An FFA Corn Drive is kind of like trick or treating but on an industrial scale.
Instead of walking up to doorsteps, the students ride out to farmers’ fields. Rather than asking for a candy treat, they request a donation of shelled corn. In place of bags or plastic pumpkin pails, the farmers auger their corn—sometimes hundreds of dollars worth—into large grain hauling trucks.
During its October 11 drive, the Cleveland FFA chapter collected corn from about 25 farmers who, all told, donated 1,770 bushels. When taken to the Traverse elevator (northwest of St. Peter), the haul cashed out at $6,378.32, said Ag/Tech teacher Jordan Kuehl, who, along with Ag teacher Madisyn Schuster, chaperoned a group of students as they visited farmers around Cleveland.
Another dozen or so other donors contributed monetarily for a total of $820, upping the amount the FFA collected to $7,198.32.
Considering the wet spring pushed yields down as much as 50 bushels per acre from a year ago, and corn prices are about 14 percent lower from then as well, Kuehl was pleased with the support.
“The Cleveland FFA is very appreciative of the generosity of its farming community. We are fully aware that this harvest season may not have been as profitable as past years, but we are very grateful to those who chose to donate part of their harvest.”
The money raised from the Corn Drive will help the Cleveland FFA chapter pay for transportation costs and cover student attendance fees for events such as the state convention and regional contests.
Volunteers Jamie Baker and Ryan Ponwith both drove grain haul trucks to collect the kernel donations while Kuehl and Schuster each drove a group of students: Marshall Heldberg, Evan Hoffmann and Nolan Schlaak with Kuehl and Brennon Holicky, Vanessa Wondra and Cleveland FFA president Samantha Baker with Schuster.
The students gave the farmers a brown-bag lunch, paid for by a donation from Ag Partners, which owns the Traverse elevator.
Besides being the FFA’s largest fundraiser, the Corn Drive is a fun and popular experience, Kuehl said.
“Students enjoy participating in this event as it allows them to connect with their local community members who are well versed in the farming industry. The farming community also enjoys this event as it lets them talk with the students to see what they are learning in class as well as teach a few students how corn is grown and processed.”
A long-lasting tradition in Minnesota, corn drives began in Freeborn in 1953 when a raging storm swept through the community, and the Freeborn FFA Advisor gathered corn that had fallen on the ground to sell to the local grain elevator. Freeborn FFA raised $90 through the effort. They donated the money to Camp Courage.
The following school year, the FFA Executive Secretary encouraged all Minnesota FFA chapters to participate in the “Corn Drive,” an effort that is deeply connected to the last tenet of the FFA motto: “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.”
Today, the FFA Corn Drive has grown to include over 50 FFA chapters across the state.
Above: Brian Eppmeyer’s land east of Cleveland was the first stop for Jordan Kuehl’s group. Here, Eppmeyer unloads corn just harvested into Ryan Ponwith’s trailer while the FFA members watch. Near the combine is Andy Eppmeyer.
Video: Brian Eppmeyer donated a generous amount of corn.