Bobby Morris, 36
Owner, Morris Farms Partnership, Sweetwater Carwash and Sweetwater Enterprises LLC
Bobby Morris first stepped onto his family’s sugarcane farm to work at the age of 10. He hasn’t left since. “There was never really a doubt that I was going to be a farmer when I grew up,” says Morris, owner of Morris Farms Partnerships in West Baton Rouge Parish. “It was what I was born to do.” Morris’ passion bleeds into the farm, which has doubled in size over the last several years after he launched an expansion effort. In 2012 Morris won the Louisiana Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Achievement Award. He serves as treasurer of the West Baton Rouge Farm Bureau Board and is involved with the American Sugar Cane League and the LSU AgCenter. Outside of farming he owns a self-operating car wash.
NAME THREE MAJOR PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
- Doubling the size of my family’s farm in 2014
- Winning the Louisiana Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Achievement Award in 2012
- The opportunities I have had to diversify my business portfolio over the years
TELL US ABOUT YOUR VOLUNTEER & COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS AND INVOLVEMENT.
- I serve as the treasurer/secretary of the West Baton Rouge Farm Bureau board.
- I have served as chair of West Baton Rouge Young Farmer and Rancher committee and as a district director on the state level.
- I am a member of the American Sugar Cane League and the SUGAR Growers and Refiners.
- I am a participant in several NRCS programs including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Master Farmer Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program.
- I serve as a board member at the local Farm Service Agency.
- I have volunteered as an assistant coach on my child’s baseball team.
- I continuously donate my time and money to many activities/functions at my children’s school.
- Every year I bring tractors and hands-on learning experiences through Ag in the Classroom into my children’s school. I always leave with the message to the children: No farms equals No Food.
NAME ONE BOOK THAT HAS INSPIRED YOU PROFESSIONALLY.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP?
There was never really a doubt that I was going to be a farmer when I grew up. It was what I was born to do. I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. It’s my love and passion.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB, HOW OLD WERE YOU AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM IT?
I clocked in on the farm at the age of 10, and I still haven’t clocked out.
WHAT IS THE STRANGEST JOB YOU’VE EVER HAD?
I tried to make professional bull riding my “job,” but that was short lived.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE FOR A BUSINESS LUNCH IN BATON ROUGE, AND WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DISH THERE?
With all the traffic crossing the bridge, we have lunches on the west side of the river when we are not working in the fields. My favorite go to place is DC’s Grill in Brusly. The Ultimate Club with no tomato and no honey mustard.
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT?
My greatest achievement was when I was able to double the size of the family farm. I give credit to my parents for teaching me and encouraging me to become a bigger and better farmer than the generations before me.
HOW DO YOU GET PUMPED UP BEFORE A BIG MEETING, PRESENTATION OR PITCH?
Haha. My farming “meetings” last a month to four months at a time. They are called planting and harvest time. I get pumped up for these long meetings with some AC/DC tunes.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST FULFILLING MOMENT IN YOUR CAREER SO FAR?
It is fulfilling to see my two sons grow up in the same lifestyle that I did and have a love for the farm at a young age like they do. It’s my hope that they will become the fifth generation on our family’s farm when they get older.
WHAT WAS YOUR PROFESSIONAL “AHA MOMENT?”
Learning the life lesson that when one door closes it leads to bigger and better opportunities that are meant to be.
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED THE HARD WAY?
Thinking that I knew everything at a young age and that my father is usually right.
WHAT ABOUT YOUR JOB WOULD SHOCK CUSTOMERS OR CLIENTS IF THEY KNEW ABOUT IT?
Consumers would be in awe if they knew how labor intensive, time consuming and expensive it is to grow a 3,200-acre sugarcane crop.
HOW DO YOU TYPICALLY DRESS FOR WORK—CASUAL? PROFESSIONAL? BUSINESS CASUAL? OTHER?
Casual. My Cintas work shirt, shorts or jeans with tennis shoes or work boots.
WHY PART OF YOUR JOB DO YOU LOVE? WHAT PART DO YOU HATE?
Love harvest time! Hate planting time!
WHAT IS THE BEST COMPLIMENT YOU’VE EVER GOTTEN FROM A COLLEAGUE OR BOSS?
My boss has been my dad my whole life. To hear him praise me and tell me how proud he is of me makes me feel like I’m doing right.
MAC OR PC?
Not much on computers. Prefer the iPad or iPhone.
ARE YOU ACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA? IF SO, ON WHICH PLATFORMS ARE YOU MOST ACTIVE?
I have a Facebook account that I occasionally check.
HOW MANY TEXTS DO YOU SEND ON AN AVERAGE DAY? HOW MANY EMAILS?
Not a big email guy. I send a lot of texts and make many phone calls in a day’s time.
