Applegate farmer Matt Frostic becomes the first Michigan grower to lead the National Corn Growers Association, pressing Washington on E15 and a farm bill

APPLEGATE, Mich. — A Sanilac County farmer now speaks for the nation’s corn growers. Matt Frostic of Applegate began his term Oct. 1 as president of the National Corn Growers Association, the first Michigan farmer to lead the group, Michigan Farm News reported this week.

Frostic farms 1,000 acres of corn, soybeans, edible beans and sugar beets in east-central Michigan and also raises beef cattle, according to the association. The NCGA, founded in 1957, represents more than 36,000 dues-paying corn growers in 48 states and the interests of more than 500,000 farmers who pay into state corn checkoff programs. Its board picks one of its members as president each year, with the term starting Oct. 1.

His priorities. Frostic has said he wants Congress to allow year-round sales of gasoline with 15% ethanol, pass a farm bill and find new markets for corn. “Farmers work day and night, at times through difficult conditions, to produce a crop that feeds and fuels America and the world,” he said in the association’s announcement. “We deliver, and we expect our representatives in Washington to work hard and deliver as well.”

Costs on the farm. Before becoming president, Frostic chaired the NCGA’s task force on input costs. Corn growers lost about $160 an acre last year, Michigan Farm News reported, and at an August Michigan Farm Bureau event Frostic said input suppliers “have made record profits.” The task force’s study found U.S. farmers pay a substantial premium for seed, fungicide, herbicide and insecticide compared with farmers in Brazil, their biggest global competitor.

Where the farm bill stands. The U.S. House passed its $1.3 trillion farm bill in April. The Senate Agriculture Committee delayed action on its version, which would authorize year-round E15 sales, in mid-September, and the full Senate is expected to take it up after the midterm elections, according to Michigan Farm News.

From the county Farm Bureau up. Frostic led the Sanilac County Farm Bureau from 2008 to 2010 and is a former president and chair of the Michigan Corn Growers Association. He said a former NCGA president urged him years ago to run for the national board. “I’m like, I’m not there. I’m just a guy from Michigan,” he told Michigan Farm News. “If it’s a door that will open, you pursue it.”

Sources:
National Corn Growers Association, “Michigan Farmer Matt Frostic Begins Term as NCGA President,” Oct. 1, 2026, https://www.ncga.com/stay-informed/media/in-the-news/article/2026/10/michigan-farmer-matt-frostic-begins-term-as-ncga-president
National Corn Growers Association, board profile: Matt Frostic, https://www.ncga.com/about-ncga/our-team/board/profile/matt-frostic
Michigan Farm News (Michigan Farm Bureau), “Sanilac County Farm Bureau’s Matt Frostic helms national organization: ‘You can never out-serve your industry,’” Oct. 19, 2026, https://www.michiganfarmnews.com/about/news-media/sanilac-county-farm-bureaus-matt-frostic-helms-national-organization-you-can-never
Photo: Wikideas1, “Corn combine harvest with grain cart-2.jpg,” Oct. 1, 2023, Wikimedia Commons, CC0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corn_combine_harvest_with_grain_cart-2.jpg

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Tags: Thumb Coast · Sanilac County · Agriculture · Farm Bill · E15 · National Corn Growers Association