Baer was awarded Minnesota’s outstanding young farmer in 1988, and in 1991 was awarded the Best Managed Farm by Farm Futures magazine. In 2002, the University of Minnesota named Baer and his family the Farm Family of the Year.
In other UEP action at its annual meeting, Gary West of J.S. West Milling Co., Modesto, Calif., was named chairman of the Board of Directors for the next two years. West is the President and CEO of J.S. Milling, a multi-faceted farming business with egg production and processing, feed mills, a propane business, an Ace Hardware store, a lumber company and almond orchards. He is also chairman and director of the NuCal Foods Cooperative and board member of NuWest Milling, Nulaid and Thayer Foods.