New FIRST manager promotes information access for all farmers

Matt Dahle is a business manager for Farmers’ Independent Research of Seed Technologies (FIRST) covering the central Minnesota and north-central Iowa districts. Starting in 1997, the program now tests corn grain, corn silage and soybean seed products in 15 states.

Originally from Ellendale, Minnesota, Dahle graduated from South Dakota State University.

He lives on an acreage outside of Waseca, Minnesota, just 20 miles from where he grew up. He and his wife, Karen, have two sons, Charlie, 2, and Tommy, who is almost 6 months.

“They tend to take up a good portion of my free time. But when I’m not spending time with them, I like to play golf and work on our acreage,” Dahle said.

IFT: How long have you been in your field and your current positions?

DAHLE: I started in my current role as business manager for FIRST just this past January. In addition to that work, I also manage the North Central Iowa region as a field manager overseeing our trials and doing field work. Actively managing a region while also working to build new business relationships for FIRST gives me a great perspective when talking with potential partners about ways to work with FIRST.