HOW LOW WILL YOU ALLOW YOUR REMAINING PHONE OR COMPUTER BATTERY LIFE GET (IN %) BEFORE YOU HAVE AN ANXIETY ATTACK?
Not going to have an anxiety attack over a dead phone or no computer. When the phone goes dead it’s peaceful.
HOW MANY UNREAD MESSAGES ARE IN YOUR INBOX RIGHT NOW?
I have zero unread messages. As fast as they come through on my phone—which isn’t many in a day’s time—I delete them.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE APP AT THE MOMENT?
I’m always looking at the weather apps. The Weather Channel and WAFB Weather.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT OF THE PAST DECADE?
I went from driving an open cab, with no air conditioner and no radio tractors, to cabbed tractors that practically drive themselves.
WHAT TECHNOLOGY DO YOU WISH WAS NEVER INVENTED?
Sometimes I wish cellphones were never invented. There are times I want to take mine and throw it in the Mississippi River.
WHAT TIME DO YOU GET UP ON WORKDAY MORNINGS?
My wake up time varies. It depends on what time of the year it is and what type of work we are doing that day. It can be as early as 4:30, but no later than 6.
BREAKFAST AT HOME? BREAKFAST ON THE GO? BREAKFAST AT YOUR DESK? NO BREAKFAST AT ALL?
Usually only have breakfast when my wife brings it to me in the field.
WHEN DID YOU REALIZE YOU WERE “GROWN UP?”
When I figured out that I wasn’t making a living just for me because I had my wife and two sons to take care of.
WHAT WAS THE BEST VACATION YOU HAVE EVER TAKEN?
My wife and I took our boys to Arizona to snow ski for a few days. From there we drove to the Grand Canyon and then over to Hoover Dam and Las Vegas to end our trip.
FAVORITE GIFT YOU WERE GIVEN AS A CHILD?
Santa Claus delivered my first three-wheeler.
WHICH TALENT OR SUPERPOWER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO HAVE AND WHY?
Being a farmer, I would love to be able to read Mother Nature’s mind. I would ask her why she does what she does!
WHAT ARE YOU SUPERSTITIOUS ABOUT?
Really not a superstitious person.
WHICH FICTIONAL CHARACTER DO YOU MOST IDENTIFY WITH?
Superman! That is not a good thing! It has led to many injuries over the years.
FAVORITE DRINK?
Water during the day, Bud Light in the evenings.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BAND OR SONG?
My Immortal by Evanescence.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE?
Tombstone. I can recite it word for word.
WHO WOULD PLAY YOU IN A MOVIE?
I think Ricky Schroder would be a good one.
WHAT SCARED YOU AS A CHILD, AND WHAT SCARES YOU NOW?
Freddy Krueger, then and now.
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR 18-YEAR-OLD SELF?
Learn from your mistakes and listen to criticism; it can make you better personally and professionally. You don’t always know everything.
PETS?
We currently have four dogs and two horses. If I left it up to my wife and kids we would have 20 more dogs, a pig, a goat and some chickens!
HAVE YOU HAD ANY MEMORABLE CELEBRITY ENCOUNTERS? WHAT HAPPENED?
I met Shawn Michaels in an airport. He was one of my favorite wrestlers growing up.
TELL US ABOUT A MOMENT THAT CHANGED YOUR LIFE.
Becoming a dad to my two boys is the best thing that has ever happened to me. They keep me entertained and active.
WHAT’S THE NEXT BIG PERSONAL OR CAREER CHALLENGE YOU PLAN TO TAKE ON?
My wife and I are always looking to grow our businesses, whether it is acquiring more acres to farm sugarcane, more rental properties or opening more car washes.
WHAT CONCERNS YOU MOST ABOUT THE FUTURE?
What concerns me the most about my future of farming is the ever-growing rural developments taking away more and more farmland.
WHAT GIVES YOU THE MOST HOPE ABOUT THE FUTURE?
That my children have the same opportunities I have had both professionally and personally.
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ADVICE FOR FUTURE FORTY UNDER 40 HONOREES?
Don’t be afraid to go after your goals in life, but be willing to pay the price to make it happen.
DO YOU PLAN TO BE IN THE CAPITAL REGION FIVE YEARS FROM NOW? WHY OR WHY NOT?
I plan to be on the west side of Baton Rouge forever, as long as a storm doesn’t move my farmland.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST HOPE FOR BATON ROUGE?
The greatest hope for Baton Rouge is that the state fixes the major traffic problems in Baton Rouge.
DO YOU HAVE A BUCKET LIST? IF SO, WHAT ARE THE TOP 3 THINGS ON IT?
- I want to take my wife, kids and parents whitewater rafting in Colorado.
- My wife and I want to see a football game played in all the SEC stadiums.
- I want to take an 18-wheeler load of cattle cross country one time.
