To our board members and all the members of Minnesota Soybean Growers Association (MSGA), I am seeking the position of President of MSGA.

In the past eight years, I have had the privilege to serve in many leadership positions with MSGA. But this position is not about me or the past. Our organization has a larger vision. We need to focus on the challenges we have in our state and how we can positively affect agriculture and rural living.

There are many priorities in need of our attention. We need to continue to protect the rights and freedoms of Minnesota farmers. We have capital school improvements, which we know the schools in our rural districts need, but we know farmers cannot bear such an unfair majority of the burden for the cost. MSGA has worked tirelessly on this issue the past two sessions and will continue to push for tax relief.

We need to continue to protect and encourage the further use of biodiesel and the value that renewable fuels have for our family farms and our environment. Our roads, bridges and infrastructure in rural Minnesota need upkeep so we can efficiently get our crops to market. We need to work with urban leadership to help them understand the valuable conservation practices we do every day to protect our land and water.

These are all issues we need to promote. We can do this by working closely with other farm organizations and our industry partners. Local, state and federal legislative leadership need to look to our organization for direction on pertinent issues. We need to protect all farmers and encourage young farmers to come home without overregulation.

We also need to make a commitment to MSGA. In order to work on policy and legislation effectively, we need to grow membership. We’ve been doing great things on behalf of Minnesota farmers and continue to grow as an association. We need to show the value of membership in MSGA and how membership can make a difference and be more involved in advocating for agriculture.

Being on a large board, we have many knowledgeable directors in many aspects of farming. We need to encourage their involvement. How lucky we are to come from such a diverse farming state! We will continue to work with our industry partners on leadership programs. With our new Project Grow program, we hope to encourage new leadership throughout our state.

MSGA is a very strong advocate for agriculture. We are lucky to have great staff, a great relationship with the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council, and great farmer leaders who work together. We need to continue to be a leading farm organization that farmers and influencers can look up to and trust, both at the state and national level. We need to continue to be a voice for agriculture, not only for MSGA, but for all of Minnesota. I am asking for your support.