On January 25, 2029, Minnesota Crop Improvement Association presented its highest honor, the Achievement in Crop Improvement Award, to brothers Mac Ehrhardt and Tom Ehrhardt of Albert Lea Seed. The award, presented annually since 1972, recognizes exemplary service to the seed industry as well as outstanding leadership in agriculture.
MCIA also recognized four Premier Seed Grower awardees, Brad Barth of Thief River Falls, Brian and Betsy Jensen of Stephen, and Maynard Peterson of Stephen. Each year since 1928, MCIA has presented this award to recognize individuals or partners involved in quality seed production, active in MCIA, and who provide excellent service to the seed industry.
The recipients of MCIA’s Honorary Premier Seed Grower Award this year were retired MCIA field inspector Lonnie Perrine and Brent Turnipseed, Professor Emeritus of Agronomy, South Dakota State University. This award recognizes individuals not directly involved in seed production but who have actively supported the seed industry, MCIA, and their local community. MCIA has presented this award annually since 1930.
The awards were presented at the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association’s 122nd Annual Meeting. The event was held at the Holiday Inn and Suites in St. Cloud, Minnesota, January 29, 2025.
Following are brief profiles of each awardee. More detailed coverage will be provided in the spring issue of the Minnesota Seed Grower.
Achievement in Crop Improvement Award
Mac Ehrhardt and Tom Ehrhardt are third-generation co-owners of Albert Lea Seed, a family business located in southern Minnesota, founded in 1923. At the start, it provided seed and other farm supplies. As children, the two brothers did age-appropriate work for the business, sweeping the seed conditioning plant and bagging seed potatoes and garden seeds. After graduating from college, both brothers found their way back home and eventually assumed leadership of the family business, working side-by-side for over thirty years.
While the company has always worked with a wide range of certified crop species, their growth and niche has been in nontraited and organic seed. Albert Lea Seed became one of the top suppliers of non-GMO and organic seed in the United States. Their Blue River Organic, Viking Non-GMO, and Albert Lea Seed product lines are well known across the country. Their success story continues today with over 40 employees and 6,000 customers across the Midwest and beyond. The business has adopted a stock-ownership structure that will, over time, transition ownership of the company to an employee group, establishing the next generation of management.
Mac and Tom’s involvement with MCIA runs deep, as heirs to decades of certified seed production and as advocates for new program development; for example, MCIA’s Non-GMO Seed Traceability and 99.9% Non-GMO programs.
The Ehrhardt brothers have worked with countless farmers and seed producers across the state, building relationships as well as a tremendous reputation. Among Albert Lea Seeds’ innovations are online seed sales, field days, and crop production conferences. Tom and Mac have both said that personal relationships with their customers and seeing their customers’ success in the field have been two of the greatest rewards of Albert Lea Seeds’ business.
Mac Ehrhardt accepted the Achievement in Crop Improvement Award, saying, “I’m really honored because I feel like I’m accepting it on behalf of everybody in my company, because it’s a team.”
Premier Seed Grower Awards
Brad Barth, of Thief River Falls, grew up in northern Minnesota, and was introduced to farming through his father’s work in agriculture. However, Brad’s first career, lasting 17 years, was in accounting. Around 1997, he and his wife, Joyce, started Brad Barth Farms, doing custom work and their own crop production. About 10 years later, they built an MCIA-approved, on-farm seed conditioning facility and seed business.
Today, Brad Barth Farms grows certified wheat varieties that they sell and supply to many area growers and MCIA Approved Facilities. Almost all their soybean seed production is for a private company.
Brad has served on the MCIA Board of Directors for six years, five of those years as chairman. Hosting the AOSCA annual meeting in Minesota in 2023 was a highlight of his board tenure.
Brian and Betsy Jensen, of Stephen, farm from the edge of the Lake Agassiz beach ridge to the heart of the Red River Valley. Brian grew up on his family’s farm near Stephen, Minnesota. Betsy grew up near Bricelyn, Minnesota. Her family had a crop and livestock farm and owned a Case farm equipment dealership.
The two met while studying at NDSU. After they married, Brian returned to the farm and seed business; Betsy worked as a commodity broker. A few years later, she began teaching farm management at Northland College. She has also conducted marketing classes and written a regular column for Prairie Grains magazine.
Brian and Betsy have continued to grow their farm, raising wheat, barley, soybeans, sugar beets, canola, and pinto beans. Their seed business, Jensen Seed Co., conditions certified seed and does custom cleaning. They raise and condition MCIA foundation seed. Brian and Betsy are very active in their local community.
Maynard Peterson, of Stephen, grew up in a farming family in northwest Minnesota and northeast North Dakota. He attended East Grand Forks Technical college for diesel mechanics, all the while working on the family farm. After college, he worked for neighboring farmers, and at his own farm operation. His farm grew, field by field. Maynard’s certified seed production started when a nearby farmer, John Jensen, asked him to grow certified seed, as Jensen Seed Co. had an on-farm seed conditioning facility. Seed production became an important part of the farm.
Today the farm grows wheat, soybeans, sugar beets, corn, and canola. Seed production continues for both certified wheat and soybeans for a private company. Maynard says he has always enjoyed growing crops, raising seed, and the great friendships he has made in the seed business.
Honorary Premier Seed Grower Awards
Lonnie Perrine, of Perham, began working for MCIA as a part-time field inspector in 1999. He inspected his final fields for MCIA in 2021. Over the years, Lonnie has inspected tens of thousands of acres of small grains and soybeans. He also inspected approved seed conditioner and bulk handling facilities for 10 years.
Describing varieties is both a technical ability and art. Through the years, Lonnie’s report writing and documentation became well known for their detail, clarity, and professionalism. Lonnie provided MCIA with one of its most valuable inspection tools ever: “Lonnie’s Soybean Grading” card. It is used by MCIA’s inspectors to determine the timing of field inspections.
Lonnie and his wife, Linda, have lived on their farm in the Perham area for over 47 years. Lonnie was recently recognized by his local church for over 50 years of dedication as a member of the worship team.
Brent Turnipseed has had a long and illustrious academic career. In his 33 years (so far) at South Dakota State University he has served as an assistant department head, professor, seed laboratory manager, student advisor, research lead, and crops team coach. Today, in what is described as a “working retirement transition,” he serves as Interim Department Head of the Agronomy, Horticulture, and Plant Science Department. Brent’s seed laboratory work and research, along with his teaching and student advising, is well known throughout the Midwest and the entire country.
Brent has worked closely with MCIA in many aspects of seed testing, including conducting all seed tests on MCIA samples for many years and, today, the SDSU Seed Laboratory partners with MCIA on tests that need to be outsourced.
There is no way to truly measure the impact Brent has made on his students, staff, and the seed industry over the years. His contributions may best be described as unmeasurable.
