Land O’Lakes, Inc., one of America’s premier agribusiness and food companies, is a member-owned cooperative with industry-leading operations that span the spectrum from agricultural production to consumer foods. Land O’Lakes is one of the nation’s largest cooperatives, ranking 215 on the Fortune 500. The company does business in all 50 states and more than 60 countries.

General Mills serves the world by making food people love. The worldwide team of 38,000 oversees brands, such as Cheerios, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Haagen-Dazs, Annie’s and Cascadian Farm, to name a few, that are enjoyed in more than 100 countries on six continents. A Harris poll ranks General Mills as one of the top 20 companies in the U.S.

Cargill’s team of 155,000 professionals in 70 countries draws together the worlds of food, agriculture, nutrition and risk management. For more than 150 years, the company has helped farmers grow more, connecting them to broader markets. Cargill is continuously developing products that give consumers just what they’re seeking, advancing nutrition, food safety and sustainability.

CHS is a farmer-owned cooperative working to help America’s farmers be more successful. CHS has grown into a Fortune 100 company that over the past five years has returned nearly $2 billion in cash to farmer and member cooperative owners Diversified in energy, grains and foods, the company is committed to helping customers, farmer-owners and other stakeholders grow their businesses through our domestic and global operations.

Schwan’s grew from “one-man-and-a-truck” in rural Minnesota to a multibillion-dollar private company with 12,000 team members nationwide. Today, Schwan’s Company is a multibillion-dollar private company that brings quality foods to millions of people every day. The company sells fine frozen foods on its traditional delivery trucks, in grocery-store freezers and in the food-service industry.

The Michael Foods family of businesses has grown to become a $2 billion manufacturer and distributor of foodservice, food ingredient and retail offerings by introducing innovative products that have changed the food landscape. From helping restaurant owners enhance the quality of their menus, to supporting food manufacturers with premium ingredients, to satisfying countless consumers with our popular lines, the company is a proven, innovative leader in food.

its 30,000 employees serve customers across the United States through a network of 2,012 stores composed of 1,815 stores operated by wholesale customers serviced primarily by the Company’s food distribution business and 197 traditional retail grocery stores operated under five retail banners.

American Dairy Queen Corporation is a Minnesota-based subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. DQ® operators have been providing consumers with crave-satisfying treats and food since 1940. Today, the DQ® system is one of the largest fast food systems in the world, with more than 6,000 restaurants in the United States, Canada and 18 other countries.

SunOpta Inc. is a leading global company focused on organic, non-genetically modified (“non-GMO”) and specialty foods. SunOpta specializes in the sourcing, processing and packaging of organic and non-GMO food products, integrated from seed through packaged products; with a focus on strategic vertically integrated business models. Hundreds of the company’s 1,800 global employees are located in Edina.

Old Dutch is a privately-owned company with administration and sales offices and manufacturing plants across the country. For over 80 years the company has manufactured products such as Old Dutch Potato Chips, RESTAURANTE™ Premium Tortilla Chips and Salsas, Arriba® Tortilla Chips, Dutch Crunch™ Kettle Cooked Potato Chips and Dutch Gourmet Potato Chips.

Knock is an independent full-experience creative agency that partners with companies of all sizes and needs to help them reach their full brand potential. They are one among many creative services and advertising companies in the region that have expertise in food, along with Olson, Periscope, Carmichael Lynch, Colle+McVoy, Space150, Zeus Jones, Haberman, Martin Williams Advertising, Fallon Worldwide, Sequel Response, Mono, and Replace.

For more than 20 years Grain Millers, Inc. has been a leading manufacturer of conventional and organic whole grain ingredients used in cereals, breads, bars and many other products served around the world. These grains include oats, wheat, barley and rye, which we mill into flours, flakes, brans and fibers. On-site blending and retail packaging facilities provide a retail-ready product for distribution direct to store shelves.

The first Target store opened in 1962 in the Minneapolis suburb of Roseville, Minn., with a focus on convenient shopping at competitive discount prices. Today, the country’s second-largest general merchandise retailer is also one of its largest grocers. The Fortune 500 giant has 1,834 stores in the United States, 39 distribution centers across the country, and 323,000 team members worldwide.

AgriBank is a wholesale bank that is primarily owned by and supports 14 Farm Credit Associations that provide loans and financial services to nearly a quarter-million farmers, ranchers, and rural businesses and homeowners. The company, backed by more than $100 billion in assets, is one of the largest banks in the national Farm Credit System, a national network of borrower-owned lending institutions.

Ecolab is the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services.  Around the world businesses in foodservice and food processing among other industries use Ecolab products and services to keep their environment clean and safe, operate efficiently and achieve sustainability goals. The Fortune 500 company’s 48,000 associates improve operational efficiencies for customers at more than 1.3 million locations in more than 170 countries.

Lund Food Holdings operates more than 20 Lunds and Byerly’s upscale grocery and wine markets in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota with more than $600 million in annual sales. The company was created by the merger of Lunds and Byerly’s. Both chains specialize in gourmet, high-quality foods with a tradition stretching back nearly a century.

The University of Minnesota’s College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences uses research, education and outreach to find and share its discoveries on an enormous range of topics. Created in 2006 via the merger of two colleges and a department, today the college – better known as CFANS – consists of 12 academic departments and 10 research and outreach centers across Minnesota.

Milk Specialties Global employees over 900 professionals and manufactures dairy-based proteins ingredients for the wellness and nutrition of people and the health and performance of animals around the world. Milk Specialties Global is advancing what’s possible in agriculture, delivering quality nutrition, enabling new opportunities and elevating performance.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has existed in one form or another for more than 100 years. During that time, the state has changed from a mostly rural society with an economy based on agriculture and mining to a multifaceted state dominated by a world-class metropolitan area. As the state has changed, so has the department.

In 1994, Surly’s founder, Omar Ansari was given a homebrewing kit as a gift. More than two decades later and the company has helped transform the craft beer industry in Minnesota and around the country. Surly opened a new headquarters and taproom near the University of Minnesota in 2014.

JonnyPops began in 2011 as a school project among four students at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. The founders created a business plan and began selling their product around campus. Today, the company employs nearly 40 people in Minnesota while its signature frozen products are carried in major retailers like Costco and Target across the U.S. They are part of a thriving food startup scene and won a division of MN Cup, the country’s largest statewide business competition.

Angie’s Boomchickapop started from humble beginnings in 2001. “We were an outdoor mobile food-unit popping kettle corn at amateur baseball games and farmer’s markets,” says Dan and Angie Bastian. After a few short years, they landed their first retail opportunity at the St. Peter Co-op and local Lund’s & Byerly’s. Today, you can find their natural salty snacks in Target, Whole Foods and Kroger and other major retailers around the country. They employ more than 200 people in Minnesota.