The Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) had the opportunity to serve as the guide for the Indonesian embassy on a tour of southern Minnesota farm country. The two-day journey brought the group to family corn farms, agricultural businesses, and a co-op to demonstrate the quality and breadth of Minnesota’s ag sector.

The group visited the Biegler farm near Lake Wilson.

Members of the Indonesia delegation included Republic of Indonesia Consul General Rosmalawati Chalid and Agriculture Attache Rindayuni Triavini, along with other representatives from the Southeast Asia country. The goal of the tour was to show the quality of Minnesota corn operations and highlight an agricultural corporation like Ralco to show the potential of Minnesota agriculture as an export partner for the large island country.

On day one, the group toured the farms of Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council members George Goblish and Brandon Fast, as well as MCGA board member Bryan Biegler. While a rainy morning first kept the group indoors, eventually the Indonesia delegation were able to see Minnesota corn farm operations up close.

Indonesian farm operations are much smaller than the three farms visited by the group. By walking through each, the group was able to see the technology that allows Minnesota’s corn growers to produce on a large scale while not losing quality in their product.

Leaders at RALCO discussed their business with the delegation.

Day two brought the group to the Marshall area where they visited Ralco, which specializes in producing natural technologies for agriculture industries. Ralco recently expanded into the Indonesia market with its agronomy products, so the groups were able to discuss the regulation process used by Indonesia before products are allowed to be imported into the country. The Indonesia delegation was also very interested to learn more about Ralco’s trū Shrimp, which is researching an alternative method for shrimp production in nearby Balaton.

Grain storage discussion at Farmers Cooperative Elevator.

The final stop of the tour brought the group to Farmers Cooperative Elevator in nearby Hanley Falls. Representatives from the Minnesota Grain & Feed Association joined the meeting for a comprehensive look at the storage and movement of Minnesota-grown grain. The discussion and tour was an eye-opening look at the process to move grain from Minnesota farms to ports for shipment overseas.

For members of the Indonesian embassy, the two-day tour was a unique look at Minnesota’s family corn farms and other aspects of its ag sector. MCGA welcomed the opportunity to build relationships with the influential group as it continues to grow export markets for Minnesota’s corn farmers.