Brett Petersen has dreamed of farming ever since he was young. In fact, at the end of his sixth-grade year, the Murdock, Minn., resident was offered a job at Petersen Farms Inc., a diversified crop farm in west central Minnesota, where he swept the floors and put tools away.
As he grew older, he gained the trust of his boss and others around him. Soon more responsibilities were shared with him. A family farm incorporated in the 1970s, Petersen Farms Inc. runs 6,200 acres which includes sugar beets, field corn, sweet corn, peas, alfalfa and soybeans.
During high school, Petersen continued working at PFI and learned more and more about the business. In his ninth- and 10th-grade year, he learned about preventative maintenance as well as how to repair equipment when it breaks down. In addition, he also became the primary operator of the sugar beet conveyor. By his junior and senior years in high school he began doing all jobs associated with production of sugar beets and also invested in his own shares of sugar beets.
Upon graduation, Petersen enrolled in Ridgewater Community and Technical College for farm operations management. Petersen then had an opportunity to buy into a partnership that would eventually assume ownership of PFI. Petersen plans for his role in the partnership to be that of a sugar beet specialist. He also intends to return to Ridgewater this winter to study agribusiness. Petersen is the son of Paula and Kyle Petersen. He is a member of Kerkhoven Murdock Sunburg-KMS FFA Chapter, led by advisor Christa Williamson.
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