Ask Questions, Build Bridges, Be Positive

It’s very likely Ron Farrell mentored hundreds of people. He built a career intensely focused on serving agriculture in all kinds of facets. Ron passed away on Jan 20, 2020; however, his spirit lives on because of his far-reaching and long-lasting halo of influence. 

He had “an incurable optimism,” and he always focused on the future—investing energy in what’s possible next. 
Eight months ago, a series of conversations with Ron started a snowball of ideas the became a story about how retailers could make their businesses resilient. He shared, “Retailers need to be prepared to get out of the rut and advance their business strategy to one of change leadership.” You can find the full article here. 

It’s a hard task to write about a man’s life when all he wanted to talk about was what’s ahead. And so, for a tribute to Ron, I did what I thought he would coach me to do—reach out to people, listen to what they had to say, and then try to make something the industry could use to better itself. You can read what leaders from across agriculture shared about Ron and his legacy in an upcoming issue of AgPro. 

When you trace back his accomplishments and career path, his journey was quilted together in a way only Ron could have achieved. 

For all the people who he influenced in this industry, we are all carrying forward the biggest lessons he left us with: ask questions, build bridges, and be positive.