Ryan Ricketts
What do you do in town?
"I'm a lawyer in Marionville – a sole practitioner – and I've been there since 1996," said Ryan. Before that he worked in a law firm in Springfield. "I enjoy my job very much," added Ryan. "My favorite part of what I do is running into someone I've worked with in the past and seeing how my services have made their life better."
What do you do in the country?
Ryan, along with his father Cliff Ricketts, raises 70 acres of soybeans and backgrounds steers from spring to fall on their family's Century Farm west of Springfield, Mo. They work the same ground Cliff's father, Artie Ricketts, worked. Artie was born in a farmhouse 200 yards from where Ryan's home now stands. Cliff and Ryan hope to diversify their operation in the near future by adding cow/calf pairs to their combined 270-acre farm.
Family: Wife, Angela; daughters, Sarah and Rachel
How do you balance your work and the farm?
"Its a challenge," Ryan said with a smile. He says there are not enough hours in the day to do all that he would like to do. "But its very rewarding," he added. Ryan enjoys his job as a lawyer in town, but he admits its very special doing things on the farm with his kids in the same places he worked with his grandpa as a child. "Working on the farm gives me a good perspective on life and makes me appreciate farmers who do this all day every day. It makes my job in town seem miniscule," said Ryan.
How does your work in town complement your life at the farm?
"It makes us more responsible to live on the farm and work in town, as opposed to just working and living in town. We have to really balance our time, plan things out and work hard. But another thing I love about the country is that it gives me a retreat from the stresses of my office job."
By Jordan Haymes
