Minnesota Corn remembers Gene Fynboh
Written by Jonathan Eisenthal
Gene Fynboh, of Brandon, Minnesota, died on July 15. He was 83. He was elected to the Minnesota Corn Research and Promotion Council, serving as chair in 2002-03; was a member of the Minnesota Corn Growers, and served on the National Corn Growers board of directors. He was a founding director of the Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company—a farmer-owned cooperative, and a pioneering organization in the development of the ethanol industry and served for 26 years on its board of directors. Fynboh was among the small group of farmers who volunteered countless hours at the Minnesota State Capitol, communicating with lawmakers, to help establish the 10 percent ethanol requirement and the Ethanol Producers Tax Credit, both of which were essential to the early success of Minnesota’s ethanol industry.
In 1970, after service in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, Gene and wife Kathy settled on and began farming the family’s Stevens County farm, homesteaded nearly a century earlier, in 1877.
The couple had four children; Marin Howe, Derek (Jami) Fynboh, Greg (Naomi) Fynboh, and Cory (Jessica) Fynboh, who survive him along with 7 grandchildren: Nate, Nic, and Noah Howe; Ferris Fynboh, Isabel, Lydia, and Sawyer Fynboh. He is also survived by his brother Donald (Beverly) Fynboh, sisters-in-law Sally Anderson and Maxine (Mike) Olson and their families. Gene was preceded in death by his parents, Ralph and Harriet, in-laws Harold and Bertha Spitzer, and brother Dell Fynboh.
Fynboh had many strengths as a leader for Minnesota’s corn organizations, including an emphasis on leadership development. Doug Albin felt deep admiration for Fynboh’s leadership style.
“He took us under his wing,” Albin recalled. “He allowed us to think and ask questions. He was more than forthcoming with information. Gene didn’t necessarily need to dominate a room to command it. He would sit back and not say a whole lot, but he would keep the conversation focused and he would sum it up and say, ‘Okay, this is what I think we should do.’ He was so knowledgeable and people looked to him as a source of information.”
Son, Greg, who took over the family farm in 2005, also followed in his father’s footsteps, joining the board of CVEC after Gene stepped down.
“CVEC is a lasting legacy he helped create in this community,” Greg said. “The company has more than 50 employees. Good jobs in our community. There are more than 900 members.”
CVEC has brought millions of dollars into the community and helped spread the chance to take part in that profitability by allowing non-farming community members to buy shares. As a cooperative, it requires all shareholders to deliver a certain number of bushels of corn per share. CVEC created a “corn pool” so that non-farmers could purchase the bushels they needed to deliver.
Richard Syverson first met Gene when he served on the CVEC board of directors with him. He had the chance to see Fynboh in action when they went to Washington, D.C. as part of a delegation organized by American Coalition for Ethanol.
“Gene was, of course, one of the more experienced Washington people there,” Syverson said. “But Gene wouldn’t say anything. If somebody else was talking, unless there was a point that had been missed, he’d just sit back and wait. Then he would kind of wrap it all up. He was extremely effective.”
From the time Syverson joined the staff of Minnesota Corn in 2005, and then later as a president of the organization, one of the things he admired about Fynboh was his leadership by example, in the area of conservation. Fynboh was very involved with the nearby USDA-Agricultural Research Station in Morris, always paying attention to their focus on preventing soil erosion and enhancing area water quality.
“Gene started a true conservation approach on their farm, and then Greg has continued it,” Syverson said. “They work land that some might consider challenging for conservation. It’s heavy, sticky, cold, wet, and they make conservation work there. Both Gene and Greg are students of their soil and of their crops.”
When Greg was asked about the attributes that he most appreciated about his father, he said: “Teamwork…I really enjoyed how we worked together. In everything that he did, anyone that had any dealings with him as far as getting a job done, everyone just enjoyed working with him because he was a real good team member. He would work alongside and work just as hard as everyone else. And I loved his jokes! He was just a kind person, and he gave us a good foundation for what’s good in life.”
