Longtime board and council member Mickey Peterson is retiring
One of the longest-serving Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) and Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council (MCR&PC) grower-leaders is retiring.
Myron “Mickey” Peterson, who grows corn and soybeans in Sacred Heart, is stepping down from the MCR&PC board, after nearly 20 years on the council. Peterson also spent 8.5 years on the MCGA board in the 1990s and early 2000s.
“It’s been a great ride, and I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly,” he said.
Peterson began farming with his father and one of his brothers in 1962. With their father’s passing in 1970, a third brother joined the operation, and they officially became a family farm partnership. Two other brothers joined the partnership in 1974.
Throughout his time on both the board and council, Peterson was active in recruiting new members to MCGA. When he started on the board, he said there were roughly 2,500 to 3,000 members. Today, MCGA has around 6,500 members.
Peterson, a 2005 inductee into the National Corn Growers Association Recruiter Hall of Fame, said he always carries membership forms with him.
“It’s part of the way I work,” he said.
Peterson said he was planning to retire about three years ago but was encouraged to stay on for one more term. He said his favorite part of being a leader at Minnesota Corn has been the camaraderie among the board, council and staff.
Doug Albin, a 20-plus-year board and council member who farms in Clarkfield, said Peterson has a unique style of leadership and has been an outstanding recruiter.
“He’s actively engaged without being self-serving,” Albin said. “He more or less makes the argument, and he’s open to the decision-making process. … If he says he’s going to be some place or do something, he’ll do it.”
Longtime board and council member Richard Peterson, a retired farmer in Mountain Lake who is unrelated to Mickey Peterson, said Mickey took time to meet with growers.
“When it comes to membership, he’s done a great job. He was sold on the Corn Growers.”
In addition to his work with Minnesota Corn, Mickey Peterson has been a supervisor on the Hawk Creek Township board for over 40 years and has served on U.S. Grain Council advisory teams. He twice served as chairman of MCR&PC, and during his 2009 term, he travelled to Brazil on a trade mission with then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
The MCGA board and staff thanks Mickey for his years of service and tireless advocacy on behalf of Minnesota’s corn farmers. We wish him happiness and good health in his retirement.
