Get to Know the Growers: Tom Haag
The Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA), the state’s grassroots organization for corn farmers, is led by 18 board members with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. In our “Get to Know the Growers” interview series, we’ll learn about their farms, work with Minnesota Corn, and thoughts on agriculture. Interviews for the project are by Jonathan Eisenthal.
Tom Haag, MCGA board member, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) board chair
Eden Valley, Minnesota
Tell us about your farm: Where is it, what do you grow, how long have you farmed, who do you farm with, how long has your family farmed this land?
My son Nathan and I raise corn and soybeans in Eden Valley on land that’s been in my family since 1911. I grew up in a house my grandfather built on the property in 1916, and now Nathan and his family—his wife, Cami, and their five children—live there. We’re hoping some of their kids will be interested in farming. They would be the sixth generation of farmers in our family.
Farming has been a good way of life for me and my wife, Linda. There are always challenges as a farmer, but I’m always optimistic and ready to meet them.
What do you like about farming?
Mainly that each year is a new venture. Every year you get excited as spring comes around and goosebumps when you are getting ready to start for the season. You think, “It’s going to be a new adventure,” and you want to get going.
You’ve been on the NCGA board since 2016 and a member of its executive leadership team since 2021. What issues are important to growers at the national level now?
One of the biggest things is that we must pass a new Farm Bill that protects crop insurance and widens the farm safety net. Crop insurance and the farm safety net are critical for protecting farmers during tough years, especially as input costs rise and margins decrease.
Another important issue is the ongoing effort to stop Mexico’s illegal ban on U.S. biotech corn imports, which goes against scientific evidence and is in direct violation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The U.S. Trade Representative made the right decision in summer 2023 to establish a USMCA dispute panel in response to the ban. The ban, if enacted, would harm U.S. farm families, the U.S. economy, and the Mexican people, particularly those who already struggle to feed their families. We’re hopeful the dispute panel will make the correct decision and force Mexico to comply with the USMCA.
Why should the public care about field corn production? What value does corn provide to society?
Field corn is critical to supporting the livestock industry, both in the U.S. and abroad. It’s also critical to produce ethanol, which increases energy independence, reduces emissions, lowers gas prices, increases consumer choice at the pump, and supports corn farmers and rural communities. Corn farmers in the U.S. do a great job of producing an ample supply of corn each year to ensure we can meet all these needs, both at home and internationally.
Conservation is an important topic for corn growers and the public. How have you implemented conservation practices in your operation?
On corn ground that will be planted to soybeans the next year, we use a vertical tillage tool in the fall and spring that only works the top 2-3 inches of the ground. That minimizes disturbance, keeps all the crop residue on top of the ground, and maintains more of the topsoil. I was skeptical about the tool at first, but my son has made a believer out of me. These “kids” are not afraid to try the new technology. When we were coming up, we didn’t have as much awareness of new research, and we just kept doing things the way they had been done.
Who has inspired you by their example? What did you find inspiring about them?
Andy Quinn, who was a founder of the Bushmills ethanol plant in Atwater, comes to mind. I also think of the two grower-leaders who served terms as NCGA president right before me—John Linder of Ohio and Chris Edgington of Iowa. The three of us became close friends after joining the NCGA board. We’ve challenged one another to learn all that we can and do better and better.
How do you like to spend free time (when you have it)?
Linda and I have a pontoon, and we take rides around the lake that we live on. We also enjoy going to see the grandkids play their sports. I enjoyed sports when I was growing up and used to coach basketball for both boys and girls.
What do you think is something about farming that might be surprising to the average consumer?
The average consumer might think that all a farmer needs to know is how to plant and harvest a crop. In reality, farmers need to spend quite a bit of time studying their fields to understand soil conditions, to maximize input use efficiency. There’s also a lot that goes into grain marketing that might surprise people. If we don’t do it right, we won’t stay in business. Farming is so much more than tending plants or raising animals. It’s the business of feeding the world, and it takes a lot to keep it going.
