Minnesota Corn Growers Association shines on national recruitment stage

With a record 7,107 members, the Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) exceeded its membership goals in 2014. MCGA remains one of the largest grassroots farm organizations in the country and one of the few ag organizations active on the county, state and federal level.

MCGA’s membership growth also ranked high on the national scale. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) ended 2014 with 41,262 members, its highest total ever. More than 17 percent of those members are from Minnesota.

In all, 316 new members joined MCGA in 2014, the largest increase of any state that has a corn growers association.

This type of membership growth doesn’t happen without the grassroots efforts of recruiters at the local level. NCGA recently announced four Hall of Fame Recruiter award winners, three were from Minnesota: Doug Toreen, Renville County; Myron “Mickey” Peterson, Renville County and Robert Nelsen, Murray County.

Hall of Fame recruiters must recruit a minimum of 50 members in a year.

There were 20 Top Recruiter award winners (minimum of 10 recruits) announced with three coming from Minnesota: Dale Busch, Watonwan County; Connie Mulder, Renville County and Lori Feltis, Olmstead County.

Congratulations to the Top Recruiters and Hall of Fame Recruiters from Minnesota. And thank you to all MCGA members, whether you’re a new member or you’ve belonged for a while. Your grassroots passion is what makes MCGA what is today.