Bill Darrington gets done with a day's work somewhere out on his 3,000 acres of hilly farmland in Persia, Iowa and he sits down to dinner with his family and remembers that he is a food producer.

His discovery during decades of farming is that nutrition is a fundamental concept. The nutrition that allows his family to lead healthy lives comes directly from the nutrition provided to livestock and dairy animals, which in turn came from nutrition provided by corn, soy and other crops, and ultimately those crops depended on nutrition that the crop farmer provided by managing the soil and bringing all his expertise to the business of feeding plants the diet they need to succeed.

Darrington shared his message with several hundred farmers at the Verizon Convention Center in Mankato on January 23, as part of MN Ag EXPO, the annual gathering of Minnesota's corn and soybean organizations. Minnesota Corn Growers Association provided the funding for Darrington's appearance.

He told the group he considers himself a "biological" farmer--not strictly organic, but utilizing only the inputs needed, and employing the conservation practices like strip tillage where possible, all with an eye to assuring that his crops succeed to the greatest extent possible and his business prospers.