Passing the Gavel: Wells Farmer Elected MSGA President

Jun 24, 2024

The affable Wells farmer, who climbed the advocacy leadership ladder, was elected president of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association (MSGA) Thursday during the organization’s quarterly board meeting at its newly renovated office in Mankato.

In addition to Johnson, Brownton farmer Ryan Mackenthun was elevated to vice president, St. James grower Rose Wendinger will move to treasurer, while new Secretary Kyle Jore of Thief River Falls rounds out MSGA’s 2024-25 officer team. In a sign of MSGA’s commitment to uplift the next generation of grower leaders, the current officer team is its youngest in recent memory.

“I’m very humbled to be elected (vice president),” Mackenthun said. “We’ve all had a chance to learn the ropes, and this is a great opportunity to continue moving MSGA forward.”

Johnson, who farms with his uncle Scott, his wife, Rachel, and their family, runs his own seed business and holds extensive advocacy experience. He joined his local Faribault County Corn & Soybean Growers Board more than 20 years ago and serves on the board of Ag Management Solutions, the association management group that oversees MSGA. During his farmer leadership career, he’s advocated for MSGA during state and national hill visits; welcomed a presidential candidate to his farm; hosted legislative events and brought numerous international trade teams to his operation.

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Video: Understanding the Basics of the Renewable Fuel Standard

On Friday, April 24, 2026, from 12 noon–1:00 ET, the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s (PDA) Agricultural Business Development Center (ABDC), presented this webinar in the Understanding Agricultural Law Educational Series, a course designed to develop subject matter literacy and competence on fundamental issues of agricultural law for attorneys and business advisors who work with or represent agricultural or rural clients but may not necessarily specialize in agricultural law:

“Understanding the Basics of the Renewable Fuel Standard”

The Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program requires transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, or advanced biofuels. Established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and later expanded by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the RFS is implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in collaboration with the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

This webinar provides an overview of the legal authority and structure for the RFS program and explain how it works, including the program’s system of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) and categories of renewable fuels. Additionally, this webinar addresses EPA annual volume requirement rulemaking and associated recent legal issues.