MGFA’s Annual Convention to be Revamped into a Smaller Scale Event

The MGFA has held an annual convention & trade show for well over a century, bringing together Minnesota’s grain and feed industry personnel, cooperative farmer directors and industry vendors. What used to be an event that gathered 2,000+ attendees and more than 100 trade show vendors each year, has sharply declined in the last few decades, especially following the recent pandemic. Over the last couple years, the MGFA Board of Directors and staff have consulted with attendees and exhibitors about the direction of our annual convention and determined that this event needed a format change.

That being said…plans are in the works for the upcoming MGFA 118^th Annual Meeting scheduled for January 13 & 14, 2025 at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato, MN. We will begin the event with a social gathering in the later afternoon hours on January 13, followed by dinner and speakers. On January 14, we will begin our day with breakfast, followed by the 118^th Annual Meeting of the MGFA and invited speakers to round out the event. This is a greatly scaled down format from what we have planned in the past, but we hope that this slimmed-down gathering will encourage MGFA members and industry friends to make time in their schedules to network with their colleagues & learn about topics important to the Minnesota grain & feed industry.

We encourage you to share these dates with your employees and board members and make plans to attend the MGFA’s 118^th Annual Meeting. Further details, hotel reservations and event registration information will be provided in the coming weeks.

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MGFA Schedules Fall Grain Grading School for August 20 in Willmar

If you missed our spring MGFA grain grading schools earlier this year, you’re in luck! The MGFA will be sponsoring a grain grading school on Tuesday, August 20 at the Willmar Conference Center, Willmar, MN (320-235-6060). The school will be conducted in a very practical manner by licensed grain inspectors from Sioux City Inspection & Weighing Service. The focus at this school will be on the grading of corn and soybeans. Our school will begin at 9:00 AM and conclude by 3:00 PM (lunch included). Proper use of grading equipment will be demonstrated, and each participant will receive a participation certificate.

The cost for the school is $95/person for MGFA member firms. The non-member charge is $115/person. The cost includes training materials, training personnel time, breaks and lunch.

To register, complete the registration form. Please return the form, along with a check to the Minnesota Grain & Feed Association. Cancellations will be accepted up to 48 hours prior to each school. After that date a full refund cannot be guaranteed. We encourage pre-registration so we can ensure meal counts, material availability, etc.

MGFA Schedules Southern Minnesota Golf Outing for July 18

Please mark your calendars & gather your teams for the MGFA’s second summer golf outing! Our Southern Minnesota golf event will be returning to the Redwood Falls Golf Club on Thursday, July 18. This 18-hole event will begin with registration and lunch at 11:30 a.m., Tee-Time at 12:30 PM followed by Dinner and Prizes at 5:00 PM.

Prizes will be awarded for low team & high team scores, so gather your foursomes and register today!

We are seeking hole sponsorships & prize donations for this event. If you are interested in sponsoring or donating prizes, please contact the MGFA office.

MGFA Schedules Northern Minnesota Golf Outing for June 12 

Please mark your calendars & gather your teams for the MGFA’s first summer golf outing! Our Red River Valley golf event will be returning to the Oak Knolls Golf Course in Red Lake Falls, MN on Wednesday, June 12. This 9-hole event will begin at 11:00 a.m. and will be followed by a catered lunch graciously provided by our friends at the Minnesota Wheat Research & Promotion Council. Prizes will be awarded for low team & high team scores, so gather your foursomes and register today!

We are seeking hole sponsorships & prize donations for this event. If you are interested in sponsoring or donating prizes, please contact the MGFA office.

MGFA Schedules Northern MN Grain Grading School for May

The Minnesota Grain & Feed Association will be sponsoring a grain grading school next month in Mahnomen, MN. The grain grading school will be held on Thursday, May 2 at Shooting Star Casino (800-453-7827). The school is conducted in a very practical manner by licensed grain inspectors. The focus at this school will be on the grading of corn, soybeans and wheat. The school will begin at 9:00 AM and conclude by 3:00 PM (lunch included). Proper use of grading equipment will be demonstrated, and each participant will receive a participation certificate.

