The South Dakota Corn Growers Association named Barry Dunn as this year’s Most Valuable Player in Agriculture. Dunn is the dean of Agriculture and Biological Sciences at South Dakota State University. The award was presented Jan. 7 during the organization’s 26th annual meeting at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.

The MVP award is given to an individual or organization that has helped achieve common goals and create advancements in the agricultural industry.

Dunn, who has three academic degrees from SDSU, was recognized for his commitment to agriculture and his vision for the future. Faced with a serious budget shortfall during a time of state budget cuts, Dunn restructured SDSU Extension and placed a bigger emphasis on technology to meet the state’s needs. Under his leadership, SDSU has developed a program known as iGrow, a free web-based service that allows people to access Extension information and resources.

More than 1,000 farmers, industry partners and legislators attended the annual event. William Murphy, administrator of the U.S. Risk Management Agency, spoke in the morning about crop insurance and other federal farm programs. The evening’s keynote speaker was Gov. Dennis Daugaard.