OKEANA, Ohio – In the past, when a truckload of corn went out the driveway, Gail Lierer didn’t care where it went. She just wanted the check. Now she knows more about where it could go and how it could get there. She finds that fascinating.

Gail and her husband, Dave, farm in Butler County. Their sons, Dave and Mike. help, as does their daughter, Christa Crosier, when she comes to town. They raise corn, soybeans and hay for Mike’s beef cattle. She also sells crop insurance in four states.

Lierer learned about the destination for the corn through her years of service on various boards, beginning when it was unusual to see a woman in such a position. She first served on the Farm Service Agency (FSA) board for nine years.

At one of her last meetings, Fred Yoder, of Plain City, asked if she would be interested in serving on the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Corn Marketing board. When she asked what was involved, he said maybe four meetings a year.

“That soon turned into many other meetings, missions to countries, and different things to support and encourage buyers to maybe come to Ohio to buy their corn and wheat,” Lierer said.

“I started with Ohio Corn and Wheat in 2013 and held secretary, treasurer, then vice chair, chair in 2019 and 2020, when COVID hit,” she said. It was a bummer year. It was Zoom meetings and not a lot of association with people.”

Because of Lierer’s involvement on the board, the family has hosted trade groups of buyers interested in Ohio corn. In 2014 they entertained a group from Japan.

“Trade groups come in, they see the kids, grandkids, they have a better knowledge of where their corn is coming from,” she explained. “We hosted a Japanese trade team, a group of young buyers.

“We took them to the field where we were going to combine,” she said. “They’d never seen corn grown like that; they were trying to eat it. We’re not a huge farm, but it was fascinating for them. It’s a feeling of knowing that you have buyers interested in your corn and soybeans, that it is grown right, and it is not a corporation selling it; it is a family farm.”

Lierer also served on an action team with the National Corn Growers Association from 2018-21. They toured the Panama Canal during its reconstruction and saw the reservoir they were building.

They built a reservoir to save water for ships that came in during the dry years, Lierer explained. “Ships would come in and sit in the bay and couldn’t get through because there was not enough water. With the reservoir, they can pump water into the canal, raise the ship and move it on.”

The Waterways Council, Inc., is responsible for the United States inland waterways—the locks, dams and canal. Lierer served on that board from 2016 to 2018. 

Lierer has done a lot of dedicated serving for the Ohio agriculture industry and on the national level, said Jon Miller, current chair of the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Corn Marketing Board.

“Gail is a very dedicated board member,” Miller said. “She brings an added perspective to the board because she’s a family farmer, plus she sells crop insurance. The things she can bring to the board are different from what someone who only farmed could bring.

“Many board members have John Deere equipment, and Gail and I both like red equipment – International Harvester,” Miller said. “So, we had a special bond between the two of us.”

Lierer has traveled 141,131 miles in the service of Ohio ag. She made 95 trips to 68 cities and seven countries. Why?

“To promote corn and because some of these people still think of farmers as the bib overalls holding a pitchfork,” Lierer said. “When a woman walks into that room with some of these buyers, they have a different respect for that. So, it takes a little bit to get them warmed up to where they think you know what you’re talking about.”