ST. PAUL
The Minnesota State Honest elected Ron Kelsey, Lamberton, to Honorary Life membership within the Minnesota State Agricultural Society throughout its gathering Jan. 15. Kelsey has served as superintendent of farm crops on the Minnesota State Honest for the previous 22 years, and in 2006 acquired his 50-year award for truthful participation.
The State Agricultural Society is made up of delegates from every of the state’s 87 county gala’s, plus representatives of 44 statewide associations concerned in agriculture, horticulture and training. The society is charged solely with the manufacturing of the Minnesota State Honest and administration of the historic 322-acre state fairgrounds.
Kelsey, who grew up on a farm close to Lewisville along with his 9 siblings, attended his first Minnesota State Honest at age 7 in 1947. It was the identical 12 months the present Agriculture Horticulture Constructing debuted on the fairgrounds, and Kelsey hasn’t missed a state truthful within the 75 years since.
Alongside along with his mother and father and siblings, the household was devoted to agriculture and exhibiting their award-winning crops — particularly corn. They gained greater than 40 corn championships on the state truthful.
Kelsey is so keen on corn that he now bears a tattoo of an ear of corn on his forearm — gifted to him by his household for his seventy fifth birthday.
Julie Buntjer / The Globe
A graduate of Madelia Excessive College and the College of Minnesota, Kelsey taught agriculture and served because the FFA advisor at what’s now Crimson Rock Central for 35 years. After he retired from educating, one in every of his former college students, Steve Pooch, deputy state truthful supervisor, really useful he function superintendent of farm crops on the state truthful.
As superintendent, Kelsey oversees all farm crops, scarecrows, the 1,300 classic seed sack assortment he owns and shows annually, and the one-of-a-kind crop artwork competitors that attracts many guests annually.
Solely Minnesota crop seeds could also be used within the crop artwork exhibit, and no weed seeds are allowed. Kelsey makes positive of that as a superintendent.
Kelsey and his spouse, Jeanne, work on the state truthful yearly, and their 4 kids have additionally labored within the farm crops space on the state truthful.
Along with his involvement with the state truthful, Kelsey is the previous mayor and metropolis council member of Lamberton, served on the Crimson Rock Central Excessive College Board of Training, and has been a member of the native Lions Membership for greater than 50 years. He’s lively within the United Methodist Church, and has a protracted historical past of management and volunteerism with the native FFA chapter, serving because the soils coach for 54 years. He nonetheless helps college students and adults put together and exhibit their grain samples on the truthful.
Kelsey has additionally written a weekly column for the Lamberton Information for the previous 57 years.
