New west-central MN DFM has hit the road running
As a grassroots organization, the Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) is driven by the efforts of corn farmers and their local county corn grower associations. MCGA district field managers (DFMs) travel the state in an effort to empower farmers and county organizations with resources, information and support to be successful. This year, we have been highlighting these local grassroots efforts.
Written by Jonathan Eisenthal
Devin Hoffarth started as a district field manager (DFM) for District 2 in July, helping growers with 12 county organizations wrap up summer events and begin planning for meeting season in 2022.
Among his first duties was helping staff the Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) tent at Farmfest in early August. District 2 also draws a fair number of growers to the Big Iron Farm Show in West Fargo, North Dakota. There, Hoffarth spread the word about MCGA, which is Minnesota’s largest farmer commodity group, and signed up new members.
Hoffarth’s district includes local corn grower groups in Chippewa, Douglas, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Otter Tail/Grant, Pope, Renville, Stearns, Stevens, Swift, Todd, and Traverse counties.
The Pope County Corn & Soybean Growers Association held its annual meeting this summer. The event is typically held during winter, but was moved up to the summer after last winter’s meeting was cancelled because of the pandemic. Fifty people attended, and the meeting offered a lively political discussion with Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen, who was the keynote speaker, as well as local elected officials.
[More: Read about MCGA’s other DFMs and grassroots efforts in their counties]
After Hoffarth came on board, the Renville, Douglas and Pope county grower associations held plot days.
The Renville County Corn & Soybean Growers Association held its plot day in early September and will also hold a variety plot recap event in November. Because of COVID-19, the organization held a plot-recap event instead of a traditional plot day in 2020, and it was such a big hit that it decided to offer it again this year. The event features a breakfast for growers followed by a discussion of corn variety performance.
The Todd County Corn & Soybean Growers Association held a fuel event and corn-product giveaway on Sept. 10 at Coborn’s grocery store and fueling station in Long Prairie. Board members were on hand to give away items that make use of corn, from expected items like boxes of Corn Flakes cereal, to things that surprise people like coloring crayons.
“It was a great event where people learned about all the ways corn is important in their everyday lives,” Hoffarth said. “Discounts on Unleaded 88, E30, and E85 drew customers to the gas station, where they sold many gallons of fuel and talked about all the benefits of using ethanol, including clean air, reducing carbon emissions, boosting the rural economy, and saving money compared to using conventional gasoline.”
[More: Read MCGA’s county highlights for September]
The Douglas County Corn & Soybean Growers Association commemorated the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks by partnering with local organizations and giving away free E85 to honor those who lost their lives and promote the role of energy independence as a means to creating a more peaceful world.
Just before Hoffarth started as a DFM, the Kandiyohi County Corn & Soybean Growers Association enjoyed a very successful event called Farmtastic Night in partnership with the Willmar Stingers Northwoods League baseball team. The theme of the event, which was held before a Stingers game, was “Agriculture is Everywhere.” More than 300 kids and their families attended and walked through the seven different stations, where local farm organizations talked about their activities. Members of local 4-H clubs helped set up the event and keep things running smoothly.
“This job is a lot of fun and combines so many interesting elements,” said Hoffarth, who did not grow up on a farm but was very aware of farming in his rural hometown in northeastern North Dakota. He spent a lot of time at his parents’ business, an auto and agriculture parts store that included a machine shop and tire store. After studying business administration in college, Hoffarth began his career in agriculture, working for seven years at a John Deere dealership with three locations in northeastern North Dakota. His focus was sales and integrated solutions.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know all these groups and grower-leaders throughout the state,” he said. “This was a challenging year in terms of Mother Nature, and I think one of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association’s real strengths is helping farmers look forward to the future of agriculture with optimism and excitement.”
MCGA is building a more sustainable future for the state’s corn farmers. Like all grassroots organizations, MCGA gathers its strength from its members. Join today!
