northwest of Des Moines. I grew up on a small cow/calf operation. We also did a farrow-to-feeder operation. We had chickens turkeys, geese, guinea, all sorts of yard birds, and plus our family does row crop as.

So after high school, I went to Iowa State University to get a bachelor’s degree in Ag business. Now that had a lot of influence on what I wanted to do when I took a class in agronomy that mentioned precision agriculture. During my last semester at Iowa state, I took a sales class. I became friends with a guy by the name of Reed Hester ,that semester flew by and before I knew it, I was within a couple of weeks of graduating and was one of the only friends that I had that didn’t have a job yet.

I began to panic a little bit because I had college loans to pay and I did not have a job. Just through happenstance Reed mentioned that a company he worked for was looking for an inside sales rep. With a little word from Reed, I managed to get an interview and that interview was with Al. After three hours of interview, I got the job in May of 1997 and the rest, as they say is history.

As of May, I’ve now been at ag leader for 25 years. Probably my favorite part of the job is getting to travel to different areas and meeting folks interested in Ag Leader equipment, learning about new areas of the country and crops that I didn’t know anything about, smelling apple harvest in New York, watching cotton be picked in Texas.

All of which I really, really enjoy. I also enjoy speaking at grower meetings, learning from farmers and I also work a lot of trade shows. If you’ve been to any of the major trade shows, National Farm Machinery Show, Farm Progress Show, Commodity Classic, and a bunch of other ones we’ve probably met and talked before.

However, I have plenty of other hobbies and passions outside of work. I can usually be found tinkering in my shop, talking about old cars, taking old cars out for a drive wrenching on old cars, cussing about old cars. There’s perhaps a little bit of a theme there, but most of all, taking them out and seeing the, the wonders of the countryside.

Also enjoy making barbecue on my offset smoker. And at the end of the day, I like to kick back with a good cigar and some Kentucky bourbon, which I’m sure we’ll talk about more throughout our short series of these podcasts. However, cars, bourbon and cigars aside, my passion for agriculture is second to none, which is why I’m very excited to bring you the first ever Ag Leader podcast.

In this short series, you’ll hear about the Ag Leader evolution from many different perspectives, including influencers like Mark Thomas and New York Farm Girls, internal employees and even the founder himself Al Myers and his son, Mike.

I hope that the podcast will bring a sense of belonging to our customers, employees, and dealers, with Ag Leader.

We are a lot more than just a company that builds precision ag equipment. After 25 years, Ag Leader has become part of my family as well. So come along and join me as I explore Ag Leader’s history and evolution throughout the last 30 years.