Michigan Corn organizations elect new officers

LANSING, Mich. — The Corn Marketing Program of Michigan (CMPM) and the Michigan Corn Growers Assoc. (MCGA) both elected new slates of officers at recent board meetings.

The following board members were elected to serve terms as officers of the CMPM: Paul Wagner from Grawn as president, Matt Holysz from Vicksburg as vice president, Scott Miller from Elsie as treasurer, and Brett Brink from Hamilton as secretary.

The following were elected to serve terms as officers of the MCGA: Matthew Frostic from Applegate as president, Philip Gordon from Saline as vice president, Waylon Smolinski from Lachine as secretary/treasurer, and former MCGA President Jason McConnachie from Deckerville as chair of the board.

Headquartered in Lansing, CMPM is a farmer-funded, legislatively established statewide program that invests in research, education, and market development to enhance the economic position of Michigan corn farmers.

MCGA is a grassroots organization of grower members dedicated to increasing the profitability of corn production. It is the only organization in Michigan that works solely on behalf of the state’s corn growers for pro-agriculture legislation, and ensures that corn growers’ voices are heard at the local, state, and national levels.

For more information, visit the Michigan Corn website at www.micorn.org

ICGA seeks energetic farmers for board election

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Do you want to help advocate for Indiana’s ethanol industry? Want to protect farmers’ rights from government regulations? Then get involved with the Indiana Corn Growers Assoc. (ICGA).

Farmers who want to represent agriculture in the federal and state legislative halls should seek a slot on this year’s ICGA board election ballot. ICGA’s governing districts correspond to the nine Congressional districts across the state. This year, ICGA will fill seats in districts 2, 5, and 8.

Candidates must meet the following eligibility requirements: member of ICGA in good standing; producer of corn as an owner, manager, or operator; resident of the district they seek to represent; and current on their ICGA membership dues.

•District 2 includes all of St. Joseph, Elkhart, Starke, Marshall, Pulaski, Fulton, Miami, and Wabash counties, and parts of LaPorte and Kosciusko

•District 5 includes all of Grant, Tipton, Hamilton, and Madison counties and parts of Boone, Marion, Howard, and Blackford

•District 8 includes all of Vermillion, Parke, Vigo, Clay, Owen, Sullivan, Greene, Knox, Daviess, Martin, Gibson, Pike, Dubois, Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Spencer, and Perry counties and part of Crawford

Election applications are due back to ICGA by April 19. Ballots will be mailed to members in mid-July and must be returned by August 16. Winners will begin a three-year term in December.

To learn more about this year’s election, find your Congressional district, and download an application, visit www.incorn.org/ICGAelections

Indiana corn checkoff board seeking candidates

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Hoosier farmers interested in directing Indiana corn checkoff investments can petition to run for election to the Indiana Corn Marketing Council (ICMC) board of directors.

ICMC manages the state’s corn checkoff investments with the goal of supporting and growing Indiana’s corn industry. Five seats on ICMC’s board of directors are up for reelection in 2019. To run for an ICMC director seat, Indiana corn farmers must be at least 18 years old, a registered Indiana voter, and a resident in the appropriate district.

All farmers who submit a valid petition by June 30 will be listed as a candidate on the election ballot. Voting takes place at Purdue Cooperative Extension Service county offices in August.

One seat is open in each of districts 1, 4, and 7 and two statewide, at-large seats are also open:

•District 1 – The counties of Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Starke, Pulaski, Jasper, White, Benton, and Newton

•District 4 – The counties of Warren, Tippecanoe, Montgomery, Putnam, Owen, Clay, Vigo, Parke, Vermillion, and Fountain

•District 7 – The counties of Sullivan, Greene, Daviess, Martin, Knox, Dubois, Pike, Gibson, Warrick, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Posey

Farmers can download any necessary forms at www.incorn.org/elections or by calling Chris Weldon at the ICMC office at 800-735-0195. Forms are also available at all extension offices.

Newly elected directors will begin a three-year term Oct. 1. ICMC directors can serve three consecutive full terms or a total of nine consecutive years. For more information about Indiana Corn Marketing Council, visit www.incorn.org

Former Michigan Pork executive honored at national event

ORLANDO, Fla. — The National Pork Producers Council joined the National Pork Board last month in presenting former Michigan Pork Producers Assoc. (MPPA) Executive Vice President Sam Hines with the Paulson-Whitmore State Executive Award at their annual business meeting, the National Pork Industry Forum.

The award, named after past Minnesota and past Wisconsin executive directors Don Paulson and Rex Whitmore, recognizes the outstanding leadership and commitment of state pork organization executives.

Hines, who served as MPPA executive director for more than 30 years, grew up on a diversified crop and livestock farm in Ohio, where he turned his father's gift of a few gilts into a profitable enterprise and eventually a small purebred Hampshire herd that helped pay his way through The Ohio State University.

After graduating, he joined Swift and Co. as a hog buyer, working with the originators of the "Nickels for Profit" voluntary pork checkoff. After a few years, he returned to Ohio, where he established a hog operation and became a producer leader, serving on the Ohio Pork Council board of directors and the NPPC executive committee. In the 1980s, he took the job as executive director of MPPA.

When the USDA threatened to eliminate the pork checkoff, Hines worked with the MPPA board to sue for the right to keep it. And when the only packing plant in Michigan closed and the value of production dropped, he worked with producers on a replacement facility. When the new plant came online, it immediately restored lost value to pigs produced in Michigan and surrounding states. He also worked with MPPA producer leaders to address the feral swine threat to domestic pigs.