The cost for the school is $95/person for MGFA member firms. The non-member charge is $115/person. The cost includes training materials, training personnel time, breaks and lunch.

To register, complete the registration form. Please return the form, along with payment to the Minnesota Grain & Feed Association. Cancellations will be accepted up to 48 hours prior to each school. After that date a full refund cannot be guaranteed. We encourage pre-registration so we can ensure meal counts, material availability, etc.

MGFA Schedules Southern MN Grain Grading School for March

The Minnesota Grain & Feed Association will be sponsoring a grain grading school next month in Morton, MN. The grain grading school will be held on Thursday, March 28 at Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel (507-697-8000). The school is conducted in a very practical manner by licensed grain inspectors. The focus at this school will be on the grading of corn and soybeans. The school will begin at 9:00 AM and conclude by 3:00 PM (lunch included). Proper use of grading equipment will be demonstrated, and each participant will receive a participation certificate.

The cost for the school is $95/person for MGFA member firms. The non-member charge is $115/person. The cost includes training materials, training personnel time, breaks and lunch.

To register, complete the registration form. Please return the form, along with payment to the Minnesota Grain & Feed Association. Cancellations will be accepted up to 48 hours prior to each school. After that date a full refund cannot be guaranteed. We encourage pre-registration so we can ensure meal counts, material availability, etc.

Email Address Permissions

It has come to our attention that some of our email blasts from MGFA have been “bouncing back” for various reasons.

Please verify with your email provider that the MGFA email addresses, mgfa@usinternet.com and info@mgfa.org have the correct permissions to send email to your inbox.

if you have any questions or concerns about this, feel free to contact our office.

117^th Annual MGFA Convention Wrap-Up

Approximately 100 MGFA members and industry professionals gathered to network and learn about topics affecting the grain and feed industry at the 117^th Annual MGFA Convention and Industry Tradeshow held at Arrowwood Resort & Conference Center in Alexandria, MN.

Our convention speaker sessions addressed a number of essential topics important to MGFA members, including weather and climate impacts for Minnesota agriculture, cooperative board governance practices, agribusiness property and casualty insurance issues, ag supply chain and transportation issues, and a global ag outlook. These sessions were led by several outstanding speakers, including Dennis Todey, USDA Midwest Climate Hub; Dr. Frayne Olson, Quentin Burdick Center for Cooperatives at NDSU; Randy Daniels, Triangle Insurance Co.; Mike Steenhoek, The Soy Transportation Coalition; Joe Lardy, CHS Hedging; and the very entertaining storyteller, Mr. Dick Bremer, former play-by-play announcer for the Minnesota Twins.

MGFA members also had the opportunity to visit with 22 vendors in our industry tradeshow, to see and learn about the products & services each vendor had to offer.

During the Annual Meeting, delegates also elected and re-elected members to the board for 3-year terms, including Dale Stensrud, co-op farmer director from Central Farm Service and James Hardy, General Manager at CHS-Northern Grain, St. Hilaire.

Following the annual meeting, the MGFA Board of Directors held a re-organizational meeting to elect the Executive Committee for 2024. The MGFA Executive Committee is as follows: President – James Hardy, CHS-Northern Grain; Vice President – Cheryl Simpson, AgVantage Software; Secretary – Mark Herberg, Farmers Elevator Co. of Traverse; and Treasurer – Bob Heim, Heim Milling Co.

The 2024 – 2025 Scholarship application is now available on our Scholarship page.

Applicants must be:

1. The child of an elevator or feed mill employee whose employer is a current MGFA member, in good standing with the Association, OR
2. An employee/intern of an elevator or feed mill whose employer is a current MGFA member, in good standing with the Association
3. The student must be pursuing a degree in agriculture (preference will be given to those pursuing a degree in agribusiness) and have a minimum GPA of 2.75.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our office at info@mgfa.org.