This article first ran in the March-April 2026 issue of Soybean Business. Click here to read the digital issue. 

By Allison Wright

As a longtime member of the Renville County Soybean & Corn Growers, Connie Mulder has helped hold the door for women to become active in local leadership and the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association.

Growing up in Granite Falls, Connie watched her grandparents farm and swore she would never choose that way of life. She met her late husband, Jerry, in high school; farming wasn’t part of their plan. That changed in 1970, when Jerry returned home from serving in the Vietnam War and his uncle retired. They took over the family farm, and Connie never looked back.

Jerry hosted a couple of Renville County Corn and Growers Association meetings in their home, and Connie often shared her thoughts with the board on upcoming projects. After those meetings, the board members encouraged her to become involved. Connie and Jerry became a team in building membership and strengthening their local organization. As Jerry served on the Minnesota Corn Board and national committees, the couple built lifelong friendships and connections across the country through events like Commodity Classic and MN Ag Expo. Jerry served on a membership committee, bringing ideas back to the county level. He would travel the county talking with farmers, most of whom were men, and encouraged Connie to visit with their wives. Connie would motivate the wives to find their voice and get involved; she helped shift the perception that only husbands could serve in leadership roles.

Connie Mulder and her late husband, Jerry, helped grow the Renville County Corn & Soybean Growers Board.

For more than 25 years, Connie has served on the growers’ board, helping with events such as their annual golf event. Through her membership in MSGA, she regularly attends MN Ag Expo as a county delegate, providing a strong and steady voice and offering input on MSGA’s policy resolutions.

“Connie likes to get things done — boom, boom, boom,” MSGA Director Doug Toreen said. “I’ve known her for 50 years and she’s always been someone who likes to stay on task and accomplish the to-do list. That’s helped a lot on our county board.”

Though she once resisted the farming lifestyle, Connie now considers life on the farm a blessing. She and Jerry retired in 2015 as the fifth generation on the farm. Jerry died in late 2020 at age 73; just months before his passing, he was recognized by Minnesota Corn for his membership efforts. Today, the sixth and seventh generations continue the farming legacy, along with 15 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Connie encourages others to follow her lead and “get things done” to improve farming for today and tomorrow. Becoming a member of MSGA is a good first step.

“If you want to see this way of life continue, you have to get involved and not just sit on the sideline,” Connie said. “One voice by itself doesn’t get heard, but when you band together with other similar minded people, voices make a difference, membership makes a difference.”