Brig. Gen. (Ret.)MOARNG Vice President
Farmer Veteran Coalition
Charles E. Kruse is the Vice President of Farmer Veteran Coalition.
Charlie served many years as president of the Missouri Farm Bureau. In that role, Charlie was also president of the Federation’s five affiliated companies. Further, he was a member of the American Farm Bureau Federation Board of Directors, representing 12 mid-western state Farm Bureaus.
A native of Southeast Missouri, Charlie received his Masters of Science in Agronomy in 1973 from the University of Missouri, Columbia. He is also a 1967 graduate of Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas, majoring in agronomy.
From 1975 to 1983, Charlie was a technical representative for an agricultural chemical company. In 1983 Governor Christopher “Kit” Bond appointed Charlie to serve on the University of Missouri Board of Curators. In 1985, Governor John Ashcroft appointed Charlie as director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Governor Ashcroft also appointed Charlie to Missouri’s Coordinating Board for Higher Education.
In 1991, Charlie accepted the position of executive vice president of the North American Equipment Dealers Association, resigning in August of 1992 to seek the presidency of Missouri Farm Bureau.
In 1994, the University of Missouri honored Charlie with both the Faculty/Alumni Award and the College of Agriculture’s Alumnus of the Year Award. He received an appointment to the Commission on 21st Century Production Agriculture in August 1997. In June 1999, USDA Secretary Dan Glickman and U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky reappointed Charlie to the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in Grains, Feed, and Oilseeds. Previous federal appointments include President George Bush’s Council on Rural America and U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills’ Intergovernmental Advisory Committee.
Charlie is an Eagle Scout and had a 26-year military career in the Missouri National Guard. He retired from the National Guard in March 1993, with the rank of Brigadier General.
Charlie and his family raise corn, wheat, soybeans, and cotton.