A program to propel agriculture and your farm

LEADERSHIP CORPS, SPONSORED BY MFA, IS PREPARING FOR THE 2015 CLASS

This spring, local MFA staff and area sales managers are submitting nominations for the 2015 Leadership Corps, sponsored by MFA. They are seeking farm couples who are up to the challenge of learning, expanding their horizons and representing agriculture.

Leadership Corps was developed by MFA nearly 30 years ago in an effort to develop leadership among MFA members, who, in turn, could become leaders in the cooperative, their local communities and agriculture in general.

The program brings farm couples from the breadth of MFA’s trade territory together for two meetings in Columbia, Mo. During those meetings, participants hear from cooperative leadership about the issues, challenges and successes that MFA finds in the modern agricultural marketplace. Additional programming includes outside speakers on leadership and fact-finding tours covering agricultural research and technology. Leadership Corps programming seeks to not just enlighten participants about big-picture issues, but send them home with information that is a benefit to the day-to-day operations of their farm.

Leadership Corps isn’t a one-way flow of information. The interaction between participants and MFA senior management, technical experts and staff has long been held an important part of the program. Hearing from members about the challenges and strategies on their farms is valuable. 

Brian Griffith, senior vice president of corporate services and general counsel at MFA Incorporated, oversees the Leadership Corps. He said the tradition of a leadership program is something MFA is proud of and still values as a tool for its own operations as well as an asset to general agriculture.

“Agriculture doesn’t exist in a vacuum,” he said. “We have watched over the years as the outside pressure on traditional agricultural practices has mounted. We have also watched as farmers themselves have increasingly become spokespeople for the industry. Leadership Corps is an opportunity for farm couples to meet and let their ideas coalesce. It’s a chance for MFA to give its outlook on current issues as well as the future. And it’s a chance for everyone involved to learn from each other and propel our common interests.”

If you have an interest in participating in Leadership Corps, visit with your local MFA manager or call 573-876-5344. Send e-mail inquiries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Due to limited space in the program, there is a selection process. Nominees who don’t participate in the 2015 session are eligible for re-nomination in future sessions.