MFB delegates elect Ben LaCross to serve as president, complete board elections

A sweet and tart cherry grower is the new president of Michigan Farm Bureau.

On Dec. 4, MFB delegates elected Ben LaCross to serve as the grassroots organization’s 17th president at the organization's 105th State Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids. LaCross succeeds Tuscola County sugar beet grower Carl Bednarski, who retired after 10 years as president.

LaCross, who served as the District 9 Director on MFB’s Board of Directors, grows roughly 850 acres of cherries in Leelanau County with his parents, Glenn and Judy. He and wife Kelsey have two sons, Keaton and Cameron, and a daughter, Lauren.

“In Farm Bureau, it's about agriculture, and it's about moving agriculture forward,” LaCross said. “I'm so inspired by our members every day — by what they do to provide food for our nation, for our state. That inspiration really drives me, and I know it drives the rest of the board of directors to do the right thing — to move agriculture forward and help solve the problems our farmers face.”

LaCross said he also looks forward to connecting with industry stakeholders, including Michigan State University and members of the state Legislature.

“I want to thank all of our members who are so supportive of Michigan Farm Bureau,” LaCross added. “Our county Farm Bureau boards are the backbone of our organization. We wouldn't be where we are right now without them, and we're going to work on strengthening those relationships … to help give them what they need to be successful at the local level.”

Previously, LaCross served for four years on the MFB Young Farmer Committee, including two (2007 and 2008) as the committee chairman and Young Farmer Representative on the MFB Board of Directors. He also served on the MFB Policy Development Committee and as chair of AFBF’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee in 2011. Learn more about LaCross here.

“It is a new day with new leadership,” Bednarski told delegates following LaCross’ announcement. “I look forward to it because your organization is going to be in good hands with this board of directors.”

District Directors

Every year half of the MFB Board of Directors are up for election or reelection: even-numbered districts in even years, odd districts in odd years. Five incumbents were reelected to their positions, including:

• Jennifer Lewis — District 2 (Branch, Calhoun, Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee)
• Jeff Sandborn — District 4 (Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Kent, Ottawa)
• Michael Mulders — District 8 (Bay, Gratiot, Isabella, Midland, Saginaw)
• Leona Daniels — District 10 (Arenac, Clare, Gladwin, Huron Shores, Iosco, Ogemaw)
• Dave Bahrman — District 12 (the entire Upper Peninsula)

After 10 years of service representing members in the Thumb — Huron, Lapeer, Sanilac, St. Clair and Tuscola counties — District 6 Director Travis Fahley of St. Clair County chose not to seek reelection.

Elected to succeed him is fourth-generation Croswell-area farmer Mike Noll, previous president of the Sanilac County Farm Bureau. Noll and his brother Mark form the core of a diversified farm operation — achieving centennial status next year — that includes a dairy, beef feedlot, pickling cucumbers and row crops including corn, soybeans, alfalfa and sugar beets. Noll was also a MFB Young Farmer Achievement Finalist in 2013.

Noll and his wife of 24 years Jordan have four children: Jacob, Joseph, Rece and Riley.

State Committees

Also joining MFB’s Board of Directors are new leaders atop the organization’s state-level Young Farmer and Promotion & Education committees.

St. Joseph County’s Riley Brazo succeeds Lenawee’s Abby Vittore as chair of MFB’s State Young Farmer Committee. Brazo works for Fawn River Farms, raising seed and commercial corn, soybeans and 6,000 head of hogs. He lives near Sturgis with his wife Ashley and their son Theo.

Taking the reins of MFB’s State Promotion & Education Committee is Alyssa Sanford, who raises corn, soybeans, pumpkins, wheat, hay, laying hens and turkeys on a 200-acre centennial farm in Jackson County. She takes over from two-year chair Jess Erler of Osceola County.

Other Incumbents

Not up for reelection this year are those directors representing odd-numbered districts:

• Larry Walton — District 1 (Berrien, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Van Buren)
• Mike Fusilier — District 3 (Livingston, Monroe, Oakland, Washtenaw, Wayne)
• Stephanie Schafer — District 5 (Clinton, Eaton, Genesee, Ingham, Shiawassee)
• Michael DeRuiter — District 7 (Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola)
• District 9 — Vacant, will be filled in special election (Benzie, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee, Wexford)
• Patrick McGuire — District 11 (Alcona, Alpena, Antrim, Charlevoix, Crawford, Emmet, Iosco, Kalkaska, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle and Roscommon)

Eligible candidates for MFB director positions must be “directly and actively engaged in farming as owners and/or operators of farms whose primary interest is in farming,” and may not be employed full-time in an occupation other than farming, nor serving in a county, state or national elective office.

At-Large

Neither of the board’s two other at-large positions were up for reelection this year. Branch County’s Paul Pridgeon and Abe Pasch of Isabella County will return to the ballot in 2025.