Plains Grains Inc. Holds Annual Meeting – Denver
In December 2025, Plains Grains Inc. (PGI), held its annual meeting in Denver, Colorado bringing together representatives from across the hard red winter (HRW) wheat region to discuss crop conditions, election of new officers, market challenges, and important priorities for the year ahead.
Representatives from Nebraska, Colorado, Oklahoma, Montana, Texas, and South Dakota provided updates on wheat conditions. Many areas reported strong wheat establishment due to fall moisture. Dry conditions and low market prices are still concerns across the region.
The PGI board of directors discussed possible efforts to improve the HRW wheat quality survey for the coming year and presentation of results. Additional discussions included improvements to the PGI website and data dashboard, exploration of new testing methods, and continued collaboration with U.S Wheat Associates and the Wheat Quality Council.
At the conclusion of the meeting, PGI elected its officers for the coming year, with Mark Spurgin from Nebraska serving as Chairman and Les Peterson from Colorado as Secretary/Treasurer.
Spurgin of Paxton, Nebraska serves as the At-Large Director on the Nebraska Wheat Board (NWB). He was elected to the Nebraska Wheat Growers Association executive board in 2014, served as president, and remains actively involved on the board. Spurgin has held multiple leadership roles at the local and state levels. Together with his family, he raises cattle and grows corn, wheat, soybeans, and feed crops.
“I am most excited to get all the states to work together and show how beneficial hard winter wheat is to the world,” Spurgin said. “As chairman, I also hope to establish good communication and fill the shoes of the past chairman.”
Peterson resides in Ovid, Colorado, and has over 40 years of involvement in the wheat industry. He currently serves as the District 1 director for the Colorado Wheat Growers Association and is an alternate board member of the Colorado Wheat Administrative Committee. He also represented the industry by traveling across the United States and internationally with U.S. Wheat Associates to develop markets for HRW wheat. In addition to his leadership roles, Peterson has spent his career farming wheat, corn, sunflowers, and millet.
“I want to ensure we are providing reliable, accurate information for overseas buyers and maintain strong connections with U.S. Wheat,” said Peterson. “It’s also important to keep all the states involved and informed about what’s going on, and I plan to help with that.” Through continued collaboration and engagement across the industry, PGI remains committed to strengthening HRW wheat markets for U.S. producers.