Issue 6
March 1997

MAWG President at Ag Summit: "don’t be a homer"
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Prairie Grains is the
official publication of
the Minnesota
Association of
Wheat Growers,
North Dakota Grain
Growers Association,
South Dakota Wheat,
Inc., and the
Minnesota Barley
Growers Association.


 MAWG President Tim Dufault was a program participant of the Governor’s Ag Summit, held recently in Minneapolis. In a panel discussion on adding value to agriculture, Dufault said "value-added is not a movement or political statement; we are not trying to take on the ‘big boys,’ and we are not doing it to save our farms, because adding value to our commodities alone will not save the farm. What we are basically trying to do is make money, pure and simple. In any business the bottom line is profit and that is very true with the value-added concept.

It is just a natural business progression, in which we are trying to find more and better ways to sell the commodities we produce."

Dufault said Minnesota must create a friendlier regulatory climate for value-added agriculture. He also said, "don’t be a homer."

He explained that a value-added plant or facility doesn’t have to be built in Minnesota to benefit Minnesotans. If it benefits the farmers in Minnesota, it will benefit the whole state.

"If you have ten communities vying for the same plant, you’ll have one winner and nine losers. Sure the winner will have a few more jobs in town, but I argue that the other nine will also be winners because their farmers will have more profit, and that will help keep the towns all throughout this region growing and vibrant," he said. "Instead of competing for value-added projects, let’s get them to work together to create opportunities. Let’s not forget what the derivative word of cooperative is. It’s cooperate."

Dufault serves as secretary of United Spring Wheat Processors, is an investor in the American Crystal Sugar Company, and is an investor in Glacier Frozen Foods, a vegetable processing co-op based in McIntosh, MN.

Copyright Prairie
Grains Magazine
March 1997