The Northern Crops Institute board during its reorganizational meeting last month elected Karolyn Zurn chair and Keith Peltier vice chair of the Northern Crops Council.

Zurn, who represents the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association, began her first term on the council in 2009. Peltier, president and CEO of Proseed, Harvey, N.D., represents processors and marketers of food and feed products.

The Northern Crops Council, which is the governing board of the Northern Crops Institute, also added new members Beau Anderson, Roger Hipwell, Greg Kessel and Greg Svenningsen. Anderson represents the Northern Pulse Growers Association, Hipwell represents processors of food and feed products, Kessel fills the North Dakota Barley Council’s permanent seat and Svenningsen fills the North Dakota Wheat Commission’s permanent seat.

The 17-member Northern Crops Council is comprised of six seats that are permanently occupied by the NDSU president, North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture, and representatives of North Dakota’s Wheat Commission, Oilseed Council, Barley Council and Soybean Council. The additional 11 seats of the Northern Crops Council are filled by producers and food processors from Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota who are elected by permanent members.

Jennifer Tesch, a marketing director at SK Food International, was named the chair of the Northern Crops Institute’s Industry Advisory Board. The board advises the institute’s staff on trends in the food and feed industries, and presents ideas to guide educational programming and technical services.

Northern Crops Institute supports regional agriculture and value-based processing by conducting educational and technical programs that expand and maintain domestic and international markets for northern-grown crops.