By NANCY VORIS
Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Jason Tower of Dubois will lead the Indiana Beef Cattle Assoc. (IBCA) in 2010-2011 as president of the executive committee.

A Columbus native, Tower earned a bachelor’s degree in animal sciences from Purdue in 1997 and has served as superintendent of the Southern Indiana Purdue Ag Center in Dubois since May 2000. He was named outstanding young cattleman by the IBCA in 2004 and joined the IBCA board in 2005.

Tower recognizes the challenges coming from special interest groups who may not understand agriculture and said the IBCA needs to stand beside livestock industries like swine and poultry whose livelihoods may be threatened. “It helps in the beef industry that people can see our cows out grazing in the pasture,” he said, “but we have to be prepared and be proactive. Say, ‘Here’s what we do on our farm, come and see what happens here.’”

Tower said it is humbling to see the photos of past presidents on the wall. “I do realize I’m probably younger than they were. I learned a tremendous amount from them and other members, and they gave me the opportunity to learn the industry,” he said.
One of his goals this year is to maintain and expand membership in IBCA, and to insure an organization that is valuable to its members.

The IBCA elected officers during its annual business meeting at the 2010 Livestock, Forage & Grain Forum. Serving with Tower are President-Elect Bob Bishop, Leesburg; Vice President Donnie Lawson, Thorntown and Treasurer Jim Lankford, Martinsville.

Also serving on the executive committee are Membership Chairman Clark Sennett, Waynetown; promotion Chairman Abby Nichols, Franklin and Immediate Past President Dave Smith, Greensburg.
Newly elected  board directors include Stacy Baird, Greencastle, Area 5 and Ryan Millett, Greenfield, an employee of Elanco Animal Health who will serve as the service sector representative. The IBCA Board of Directors is made up of 10 area directors as well as representatives from dairy, veal and allied industries. Along with serving on the IBCA board, these local producer leaders manage the collection and allocation of beef checkoff funds for the Indiana Beef Council.