New Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) Board of Directors member Nick Peterson comes from a family with a long tradition of service in agriculture.

Peterson’s dad, Alan, was “involved in everything,” from the Irrigators Association of Minnesota (IAM) to a variety of other farm groups. Nick’s older brother Ryan is on the Benton/Sherburne County Corn Growers Association Board of Directors.

When Alan passed away from cancer in spring 2020, it accelerated plans to bring Nick back into the family farming operation in Clear Lake. It also strengthened his desire to give back to farming and farmers, the way his dad had.

In recent years, Nick has helped with county corn grower association events and volunteered in fundraising efforts for IAM, including the Alan Peterson Agricultural Scholarship. In January, he successfully ran for the open District 5 seat on the MCGA board, which oversees one of the nation’s largest grassroots farmer organizations. The board also works closely with the Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council to invest Minnesota corn check-off funds into programs that increase opportunities for corn farmers.

District 5 covers central Minnesota and Renville and Kandiyohi counties.

“I am really excited to join the MCGA board, to take part in the work of its focus teams and see how I can be of benefit to the organization,” Nick said.

Emphasis on 

Conservation

Nick and his brother Ryan raise corn, soybeans, edible beans, and cereal rye under irrigation and finish about 300 head of Holsteins on their family farm, called A&L Peterson Farms, Inc. Nick also owns a corn and soybean seed dealership with a farmer in Buffalo.

The brothers place significant emphasis on conservation and have worked with the local soil and water conservation district to implement best management practices in their farming operation. That includes cover crops, precision irrigation, no-till, and reduced tillage.

“We began using strip till a year and a half ago on a number of our acres,” Nick said. “Our sandy soils are very prone to wind erosion, and preventing that has been a main focus of most of these practices.”

In 2022, A&L Peterson Farms, Inc. won an Outstanding Conservationist award from the Sherburne County Soil and Water Conservation District in recognition of “outstanding accomplishments in protecting, preserving and restoring our natural resources.”

Nick also brings to the MCGA board an awareness of the importance of corn exports. He and Ryan truck a portion of their corn to the CHS Savage Terminal, where it’s loaded onto barges bound for New Orleans and then overseas.

Exports, along with value-added segments like animal agriculture and ethanol, are critical to maintaining prosperity for corn farmers and rural communities.

Nick said he is grateful for the guidance of previous MCGA District 5 board member Jocelyn Schlichting, who farms in Rice. He said he’s excited for the chance to learn from board and council members and to see how he can help the farming industry.

Learn more about the MCGA board by visiting mncorn.org.