“The name tells the whole story,” said Farm-City Hub Club member Brian Fischer said. “The idea was to unify the farmers and businesses.”

After five decades, this remains the top priority for Hub Club which is still going strong. The idea to create the club that merges rural and city interests has proven popular; however the club’s creation was not a forgone conclusion and has yet to be replicated elsewhere in United States.

Club Secretary Ruth Klossner said they were once contacted about helping set up a similar organization in Wisconsin, but nothing ever came of the discussions.

The idea for the club began with three people. Franklin Stuckey a former New Ulm High School Ag teacher, Don Potter, owner of the John Deere dealership and Jim Thomas, who worked in land management.

The first Family Night on the Dairy Farm was held in 2007 at the Hoffman Farm. During the first Family Night on the Dairy Farm, Steve Hoffmann explains how his milking parlor works to a group young children and their parents.

“There were three of us who got together for coffee and conversation. We were all from different places of business in the community,” Stuckey said during a 1999 interview published in the New Ulm Journal.

After a few meetings, Stuckey said the group decided to develop a club to bring the different entities together to discuss agriculture issues. Twelve people quickly joined representing finance, building material, seed, feed, fertilizer, transportation, fuel, tires, food, equipment, media, and education.

Founding member Jim Thomas said around that time agriculture was kind of a forgotten entity. In 1972-1973, Thomas served on an agriculture committee for the New Ulm Chamber, but there was not a lot of interest in farming as an industry.

“There was not a lot of concern for anything outside the city limits,” he said. Farming was also not heavily publicized 50 years ago. Thomas said farming concerns didn’t necessarily make news. This was at odds with how important farming was to the New Ulm area.

Agriculture had long been the top industry in New Ulm, but it was being treated as an after thought. The city was located at the center of southern Minnesota. The original members realized that by creating a strong relationship between the city and rural business they could better promote agriculture.

The Farm Show is one of Farm-City Hub Club’s oldest annual traditions. The Farm Show was first held in Nov. 1981 at the New Ulm Holiday Inn. By 2004, the event expanded and moved to the Civic Center and is held every March. It is the largest indoor farm show in south central Minnesota.

Thompson said Farm-City Hub Club formed out of realization of what needed to be done. Ag had to be seen as important as any other industry, whether it was a 3M or a Kraft.

The original members realized that by creating a strong relationship between the city and rural business they could better promote agriculture. The community could be a hub for many agriculture interests.

Early printed materials outline the club’s original purpose:

1). To promote agriculture

2). To promote the New Ulm area as a trade center

3.) To gather and analyze feedback of the area and to act or react to that data.

4.) To educate the people of the area as often as possible about the value of agriculture using local media

5.) To create and nurture a friendly relationship between the farm and city businessmen.

Farm-City Hub Club’s first annual meeting was held July 18, 1974. Within the next year the club would grow to 23 farm members and 44 business members. In the early years there was an effort to keep members equally split between farmers and business.

Thomas said there was a rule that if a business person joined the club if they brought along a farmer as a member. A farmer who wanted to join needed to bring along a person from business. Job shadowing was another feature of members ship. A farmer would spend a day with someone from the business world, and that business person would in turn, spend a day on the farm. It was a way to keep both sides of the farm/business mindful of the other.

Membership dues in 1974 were $25. Fifty years later, membership dues are still $25. Klossner said with inflation, dues should be around $165, but the club does not want cost to be a barrier to joining. In addition, membership dues help fund youth scholarships and programs.

From the beginning, Hub Club focused on assisting youth agriculture education. In the first year, the organization helped replace a sound system at the Youth Coliseum at the Brown County Fairgrounds. In 1979, the club followed up with fluorescent lighting over the sales arena in the coliseum. Hub Club continued to fund improvements to 4-H buildings at the fairgrounds and support ag related exhibits.

Support for ag education continued outside of the fair. The club continues to support FFA and 4-H clubs through program scholarships and donations. Supporting Ag education is seen as a way to ensure the club’s future. In 1976, the club awarded a $200 scholarship for a student pursuing ag education. Scholarships would increase over the years. By 2024, the club was awarded $5,100 in scholarships to six individuals. Between 1994 and 2023, the Hub Club awarded $84,300 in scholarships to 136 students.

Farm-City Hub Club’s biggest event of the year is the annual Farm Show, typically held mid-March. The first farm show was held in Nov. 1981 at the New Ulm Holiday Inn. It remained at the Holiday Inn for three years before moving to Vogel Arena and was pushed to March.

In 2004, it moved to the Civic Center. It is now the largest indoor farm show in south central Minnesota.

From 2007 to 2022, Farm-City Hub Club hosted a Family Night on the Dairy Farm at Steve and Kerry Hoffman’s farm. In 2024, the event was held at David and Angie Tauer’s farm. The event is extremely popular, bringing hundreds of young families to the farm.

“Its such a hit because we bring young families to the farm,” Brian Fischer said. Due to shifting demographics, the number of kids growing up on farms is shrinking. Many kids are growing up without seeing any kind of farm. Night on the Dairy Farm is another way for Farm-City Hub Club to keep focus on farming for the next generation.

Looking to the future of Farm-City Hub Club, members agree education must be a top priority.

“Education does need to be a driving force,” Fischer said. “Our goal is to spend money on youth and support school ag programs to keep it alive.”

Klossner said she hoped Farm-City Hub Club would continue to change with the times. She believed it was important to understand that modern farming is about more than crops and livestock. Technology is playing a greater role in farming.

“Ag is always changing,” she said. “We have to keep promoting it to youth. We need young people for the future.”

Thomas said Farm-City Hub Club would continue as long as it remains flexible. He said the world had changed a lot in 50 years.

“Our world has gotten much smaller,” Thomas said. He believed it was imperative for farmers to be aware of global developments. What was important 50 years ago might not be as important as it is today, but he believed the club needed to have equal trade offs between rural and city interests. The two sides need to be in communication.

Thomas credited the many volunteers who worked with Farm-City Hub Club for keeping it going for 50 years. He said whenever the club saw a weakness, volunteers would step-in to fix the issue. There was always an outpouring of support.

He cited the many volunteers who lended support after the March 28, 1998 tornado damaged the region. The club took on a big role in helping cleanup in the aftermath.

Fischer said Farm-City Hub Club lasted for 50 years through consistency.

“It’s one thing to start an organization, but to keep it sliding into the next generation takes effort,” he said.

Klossner said the secret to the club’s longevity was maintaining its purpose.

“People around here felt agriculture was important and the club helped keep that in the spotlight, she said.

Another important feature of Farm-City Hub Club is an avoidance of politics.

“We don’t get involved with politics,” she said. “We have politicians talk but we don’t endorse and we don’t argue. Let them have their say. It is safer that way.”

To celebrate Farm-City Hub Club’s 50 years, a special celebration is being held at the Royal Oak Even Center from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13.

The celebration will include silent and live auctions and raffle drawing with proceeds going to youth ag scholarships. The celebration will include a 15 minute presentation on the club’s history.

“It is a big promotion with ag and city together,” said Fischer. “We want the public to come out. Anyone involved in the agriculture industry is invited to attend and celebrate.”