The Northern Plains Potato Growers Association is proud to announce that Ronald D. Offutt is the 2011 NPPGA Meritorious Service Award winner. He will be presented the award at the NPPGA Chairman's and MSA Award Banquet to be held February 15th at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks.
NPPGA Chairman and Black Gold Farms CEO Gregg Halverson says, "Ron is an individual who is a true agricultural entrepreneur. He and his various companies have consistently changed as the landscape of agriculture has changed. He is a true leader and a visionary. He believes in philanthropy and has made investments in the future of his industry as well as education as a whole."
Ron is also known and respected nationally in the potato business for his vision and innovation. Tim O'Connor, President and CEO of the United States Potato Board says, "Ron is a pioneer, entrepreneur and visionary who has made significant contributions of time, money, and leadership to the betterment of the potato industry. He has stretched the limits of what is known to be possible, and in doing so has enabled others to follow him. Every industry has individuals who are on the cutting edge; Ron is clearly at the very sharpest point of the cutting edge in the potato industry."
John Keeling who heads the National Potato Council in Washington D.C. had comments that were very similar. "Being on the cutting edge of business organization and agronomic efficiency has been the hallmark of Ron Offutt's farms, companies and partnerships. By going there first, Mr. Offutt showed the way for others and helped improve the operation of other farms and of the entire supply chain."
Ronald D.Offutt was born in Orrick, Missouri on November 13, 1942 and shortly thereafter he and his parents moved to Moorhead, MN, where the family farmed. Ron attended a rural Clay County, Minnesota school, and Moorhead (MN) High School graduating in 1960. In high school he distinguished himself in Future Farmers of America, football and wrestling.
At Concordia College in Moorhead, he majored in economics and starred in football and wrestling. After graduating from Concordia in 1964, he became a business partner in his father's farming operation.
After four years of farming with his father, in which he was the fourth generation in the potato business, he pursued the goal of owning a John Deere implement dealership. In 1968, he purchased the Casselton, North Dakota, John Deere store by taking out a bank loan, selling a potato warehouse and 160 acres of the family's farmland, and paying the last $10,000 of the purchase price with a contribution from his grandmother. He bet it all, and began laying ground to the companies he founded, and still owns and operates.
Today his business operations are divided into separate operating units; agriculture, food processing and retail equipment. They include the R.D. Offutt Company, and RDO Equipment Co.
The R.D.Offutt Company is comprised of a variety of businesses, and has 1,500 employees. The cornerstone is a twelve-state 190,000-acre farming operation. The R.D.Offutt Company is the nation's largest producer of potatoes, with the majority of its 54,000 potato acres under center pivot irrigation. R.D.Offutt Company additionally operates a 26,000-acre farm and dairy operation in Boardman, Oregon. This facility includes three dairies milking 21,000 cows. Internationally, Ron operates a 7,000 acre farm in Krasnodar, Russia. The company also operates food processing manufacturing plants and markets its crops through relationships with major processors, such as Frito-Lay, Simplot, Con-Agra/Lamb-Weston, and McCain Foods.
Offutt owns several food-processing companies. These companies employ 800 people and include Lamb Weston/RDO Frozen, in Park Rapids, MN; Ron Offutt Dairies, in Boardman, OR; Nonpareil RDO in O'Neill, NE; Idahoan Foods, LLC with locations in Dubois, Glenns Ferry, Idaho Falls, Lewisville, and Rupert, ID and in Winnemucca, NV and RDO-Calbee, LLC in Boardman, OR. The R.D. Offutt Company most recently acquired the Ryan Potato Company in East Grand Forks, MN, a fresh potato packing facility.
RDO Equipment Co. is owner of the largest network of John Deere construction and agricultural equipment dealerships in the United States, and employs 1,700 people. Vermeer and Volvo and Mack truck centers are also integral divisions within the company. RDO Equipment Co. has 59 locations in nine states. Additionally, Ron has been engaging in business in Russia since 1991 and is currently the 50% owner of Agro Construction Technologies (ACT) which is comprised of five John Deere Agricultural locations located in the South Federal District of Russia.
Ron has been involved with many organizations and charities including serving as Chairman of the Board of Regents at Concordia College, a position he held for 12 years. Additionally he was a member of the board for 20 years, having served from 1989 until he retired as Chair in 2010. Ron currently is a member of the Global Leadership Board of the Offutt School of Business, which consists of senior executives and business leaders that provide feedback and recommendations for the Offutt School. Concordia Interim President, Dr. Paul Dovre says, "Ron has always pointed us to the bigger picture and set an example of generosity and commitment that has been unparalleled. He is the largest donor in the history of the college." He could possess all the bells and whistles that go with success, but it is clear that the things that matter most are his allegiance to his core values, commitments, and friends."
RDO Equipment is a major sponsor of Farm Rescue, a nonprofit organization that plants and harvests crops free of charge for family farmers who have suffered a major illness, injury or natural disaster. Other organizations Ron is proud to support include the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Hospice, the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, the Trollwood Performing Arts Center, the NDSU Team Makers Club, the NDSU Agriculture Club, the NDSU Development Foundation, the NDSU Old Main Society, Ducks Unlimited, Boy Scouts of America, the Future Farmers of America, the Oak Grove High School Foundation, and Trinity Lutheran Church in Moorhead.
Other affiliations include the Northern Plains Potato Growers Association, the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council, the National Potato Council, the Potato Association of America, the Potato Marketing Association of North America, and the Northwest Farm Managers Association. Ron serves on the Farm Foundation Round Table, is a Rabobank North American Agribusiness advisor, and has served on the boards of the Fargo Downtown Community Partnership, the Northern Plains Ethics Institute, and US Bank.
Ron has also been the recipient of many awards over the years including the Schafer Excellence in Enterprise Award from the University of Mary in 1998, the 1998 Northwest Farm Managers Pioneer of the Year Award, the 1998 Potato Association of America Honorary Life Membership Award, the 1998 Midwest Region Entrepreneur of the Year, North Dakota State University Honorary Doctorate in 1999, the 1999 Concordia College Alumni Achievement Award, the Concordia College Athletic Hall of Fame (2000), Minnesota Business Hall of Fame (2001), the 2003Red River Valley Development Association Builder of the Year,Moorhead High School Hall of Fame (2004), North Dakota Entrepreneur Hall of Fame (2006), the 2006 World Potato Congress Potato Industry Award, the 2009 L.B. Hartz Professional Achievement Award, and the 2009 NDSU Harvest Bowl Agribusiness Award.
Ron and his wife Karen reside in Fargo, North Dakota and have six children and 11 grandchildren.
Source: Northern Plains Potato Growers Association
