Rickey Cole was born in Laurel, Mississippi. He has attended Jones College, Mississippi State, and the University of Tennessee at Martin for undergraduate study. Cole's career experience includes working as a farmer.[1]
Rickey Cole completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cole's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
A seventh generation Mississippi farmer, Rickey Cole has spent his life producing and marketing Mississippi agricultural products. The Cole family farm near Ovett is a 160 acre diversified operation, producing cattle, truck crops, hay and timber. Cole has worked to help establish farmers markets around the state and was an active founding member of the Mississippi Food Policy Council. Cole studied Agricukturan economics at Jones College in Ellisville and is currently enrolled in the Agribusiness Managemenr program online at University of Tennessee Martin.
The establishment of local food systems to provide affordable healthy food, eliminate food deserts and bring economic development and jon creation to our rural and small town economies.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Note: Cole submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on October 23, 2019.
A seventh generation Mississippi farmer, Rickey Cole has spent his life producing and marketing Mississippi agricultural products. The Cole family farm near Ovett is a 160 acre diversified operation, producing cattle, truck crops, hay and timber. Cole has worked to help establish farmers markets around the state and was an active founding member of the Mississippi Food Policy Council. Cole studied Agricukturan economics at Jones College in Ellisville and is currently enrolled in the Agribusiness Managemenr program online at University of Tennessee Martin.
I believe the key to creating jobs in local communities, improving the general health, and increasing quality of life for all Mississippians can be brought about by the development of local food systems across the state.
I look to Jesus Christ for the way I should live, although I fall short and must rely upon His Grace.
I look up to my father and my two grandfathers, all of whom were successful farmers and devoted family men. I look up to my older brother, as devout a Christian man as you are likely to ever meet. And I look to my son (age 9), always striving to provide a good example as was provided me by my elders.
Micah 6:8 "He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
Public servants must always keep the public interest uppermost in their thoughts and actions. Servant leadership describes my approach best. I have a heart for people, and I am at their service. I believe every public servant should stand on his own two feet and never be beholden to anyone except the people. Public service is a public trust.
The biggest part of tbis job is salesmanship. I will be the #1 promoter of Mississippi food, ag products, and community development. My mother often says that I could sell an ice maker to an Eskimo, so I am ready to put my persuasive skills to work for all Mississippians.
Mississippians buy 90% of the food we eat from out of state, much of it from foreign countries. We send nearly $6 billion dollars out of state annually. I want to lead the effort to increase the in-state sale of Mississippi-produced food to Mississippians by a value of at least $3 billion dollars annually by the year 2025.
I remember Hurricane Camille in 1969. I was three years old. We were without power for weeks, and we took our baths in branch water boiled in a washpot over an open fire. I thought it was a great adventure!
I started working on the farm on Christmaa Day in 1970, when I was 4 years old. Daddy bought me a Western Flyer wagon for Christmas, and I used it to haul greens out of the field that day. That was almost 50 years ago, and I am still on the job!
The most important duty of this office is to serve as a strong, active and independent catalyst for the expansion of economic opportunities in food production and marketing, agribusiness, and locally generated commercial opportunities.
Experience in the real world counts most. I have experience making a living on a family farm. My political rolodex is fairly extensive, but the best experiences I can bring to this job come from the fields, pastures, and markets where I have learned the business of food production and sales firsthand.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Note: Cole submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on May 31, 2019.
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