At its 113th  annual meeting in Fergus Falls, the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association recognized the contributions of five members who have worked to enhance seed value and marketability over the years.

Craig Damstrom, Alexandria, received the 2016 Achievement in Crop Improvement award, MCIA’s highest honor, recognizing exemplary service to agriculture and the seed industry, as well as outstanding leadership.

Neal Anderson, MCIA 2016 Premier Seedsman Award. Jochum Wiersma, MCIA 2016 Honorary Premier Seedsman Award.

Damstrom began his association with MCIA in the last 1980s when he left his corporate career to purchase and manage the family’s irrigated farm near Alexandria. He has served on the MCIA board since 2011. He has extensive international experience which provided beneficial perspective at board meetings.

He began his agricultural career by serving as a Peace Corp volunteer in Guatemala and then worked as a Peace Corps adviser in Ecuador. He spent the early part of his career in top management positions for two fortune 500 companies and worked in Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada and the U.S. He also served as an agricultural trade consultant for the state of Minnesota and was a pioneering member of the Midwest Shippers organization.

Damstrom was unable to attend the meeting and will receive his award later this spring.

The Farmer magazine has sponsored the Achievement in Crop Improvement Award since its inception in 1972.

MCIA Premier Seedsman Awards were given to Neal Anderson of St. Peter, David Rule of Crookston, and Jonathon Olson of Cottonwood.

Anderson and his family have been producing hybrid seed corn since 1938. It began when his grandfather N. E. Anderson produced certified seed of the 403 Minhybrid. Today, Neal and his brother peter produce about 350 acres of seed corn in addition to soybean seed and occasionally oats.

The Andersons are licensed through several companies to produced traited hybrids. However, they have seen a steadily increasing demand for their conventional varieties. Their retail efforts cater to the smaller farm businesses and they also wholesale their seed corn to Albert Lea Seed House.

Anderson is the second generation to receive this honor. His father received it in 1970.

Brule continues his family’s history of seed production. His father began growing seed in the 1950s. He was an early adapter and was one of the first in the area to use commercial fertilizer. He also was the first farmer east of Crookston to buy sugar beet stock.

Brule took over the family farm in 1974. Over the years, he has primarily produced certified wheat and barley seed. He farms with his son Todd, producing certified wheat seed, soybeans, corn, sugar beets and black turtle beans.

Olson traces his family ties to MCIA back to the 1920s when his grandfather Nuel began producing seed. Today, the Olson family produces their blue tag certified seed organically, in addition to operating a custom hog finishing business.

The family transitioned to organic in 1998 to take advantage of the high premiums being paid for organic food grade soybeans. As they worked on their organic production methods, more and more acres were converted. Today, all of their crop production is farmed organically. Most of their seed production is for Albert Lea Seed House. They also sell seed through their own network of organic customers.

Olson is the third generation to receive this honor. His grandfather received it in 1932 and his father in 1989.

And receiving the 2016 MCIA Honorary Premier Seedsman Award was Jochum Wiersma, University of Minnesota grain specialist based in Crookston.

Wiersma, who grew up on a dairy and crop farm in the Netherlands, has degrees in plant breeding. In 1996, he established the Red River Valley On-Farm Yield Trials, a valuable resource for farmers and colleagues. The additional test locations provide more yield and agronomic data for all. In recent years, he has worked closely with Jim Anderson and the U-M spring wheat breeding program. Wiersma now oversees some 4,000 yield trial plots each year at 11 locations.