Howard Reimer returns to farming as he retires from The McGregor Co.

Thirty-nine years ago, a farmhand with a passion for learning and a love for helping others, began a career in the fertilizer business. After a lifetime of service and commitment to the industry, Howard Reimer has decided to retire from his post as account manager at The McGregor Company, doing business as Ritzville Chemicals.

Though he is leaving an industry that has been a pertinent part of his life for so many years, Howard is not completing retiring; he is merely changing career paths. He plans to spend his retirement returning to the responsibility of a farmhand and assisting his son, Aaron, with his farm in the Reardan area.

Howard, originally from Kansas, began working for Lind Grange Supply in 1974. Only seven months later, he applied for the manager position at Kiehn and Weber Fertilizer, a small partnership business in Ritzville.

The business, set atop the hill where The McGregor Company sits today, started Howard in career that would last him almost four decades. Howard jokes that he knew absolutely nothing about being a manager when he applied, but he was young and ambitious, the rest came naturally.

In 1991, Howard bought the business and Ritzville Chemicals, Inc. became a lifelong venture. After managing and running the company for 18 years, Howard sold the business to The McGregor Company in 2009. He remained on staff for nearly four years, first as a branch manager and then as an account manager, before announcing his retirement.

“I’ll miss the business and all of the people, both on the vendor and employee side. There’s just a ton of good people, exceptionally so,” Howard said.

Howard officially retired on Jan. 8 and he does not plan to waste any time before starting the next endeavor in his life. He cannot wait to work side-by-side with his son, something that he has not been able to do since Aaron was still in school in Ritzville.

Howard’s passion for farming and family goes back to his youth when he was attending school in Kansas. It was during this time when Howard made regular trips to Lind every summer to help his uncle during harvest season.

“I always liked Washington,” Howard admitted. “I worked harvest for several summers on the family farm just west of Lind.”

After graduating with an agronomy degree from Kansas State University, Howard relocated to the Ritzville area. He traveled to Jamaica as part of the Mennonite Service Community, and it was during there he met Linda.

Howard was working primarily teaching trade skills, such as welding, to men, while Linda was working with young women through the Peace Corps. They were both working for the same agricultural society and were stationed in the same place. The two married in 1975, and Linda, who is also originally from Kansas, moved to Washington with Howard.

For Howard, he has many fond memories of working for local fertilizer companies and is pleased with the amount of people he was able to help along the way. He has worked with many of the same employees during his tenure, and considers them to be family, as well as friends.

Perhaps the most important and best memory Howard has from his time as manager is when he began a custom harvesting business with Harry Weber and their children.

Weber had two children close in age to Aaron, and the group would harvest fields in the local area with father and children working closely together. It is this experience that helped Howard develop a close and healthy working relationship with his son, and makes him look forward to the opportunity to farm with Aaron again.

“A lot of people don’t have the opportunity to work with their children,” Howard said. “It’s all about family. It’s a rare opportunity to help him get going and get started. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Along with helping Aaron at the farm, Howard has planned to keep himself busy with a few other hobbies and activities. Howard owns a few antique tractors, all in running condition, and he wants to continue repairing them.

A motorcycle enthusiast, Howard wants to be able to take more trips on the bike with Linda during his retirement. He also plans to dedicate any other extra time to volunteer service both at the local and national level.

Every January, Howard travels with a group of volunteers from the Mennonite Church to help in disaster areas across the United States. This year he is traveling to Texas to help with an area previously destroyed by wildfires.

For Howard, one of the most satisfying aspects of his job as owner and manager was being able to give back to the community. Ritzville Chemicals did not give Christmas gifts to the employees, but instead used the money to make donations to organizations in the community.

“It’s satisfying to be part of and to support the community in their ventures,” Howard said. “It was satisfying to employ some local families too.”

“I’m going to miss it all, but I’m looking forward to where I’m going,” he added.