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Cory Ritter and I go back to the early days of Ag Twitter and something called Cory Corn. Today, Cory farms near Blue Mound, Illinois, and works as Midwest Regional Sales Manager for Huma.

We started this conversation pondering what farmers are getting wrong, why comfort can keep us from changing, what Cory Corn taught him about social media, and how being a farmer influences the way Cory approaches sales.

Then the conversation turned.

Our conversation happened on the one-year anniversary of the grain-bin accident that killed Cory's father and farming partner, Tom. Cory talks openly about the accident, the questions he still carries, nearly walking away from farming, and the neighbors who showed up with more than a dozen combines to help his family harvest their crop.

We also talk about what happens when farm succession comes without warning, why families need to have uncomfortable conversations before they are forced to, and what Cory has changed on his own farm after losing his dad.

This conversation goes places neither of us expected. Cory wrestles openly with anger, responsibility, the risks we convince ourselves we can handle, the people who show up when everything changes, and the unfinished work of figuring out how to move forward. Along the way, both Cory and I shed tears. Some of these things are difficult to put into words.

Cory leaves us with a simple message worth remembering as harvest approaches:

Be safe out there.