Generate is a new Wheat Growers program dedicated to “growing the most important crop of all, our next generation of cooperative farm leaders.” Those words from Wheat Growers CEO Dale Locken summed up the first Generate event, held in Aberdeen on Friday, March 14. Wheat Growers hosted the event in cooperation with Mitchell Technical Institute and the South Dakota Center for Farm and Ranch Management.

“We are committed to providing the best products and services for our members and also the best farm business insights, knowledge and advice,” Locken said.

The agenda included farm programs with an overview of programs and options available, a financial session, and sessions on production, risk management, managing producer risk and safety. The programs were developed in coordination with Mitchell Technical Institute and the South Dakota Center for Farm and Ranch Management.

There were 22 Wheat Growers Emerging Farm Leaders at the full-day event, including Scott Anderson from Andover, S.D., and Jamason Larson from Langford, S.D.

Anderson found special value in the risk management session and said the event was a good opportunity to get ready for the planting season. “After the winter, it’s always good to get a refresher of things to think about and to keep at the front of your mind when you’re getting back into full-force farming again.”

Larson thought the sessions were very informative. “They covered a lot of things and got me thinking about some important areas like record keeping, giving me an idea of how to break things down to the field level, which I don’t always do.”

“The theme of this event was Cultivating the Future,” Dale Locken said. “The positive input we received from this event will help Wheat Growers develop more forward-looking programs that we hope will reach even more of our next generation of farmers.”