A Letter From Perry Brown, Executive Director
As most of you are aware, I seldom write executive director’s comments, preferring the focus to be on MFAI’s and partner organizations’ programs and events. However, this time is different as I have made the decision to retire after 48+ plus years in the workplace. Starting October 1, I will be spending more time with my wife, Kathy, our 4 adult children, and 10 grandchildren. As with most retirees, I also plan to spend time with my outside interests and volunteering time with organizations and causes I believe in.
To say that my career in agriculture has greatly surpassed my wildest imagination would be a huge understatement. While I grew up on a diversified grain and livestock farm in East Central Illinois, from the beginning my parents encouraged me to gain a college education and look for opportunities outside of our small rural community. They also instilled in me the belief that happiness, in this life, does not always depend on how much money you earn, but rather what you can do to help others learn and grow.
Early in my career as a teacher, I saw the look of amazement on a teenager’s face as they began to understand how agriculture is the backbone of our food system, and how the decisions we make in crop production affect the land and our environment. I have had the opportunity to travel to over 30 different countries promoting U.S. commodities and Midwest-based food products. I proudly collaborated with a team of Wisconsin innovators led by Dan Carter who was a champion of entrepreneurship. Dan believed the Wisconsin Cheese industry could change from a commodity cheese producer to a specialty and artisan industry that now makes over 600 unique and award-winning cheeses. Some 20+ years ago the late Rod Nilsestuen, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture from 2003 - 2010, taught me to take a spark of an idea and turn it into a plan with a pen and a restaurant paper napkin. He then gave me the chance to work with organic producers and processors as well as the managed intensive grazing industry. Thanks to this opportunity, I met industry leaders like Dick Cates, Joe Tomandl, Sr., George Siemon and his farmers at Organic Valley, Will Hughes, Paul Dietmann and the late Paul Bickford who all became mentors and friends and helped me understand we can create sustainable farming/food systems that support our environment.
All of this work and experience led me to my current position as the Executive Director here at Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. I owe a great thanks to Laura Paine and Paul Dietmann who invited me to lunch in the fall of 2016 and would not let me leave the restaurant until I promised I would apply for the open ED position at MFAI. As most of you know, I was fortunate to be chosen to fill this position starting in January of 2017.
Since then, I have spent most of my time reimagining many of the programs at MFAI and helping staff develop strong partnerships with many Wisconsin based organizations supporting the sustainable and organic farming and food processing industries. A few, but not all, the recent programs we have started since 2017 include:
Supporting the Iowa County based Uplands Watershed Farmer Group to reduce runoff and improve water quality in their rivers and streams.
Working in partnership with USDA/ARS Dairy Forage Research Center and the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Integrated Ag Systems to promote farmers using cover crops and creating the Soil Health Collaborative project.
Moving our field crop research from corn to focus on small grains and cover crops.
Helping to develop agronomics principles and open markets for the new perennial grain crop, Kernza.
Submitting and receiving a USDA/NIFA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Program grant in partnership with OGRAIN and the Artisan Grain Collaborative to start the Midwest GRIT (Grains Resource & Immersive Training) program and educate beginning farmer how to diversify by growing and marketing food grade small grains.
Submitting and receiving a Wisconsin based USDA/NRCS grant to launch the Wisconsin Women in Conservation (WiWiC) program, a 5+ year project working with the Wisconsin Farmers Union, Renewing the Countryside and Marbleseed to cultivate connections, identify resources, and amplify stories of women stewarding the land.
Utilizing Soil Health Collaborative funds in 2022 to start the Midwest Farmers of Color Soil Health Network designed to educate 6-BIPOC groups in the upper-Midwest on soil health and cover crop utilization.
As you can see, we have not been idle since I joined the MFAI team. Great appreciation goes to present and past board members who believed in our vision, and to Shannah, Margaret, Nicole, Esther, Christine, Coral, Noemy, Chuck and Mrill, the MFAI staff who have made my job easy and amaze me every day with their vision for the future of agriculture, dedication to MFAI, and support of the organic/sustainable agriculture industry.
I leave this position to the new ED with the satisfaction of knowing that MFAI has great staff and board support, the ability to evolve and change with agriculture’s future, and great partnerships with other organizations committed to sustaining the organic industry in Wisconsin. I will miss seeing everyone at numerous winter conferences and other events, but know you will welcome the next Executive Director with the same support you gave me.
Look for the Executive Director’s position announcement on our website in late July or early August.
-Perry Brown