Former Missouri State Sen. Dan Hegeman was inducted into the Ag Hall of Fame at the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce Farm City Breakfast last week.
Hegeman is a lifetime farmer of a six-generation, family-owned row crop and cattle operation in Andrew County. His brother Fritz Hegeman currently runs the farm as Hegeman serves as a Senior Community Business Manager at Evergy.
A 1981 graduate of Savannah High School, he received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri in 1985, where he was a member of the Alpha Gamma Rho agriculture fraternity. He is a former president of the Andrew County University of Missouri Extension Council and former President of the Andrew County Farm Bureau. He was first elected to public office in 1991 as state representative. He later served as Andrew County Clerk and then Senator, concluding 24 years of elected public service when his term limited in 2022.
Hegeman and his wife, Fran, live near their farm in Cosby and have four children. He has been a lifelong member of Hope United Christian Church of Christ in Cosby and also is a member of the Cosby Masonic Lodge No. 600, Moila Shrine Temple and the St. Joseph Swiss Lodge. He has served on numerous boards and received many awards for his community service.
The Ag Hall of Fame induction was made in front of about 600 people at the annual event, which is a fundraiser for Agriculture Future of America (AFA) scholarships. These are given to local students pursuing agricultural-related degrees.
Past inductees into the Ag Hall of Fame include:
Gene Millard – 2006
John Saunders – 2007
Larry Ehlert – 2008
Elbert Turner – 2008
Sidney Johnson – 2009
Sheri and Richard Spader – 2010
Wes Remington -2011
Donnie Miller – 2012
Dave Cox – 2013
Fred Hannah– 2014
Tom Brandt – 2015
Dean Habrock – 2016
Gary Exline – 2017
Terry McClatchey – 2018
Terry Cotton – 2019
Greg Clement – 2020
Bob Wollenman – 2021
Andrew McCrea — 2022
The Farm City Breakfast is presented by LifeLine Foods.