AFRE Alumni Tapped for Michigan Agri-Business Association Leadership Group
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EmailHilaree Fraly of BASF and Aaron Fahrner of Cooperative Elevator Company will learn the inner working of trade associations and the policy process as part of the select, 10-member MABA Leadership Group during 2022-23.
The Michigan Agri-Business Management Association (MABA) has tapped two recent AFRE Agribusiness Management alumni for leadership training. Hilaree Fraly of BASF and Aaron Fahrner of Cooperative Elevator Company will learn the inner working of trade associations and the policy process as part of the select, 10-member MABA Leadership Group during 2022-23.
Founded in 1903, MABA advocates on behalf of its member businesses before policymakers at all levels, while also providing a range of training and educational programs. It represents agricultural retailers, grain handlers, feed suppliers and food processors. Recently, it has attracted members from agribusiness-supporting sectors such as transportation, utility, law and accounting.
The goal of the program is to help each cohort member to understand the political impacts and inter-sector connections within agriculture. Fraly and Fahrner have traveled with their cohort to Lansing and Washington, D.C. to meet with trade associations and politicians. They have also traveled to the Detroit Port Authority where they toured the port and learned about the US-Canadian trade relationship.
With five months left to go in the program, Fraly and Fahrner, have enjoyed their experience so far and are excited to make the most of their knowledge, networks, and leadership growth.
“The leadership group is valuable way to gain leadership abilities personally and professionally while also building a large network,” Fraly said. “It gives you a unique voice within the organization and industry beyond being a member.”
“That part's really cool,” Fahrner added. “[The Leadership Group] helps us build connections and understand how many other companies there are that are involved in Michigan agriculture through MABA who aren't in production agriculture, who don't work with farmers, but what they do impacts the industry as a whole.”
When they are not participating in MABA Leadership Group activities, Fraly and Fahrner work hard in their day-to-day jobs. Fraly is an agronomic solutions advisor (ASA) for BASF, the world's largest chemical company.
“My role involves working with farmers and retailers,” says Fraly. “We'll do meetings to catch them up to speed on what a new product is, where it fits, how it works, what rates, and when it’s best applied.
Fraly joined BASF in 2017. As agronomic solutions advisor, she works through retailers to provide information to farmers on BASF seed and chemistry innovations.
Fahrner is a marketing specialist for the Cooperative Elevator Company, the number one black bean assembler in Michigan. Founded over a hundred years ago in Pigeon, Michigan, the Cooperative Elevator Company has grown into a full service co-op that helps growers from the time the seed is in the ground to when it is harvested, received, and shipped out of the elevator doors.
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Fahrner joined Cooperative Elevator Company after graduating from MSU in 2021 . As a marketing specialist, he spends much of his time following agricultural markets so that he can help growers earn the largest returns possible. He splits his time between commodities that trade on the Chicago Board of Trade and dry beans, which do not. Fahrner recognizes the importance of his role as a liaison to his growers, so communication is critical.
“Ninety percent of what I do is either phone calls, text messages, emails, or I'm speaking in front of a group of people,” Fahrner explained. “Growers can't physically see the price moving every day, so I try and keep them up to date as possible. That's my day, day in and day out.”
Both Fraly and Fahrner are AFRE Agribusiness Management alumni. Fraly is an alumna from the class of 2015, and Fahrner is an alumnus from the class of 2021.
