Matthew Adrian currently farms corn and soybeans with his wife and parents near Mountain Lake.
His career in farming started at a young age. Adrian was homeschooled, which gave him the opportunity to have hands-on involvement in the farming operation.
“I was always helping,” he says. “I was doing things pretty much full time since I was 13.”
It was around that age he started going to the Cottonwood County Corn and Soybean Growers Association’s county meetings with his father.
“They decided to make me a ‘junior’ board member,” Adrian says.
Adrian’s been a board member ever since. He has served as president, is currently the vice president of the organization and has helped with the organization’s “Ag Appreciation Night” in Windom. He’s also been an advocate for farmer mental health.
“It’s okay to not be okay,” Adrian said in a 2020 interview with KSTP TV. “In agriculture, as farmers we’re kind of taught don’t talk about your feelings, don’t share, just box it up and put it off to the side. It was kind of changing my mindset that helped with that.”
Adrian has been a member of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association for 10 years and buys into the organization’s grassroots mission.
“I believe in what MSGA is doing, and there is power in numbers,” says Adrian, who also sells seed and ag products.
Adrian encourages others to be involved and to not hesitate to ask questions.
“It is important to make sure your voice is heard,” he says.