LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Corn Growers Association (MCGA) has a new executive director whose roots in agriculture date back to 1852 on the farm where his family still lives and operates.

Scott Piggott has been in his new role since March 12 following a 24-year career at Michigan Farm Bureau, where he split his time as CEO of the organization and working in areas like public policy on environmental issues protecting farms.

He was also the natural resources and right to farm specialist at Michigan Farm Bureau and manager of its Agricultural Ecology Department.

“I feel like it’s the right place for me to be at the right time. So, I’m very excited,” he said.

His new duties include serving as executive director of the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan (CMPM).

Matt Holysz, president of the CMPM, cited Piggott’s “wealth of strategic leadership along with a deep understanding of the agriculture industry in Michigan” for his selection by the CMPM’s board of directors.

Piggott, 53, said his primary objectives are increasing demand for Michigan corn and being a “great partner” to other agriculture organizations to strengthen the industry, in general, in the state.

He sees opportunity to expand the market for corn through the state’s ethanol industry, which accepts about 36 percent of corn produced in Michigan for making the fuel blend.

Piggott said the livestock industry is another potential source for increasing demand for Michigan corn growers.

“The tide rises all boats when a majority of corn in the state goes into livestock. The livestock industry is very important and we want to make sure all of Michigan agriculture is successful and we’ll have our place in it,” he said.

His other responsibilities are educating and promoting corn with members of the public, funding research to improve production and finding new uses for corn.

He will also lead the MCGA in efforts to advance legislation at the state and federal levels aimed at growing Michigan’s corn industry and increasing the profitability of raising corn.

A willow tree now exists where a log cabin once stood as the first homestead on his family’s 1,000-acre farm in Fowler, about 30 minutes north of Lansing.

Piggott said the rest of the dwellings that followed are lived in now by other family members, including a roughly 150-year-old residence where he and his wife raised their children and still call home.

His father, Dan, and uncle, Dave, with help from family members, remain the primary operators of the farm but Piggott still pitches in with things like planting seed whenever he gets a chance.

“I love being out there when I am and love serving farmers when I’m not,” he said. His family raises corn, soybeans, wheat and beef cattle.

It’s corn that seems to flow mostly in Piggott’s veins, though.

Corn production was one of his major focuses while working toward his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in ag engineering at Michigan State University.

Piggott said he’s very proud to be a sixth-generation farmer on the same ground, but with it comes a sense of great responsibility to make sure it’s there for family members coming up the ranks.

He also spoke about a special bond with like-minded family members like his father. “I’ve been able to work with dad as a partner and friend. It’s been one of the joys of my life,” he said.

Piggott’s resume also includes serving on more than 20 boards and committees in roles such as co-chairman of the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program and the Michigan Groundwater Conservation Advisory Council.

He’s also served MSU in leadership and advisory capacities in areas like curriculum reviews and played a role in the development of the Great Lakes Compact, which prohibits water in the lakes from being diverted outside the Great Lakes basin.