Fifty years ago, the staff representing Minnesota Soybean Growers Association (MSGA) was essentially a one-man operation consisting of a recent agriculture economics graduate named Al Kluis.

“It was my first job out of college, and it looked like I would be doing a lot of different things – working with industry trade teams, working in policy, that type of thing,” Kluis said. “I said, ‘Sure.’ I thought it would be more challenging than working as a sales rep.”

From 1974-1976, Kluis oversaw MSGA while working in the basement of a crammed office in North Mankato. Nearly a half-century later, Kluis, now one of agriculture’s most respected grain marketing analysts, visited MSGA’s spacious new headquarters across town, a two-story building comprising dozens of offices and meeting spaces.

“Wow, it’s beautiful in here,” Kluis said during a tour of MSGA’s office, which includes Offsite Meetings and Events.

In November 2024, Kluis traveled down memory lane, driving from his home in West Minneapolis to visit MSGA’s membership team and Tom Slunecka, CEO of the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council. While in Mankato, Kluis also previewed his participation in a Grain Marketing Panel Jan. 22 at 10:30 a.m. at MN Ag Expo.

“I will be talking about my approach to grain marketing. I have a specific plan that I’ve developed over time,” said Kluis, managing director of Kluis Commodity Advisors,which he formed after his stint with MSGA.

“I encourage farmers to have price targets where they’re going to sell their grain, time targets where they need to be getting their grain sold, key time periods to avoid making sales. It’s kind of a multipronged discipline approach that I take to the grain markets.”

Kluis, who has appeared several times at MN Ag Expo, said the trade show and conference affords him a chance to reconnect with peers, MSGA directors and fellow members of the agriculture fraternity he joined while attending the University of Minnesota.

“You can meet a lot of the industry contacts all at one time at Ag Expo,” he said. “There’s a lot of educational programs that are really good, great networking opportunities and you can participate if you have an opinion of what (MSGA) should be doing.”

‘Flash’ forward

Raised on a Murray County farm, Kluis was just 21 years old when he was hired in 1974 by MSGA, which had been established a dozen years earlier. His position with MSGA was his first job after graduating; within two years after Kluis joined, he’d earned a proverbial master’s degree from lobbying school. “I learned an incredible amount,” said Kluis, who still helps out occasionally on the family farm. While MSGA executive director, Kluis worked on policies in St. Paul related to weed control and mixing of grains. “Some foreign buyers wanted to exclude Minnesota, Dakota originated beans because of the lower quality they perceived that we had in terms of meal and oil,” Kluis said. “A lot of what we were doing was educating people.”

Kluis developed a reputation around the Capitol as a lobbyist who didn’t waste time getting to the point. Kluis didn’t beat around the bush; he preferred to talk turkey. Thus, his swift, direct manner of lobbying earned Kluis the nickname “Flash.”

“I’m here to get your vote and get the hell out of here,” he said, laughing. “And I did it. And so, it was deemed to be very effective, and maybe too fast. But I got the job done.”

Farm advocacy, Kluis recalled, was simpler in those days because there was greater bipartisan cooperation and rural representation in the Minnesota Legislature. As long as he could secure the support of influential policymakers like Rep. George Mann, the Flash was in like Flynn. “It wasn’t so polarized,” Kluis said. “The urban legislators would say, ‘OK, if George Mann says to vote for it, I’ll vote for it.’”

One of Kluis’ proudest achievements during his tenure was helping double MSGA’s membership levels in just two years. He continues encouraging peers to stay engaged in advocacy groups like MSGA.

“I believe in MSGA,” he said. “I think you’re getting a good value for (your membership). Let’s work to promote agriculture and, maybe rather than criticize it, you should get involved. “

Building a program

Kluis also ushered in a new era in Minnesota’s soybean industry when he helped oversee the implementation of the nation’s second, half-cent checkoff program to sponsor research and develop new markets. The checkoff was implemented after a majority of Minnesota farmers approved the measure in 1973. Education became key, along with enforcing the checkoff.

“One of most challenging jobs was going out to elevators explaining that this was a mandatory checkoff, not a voluntary check off,” Kluis said. “They didn’t understand it.”

In addition to serving as MSGA executive director and as a regional field director with the American Soybean Association, Kluis also assumed duties leading the newly formed Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council, which directed the state’s checkoff funds. Along with a secretary, Kluis kept expenses low while managing the checkoff program, which generated roughly $500,000 in revenue each year. Many checkoff resources were invested in the University of Minnesota’s breeding program.

“Farmers wanted to increase yield, increase average selling and increase market opportunities,” Kluis said. “That’s what the checkoff did, and that’s what it’s still doing.”

In addition to market development, checkoff resources were also heavily invested in the University of Minnesota’s breeding program.

“That was the name of the game back then, developing new varieties,” ,” said Sandy Ludeman, a past MSR&PC director and first chair of the United Soybean Board. “We all had a lot of respect for what Al was doing.”

Kluis recalled colleagues ridiculing an economist in the 1970s who predicted the industry would need to grow a 2 billion-bushel soybean crop. By 1994, the nation’s soybean production exceeded 2 billion bushels for the first time. In 2023, U.S. soybean farmers more than doubled that estimate, harvesting 4.165 billion bushels.

Though market challenges lay ahead, Kluis is hopeful the farm economy will withstand global tensions and avoid a trade war in 2025. It’s a tall task ahead, and following the Nov. 5 election, Kluis said he’s keeping a close eye on the new Trump administration’s trade agenda and how tariff policies may (or may not) affect agriculture.

“The Chinese economy is slowing down,” he said, “and it’s very important that we maintain a good trade relationship, but I don’t think the people there are going to change their diet because their economy is slowing down.”

The political climate has changed in the decades since the “Flash” was representing MSGA in the legislative world, but some institutional foundations remain.

“I still think the way our government is set up is there is a set of checks and balances in there, and that eventually those checks and balances will work for the benefit of the country,” he said.