Minnesota grower-leader Haag elected to NCGA leadership
For the next three years, leadership of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Board of Directors will include at least one Minnesota grower-leader.
Tom Haag, a fourth-generation family farmer in Eden Valley, has been named NCGA’s first vice president for the 2021-22 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. He will become NCGA president during the 2022-23 fiscal year and chairman during the 2023-24 fiscal year.
“It’s an honor, and it’s going to be a pleasure,” Haag said. “It’s going to be work, but it’s going to be also fun work.”
Haag, who grows corn and soybeans with his son Nathan on more than 1,700 acres, has farmed since the early 1970s. He became a member of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) in 1985 and an officer on his county corn growers board in 1994.
In 2010, he was elected to the MCGA statewide board. He was the organization’s president in 2012-13 and was elected to the NCGA board in 2016. (He was re-elected in 2019.)
As first vice president, Haag said he wants to ensure NCGA continues to be led by its grassroots membership and that it has a voice in shaping national policy.
“Whatever the hot topic is, we want to make sure we’re at the table talking about it,” he said, adding that it’s critical for the organization to continue engaging younger farmers.
Haag also said his experience on the MCGA board and serving on NCGA action teams has been critical in preparing him to assume national leadership.
In a statement, NCGA President John Linder said Haag has demonstrated “unwavering dedication to working on behalf of all of his fellow farmers.”
“As he steps into this new role, I look forward to the work, collaboration and growth that will help further our mission under his leadership,” he said.
Founded in 1957, NCGA represents nearly 40,000 dues-paying corn farmers nationwide and the interests of more than 300,000 growers who contribute through corn checkoff programs in their states. NCGA and its affiliated state organizations, including MCGA, work together to create and increase opportunities for corn growers.
Learn more at NCGA.com.
MCGA offers a hearty congratulations to Tom as he prepares to ascend into the new role. We look forward to seeing the positive impact he has on corn farmers across the U.S., just as he has done in Minnesota.
