I grew up on a farm- Mom, Dad and my brother.  We all worked together.  A family farm that grew, and is still growing today.

My family showed me the love of the land, but also the business world of farming.  My dad always "traded commodities" and I remember as a kid taking "fills" over the phone from his broker.  I didn't know it at the time, but i guess it was then, that I first became interested in the commodity side of the business.  

The eighties were my formative years.  As farmers and agribusiness owners know that was  and interesting and challenging time in farming.  My brother joined the family farm in 1984 and I graduated from high school in 1988.  Farming did not look like the best opportunity at the time, so I headed to the University of Missouri-Columbia.  I graduated with a degree in 1992 and went to work for a major corporation.  I was started up the corporate ladder, but knew it wasn't really what I wanted to do.

An opportunity to visit the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade came about.  Right then and there I knew what I wanted to do.  I didn't want to move to Chicago for I loved Kansas City and also a girl who lived there.  She became my wife and Kansas City my permanent home.

Not knowing how to start, I asked my Dad if I could trade some for him.  I stood in the balcony of the Kansas City Board of Trade watching the floor and the quotes and traded.  However, eventually I was asked politely to leave.  Something about being there everyday talking on a cell phone from the balcony  made them "nervous".

So I needed to come up with a new place to trade.  I looked in the phone book and found Central States Commodities, Inc. located in the Livestock Exchange Building.  My thoughts were that anyone located in such a neat historic building would be the office space of "good people", and I was right.  I called and got Norton Rixey Jr.  He said come on down and watch the quotes, drink our coffee and trade if you want.  I showed up Monday morning and met his brother Bob Rixey, his business partner, and their father Norton Rixey, Sr. the founder of Central States Commodities, Inc. 

They treated me great and gave me great advice.  To this day I remember much of the trading wisdom that Norton Rixey Sr. let me soak up.  I opened a trading account, started trading, and showed up everyday.  After, a couple of months of coming down Bob and Norton recognized my passion for the business and asked if I would like to become a Commodity broker.  I jumped at the chance and started studying that day for the Series 3.  Two months later I took the test and joined Central States Commodities as a junior broker which was in1993.

I have continued to build my business and learn the world of commodity trading ever since then.  I have now been on Bloomberg television and quoted on Bloomberg.com, Dow Jones, Barron's Magazine and The Wall Street Journal on Agricultural Markets.  In 2008 Norton Rixey Jr. retired from the business and I now own Central States Commodities, Inc.