Learn something new every day – and have fun doing it.

That’s what the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC) hoped attendees of this year’s MN Ag Expo would walk away from their booth with – new knowledge of the wide range of soybean-based products available in the marketplace. Well, that and a Minnesoyta-logoed hammer.

“This is a fantastic event with a lot of great participants,” MSR&PC Chair Joe Serbus said. “In agriculture, we support each other.” 

The “Pod Quiz,” designed to provide building blocks of knowledge to takers on how their checkoff dollars are used to create and promote soy-based products. Additionally, for every person who participated in the quiz, MSR&PC donated $10 of those soy-based products to Habitat for Humanity.

Highly anticipated each year is Minnesota Soybean Growers Association’s (MSGA) After Hours Sports Carnival hosted on Wednesday night at the Loose Moose Saloon. This fundraiser on helps support the policy work MSGA conducts in St. Paul and Washington, D.C., on behalf of Minnesota soybean farmers. A great opportunity to network and mingle with each other, competitive sides showed their faces as attendees enjoyed snacking on appetizers and playing sports-themed games. A live and silent auction capped off the night, with all.

“Our After Hours Sports Carnival was a huge success, bringing together Minnesota farmers and leaders from across our industry for a night of fun and games to help boost our advocacy mission,” MSGA Executive Director Joe Smentek said. “We thank everyone who supported MSGA’s cause and can’t wait to hold this event again next year.” 

MSGA was the center of attention on Thursday. Kicking off at 9:00 a.m., the annual meeting celebrated a successful year and conducted business to plan a productive 2023. Memberships are critical to MSGA and during the meeting, the top five membership recruiting counties were recognized:

1. Murray (115)

2. Nobles (64)

3. Roseau/Lake of the Woods (37)

5. Tie – Renville and Lincoln (25).

“Membership is the backbone of what we do,” Director Brian Fruechte said.

Attendance neared record highs on Wednesday, as farmers and industry leaders walked the trade show floor and listened to an address from Gov. Tim Walz.

“We had a great attendance at this year’s EXPO,” MSGA Secretary Brad Hovel said during a live airing of the Linder Farm Network’s noon show on Wednesday. “It’s been a great show to gather and reconnect and talk about our industry.”

During his speech, the governor outlined a hopeful vision for his second term and later spoke with MSGA’s leadership team.

“It’s OK to be optimistic sometimes,” the governor said on the trade show floor. “The fact is, a lot of hard-working people in this room, a lot of innovation happening here, have given us a reason to be optimistic.”

Yet again, Minnesota Soybean enjoyed a successful MN AG EXPO. Two days packed with learning sessions and engagement on the trade show floor helped the continued development of the building blocks that the agriculture industry stands on.

“This year’s EXPO was second to none,” MSGA President Bob Worth said. 

EXPO is co-sponsored by MSGA and the Minnesota Corn Growers Association. The 2024 MN AG EXPO will take place Jan. 17-18, 2024.