Midwest Council on Agriculture

MIDWEST COUNCIL ON AGRICULTURE

Written by: Howard Olson SVP Government & Public Affairs

The Midwest Council on Agriculture is an agriculture advocacy group organized in 2021 by former Chairman of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee Collin Peterson. It is made up of over 60 businesses and farm organizations from seven states across the upper Midwest. AgCountry Farm Credit Services is one of the founding members of the organization. AgCountry’s SVP of Government and Public Affairs, Howard Olson, is chairman of the Midwest Council’s Board of Directors.

The Council’s mission is to harness the power of a multi-state coalition of farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses, commodity groups, and agriculture lenders who are united with common goals. The group advocates for strong agriculture and economic policy promoting the long-term sustainability of the ag industry in the Midwest region.

Over his long tenure in office, Chairman Peterson became a very strong voice in Washington for agriculture across not only Minnesota but North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and the rest of the upper Midwest. When he left office in 2021, the region lost a strong voice with decades of seniority in the U.S. House of Representatives. The founding members of the Council recognized that he has the experience, leadership, and continued relationships in D.C., which provided an opportunity to create an ag organization that could represent farms and agribusinesses in the upper Midwest.

The Midwest Council meets in person quarterly, and virtually each month in-between. The council hosted its first annual summer agriculture forum in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota on August 22 and 23. At the summer forum, members heard from a number of USDA leaders and other ag leaders on current policy, recent legislation, and future opportunities for changes and improvements in ag policy and collaboration within the industry.

Please look for more information on the Midwest Council of Agriculture in the near future. To stay up to date, please visit their website at midwestcouncil.org.

Chairman Collin Peterson