Karl Duncanson served on the Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council and was one of agriculture’s biggest champions.

The Minnesota farming community lost one of its biggest champions this week.

Karl Duncanson, 57, was a third-generation family farmer in Mapleton who served on the Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council (MCR&PC) for the last two years. Karl died in a car accident on Monday.

All of us at Minnesota Corn extend our deepest sympathy to the Duncanson family. We also thank Karl for his service on the MCR&PC, as well as everything he did throughout his lifetime to move farming forward and tell agriculture’s story to the non-farming public.

Karl wore his enthusiasm, positive outlook and passion for farming on his sleeve. Here at Minnesota Corn, any phone call or conversation with Karl typically included at least one or two breaks in the discussion where Karl would thank you for the work you’re doing. When he stopped by the Minnesota Corn office, he always had a smile on his face and took the time to greet everyone.

Both Karl’s passion for farming and his affable nature were genuine. Gerald Tumbleson, a farmer in Sherburn and Chair of the MCR&PC, shared his thoughts about Karl in a story in today’s Mankato Free Press:

“Karl was a great guy to be around because he was always so positive, and not just positive, but interested in things,” Tumbleson said.

He said Duncanson was also very forward thinking and concerned about farming’s effect on water quality and the environment. “Part of the council’s mission is to look at how to produce things the best way and the safest way, and he was really good at helping us with that,” Tumbleson said.

You can read the entire Free Press story on Karl here. Karl’s obituary can be read here. A Celebration of Life service is set for 2 p.m. on Friday at Maple River High School.