Grassroots Leaders: Todd Wentzel
The Minnesota Corn Growers Association and Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council are farmer-led grassroots organizations focused on identifying and promoting opportunities for corn farmers. This “Grassroots Leaders” series introduces you to the grower leaders who are working on your behalf as corn farmers.
Written by Jonathan Eisenthal
On farms all across Minnesota, harvest time brings the whole team together, and the Wentzel farm in Murdock is no exception. Todd and his wife Shari, Todd’s brother Craig, and his wife Bonnie, and many other family members pitch in to get the job done, growing corn, soybeans, spring wheat and edible beans.
“Just like farming itself, telling the farming story is a team sport. If we’re going to tell the story of farming the right way, we need everyone to participate,” said Todd Wentzel.
Wentzel joined the board of directors of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association last January, and has taken a place on its Grower Services Team, where the focus is growing and strengthening the organization’s membership, which includes nearly 6,500 farmers. He looks to Minnesota’s 24,000 corn farmers and sees a lot of potential for joining in.
“Grower Services has some really impressive programs that represent farming and tell the story to the public,” said Wentzel. “CommonGround really reaches people, connecting women farmers with women who are involved in food issues, consumer issues. We also have Minnesota Ag in the Classroom, which reaches thousands of school children with good, accurate information about where their food comes from.”
The Wentzel family’s farm story goes back to the 1920s, when Todd’s grandfather, Henry, began work as a farm hand. In the mid-to-late 1930s, he was farming on his own. Henry placed the farm in the hands of Todd’s dad and uncles, and then in 1964, Todd’s mom and dad struck out on their own. Todd, 56, has been farming since 1983.
Wentzel is passionate about the things that fuel demand for corn these days. One of the foremost is renewable fuels. He sees how ethanol has played a major role in sustaining family farming in Minnesota. In the mid-1990s, he was among the founding investors in Chippewa Valley Ethanol Cooperative, a farmer-owned ethanol maker in Benson, Minnesota.
“The demand for ethanol is such an important part of farming these days,” said Wentzel. “We need to hold on to that and build it back up after the losses we have seen in the last few years. All the other uses of corn that will grow out of ethanol are going to play a very important role in the future of farming.”
