Ryan, a longtime irrigating farmer, and oldest son of former IAM president Alan Peterson, partners in the operation of the “A & L Peterson Farm” with his brother Nick and their mother Laurie and their families near Clear Lake, Minnesota.
Earlier this week MCGA announced that Ryan’s brother Nick was elected to the Minnesota Corn Growers Association Board of Directors.
MCGA article went on to say that “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 brother Ryan is on the Benton/Sherburne County Corn Growers Association Board of Directors
In 2022, the A & L Peterson Farms, Inc. was awarded the “Outstanding Conservationist Cooperator” from the Sherburne County Soil and Water Conservation District in recognition of their “outstanding accomplishments in protecting, preserving and restoring our natural resources.”
Nick and Ryan’s father Alan served on the IAM board of directors for many years representing East Central Irrigators Association and also served as President of the IAM Board for 18 years. Nick and Ryan’s grandfather Cecil and their father Alan started irrigating in 1976.
The Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (MASWCD) announced finalists for the state’s 2022 Outstanding Conservationist Award in the fall of 2022 before awarding the state winner during the 86th annual MASWCD Annual Meeting.Sherburne SWCD and Region 4 of MASWCD nominated the A & L Peterson farm for the sate award and said this “The A & L Peterson Farms Inc, operated by Ryan and Nick Peterson, is a corn, soybean, edible beans, and small grains operation that continues to diversify with every opportunity. Within the last year, Ryan and Nick have become certified through the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP) with the Irrigation Enhancement, worked with the University of Minnesota to plant Winter Camelina for harvest, and purchased strip-till equipment.
The brothers have also been a strong voice on Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Plan Local Advisory Team which will help address groundwater nitrate impairment and worked along SWCD staff and Nature Conservancy staff on a three-year cover crop project to measure impacts on soil health and nitrates. They continue to do outstanding work, implementing conservation practices, and carrying on the legacy of their father, Alan.”
(edited by Jerry Wright, IAM Membership Director Feb 18th, 2023)
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