Matt Frostic, who farms 1,000 acres of corn, soybeans, edible beans and sugar beets near Applegate, Michigan, began his one-year term as president of the National Corn Growers Association on Oct. 1.

The farmer-led trade association, with offices in St. Louis and Washington, rotates its presidency annually. The NCGA board selects a member of its governing body each year, and the term begins Oct. 1, the start of the organization's fiscal year.

What are Frostic's priorities?

Frostic used his first day in the role to lay out three legislative and market goals:

• Securing passage of legislation allowing year-round sales of fuel containing 15% ethanol
• Passing a farm bill
• Diversifying demand for corn

"These goals may seem ambitious, but we are going to do everything possible to make them a reality," Frostic said. "Farmers work day and night, at times through difficult conditions, to produce a crop that feeds and fuels America and the world. We deliver, and we expect our representatives in Washington to work hard and deliver as well."

The E15 pledge puts NCGA's new president squarely behind one of the corn sector's most consequential demand levers. Year-round approval of the 15% ethanol blend would expand the domestic market for corn ethanol, a demand question that sits alongside Frostic's broader push to diversify outlets for the crop.

Why input costs shaped his path to the presidency

Frostic arrives at the post after a year spent chairing NCGA's Input Cost Task Force, where he worked to identify solutions that would bring farmers' costs more in line with current commodity prices. That assignment placed him at the center of the margin squeeze facing corn producers, where fertilizer, chemical and other input bills have run ahead of what the crop returns at current prices.

His advocacy record extends beyond the task force. Over the past year he served simultaneously as NCGA vice president and chair of the organization's resolutions committee, and as a member of the finance committee. Before his national roles, Frostic was a former president and chair of the Michigan Corn Growers Association, giving him state-level leadership experience that informs his national agenda.

His own operation reflects the cropping diversity he now promotes as a policy goal. Alongside corn and soybeans, he raises edible beans and sugar beets — a mix common among Michigan growers and one that grounds his demand-diversification message in his own farm's structure.

What comes next

Frostic's term runs through the next fiscal year, and his stated agenda signals that NCGA will keep pressing lawmakers on biofuels policy and a farm bill while pushing for new corn markets. Whether the E15 legislation and farm bill clear Congress during his presidency will define the year ahead for the association.