National
Corn Growers Association
| Ken McCauley, Chairman, White Cloud, Kansas |
| Ken and his wife, Mary, and son, Brad, farm 3,500 acres of corn and soybeans in North East Kansas near White Cloud, Kansas. McCauley has served on the Kansas Corn Commission in many different positions of leadership, and has held leadership positions in his church and community. Ken was the 2006-2007 President of NCGA. Prior to that he was vice chair of NCGA’s Ethanol Committee and a member of the Research and Development Action Team. Ken serves as a Finance Committee member and liaison on the Biotechnology Working Group. |
| Ron Litterer, President, Greene, Iowa |
| Ron, a graduate of Iowa State University, runs a corn, soybean and hog operation. Before deciding on farming as a full-time occupation, Ron served as a vocational agriculture instructor for four years and was a district sales manager for Ralston Purina Company. He’s held a number of leadership positions in local, state and national agriculture organizations. Ron served as First Vice President in 2006-2007. He is a past member of the NCGA Ethanol Task Force, the Trade Task Force and the Disaster Task Force. He also served on the Floyd County (Iowa) Ag Development Authority for five years. |
|
|
|
| Bob Dickey, Laurel , Nebraska |
| Bob and his wife Mary, farm a diversified grain and livestock operation in Laurel , Neb. , consisting of corn, soybeans, cattle and hogs. Bob has served on the NCGA Ethanol Committee and the Structure Review Committee. In addition, he has held many leadership positions on the state, national and international levels. He currently serves on the Finance Committee. |
| Cal Dalton, Pardeeville, Wisconsin |
| Cal and his wife, Joanne, farm 2,200 acres of corn, soybeans, specialty grains, wheat, oats and hay in Pardeeville, Wisconsin. Dalton has held many leadership positions at the state and local level, and served as a member of the 2001 Nominating Committee and most recently as a member of the Growers Services Action Team. Cal serves as a member of the Association Relations Committee and as a board representative for the National Grain & Feed Association. |
| Guy Davenport, Creswell, North Carolina |
Guy and his family raise corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and produce. Guy also owns a grain dealership, Newland Commodities. He served as North Carolina Corn Growers Association President and as a North Carolina Corn Growers Association Corn Board member. He also was a North Carolina Representative to the U.S. Grains Council and served on USGC’s Asia Advisory Team. He is also the Corn Board Liaison to the Grower Services Action Team and the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council/National Chicken Council. Guy also is a member of NCGA’s Association Relations Committee. |
|
| Clark Gerstacker, Midland, Michigan |
Clark farms 1,500 acres of corn, soybeans, sugar beets and dry edible beans on a 114-year-old family farm in Midland, Mich. He served the Michigan Corn Growers Association as secretary, treasurer, vice president, president and chairman, and chaired the NCGA Research and Business Development Action Team and was a member of the Structure Review Committee |
|
| Daryl Haack, Primghar, Iowa |
| Daryl and his family have grown zone-till corn and no-till soybeans for the past 35 years. Based in Iowa, Daryl has held officer positions in his local farm bureau and Iowa checkoff board. Daryl has experience serving on the ICPB for eight years and has used it to bring a different perspective to serve NCGA’s needs as chairman of the ethanol committee. |
| Darrin Ihnen, Hurley, South Dakota |
| Darrin and his family operate a farm growing irrigated and dry-land corn and soybeans. They also raise stock cows and manage a contract hog-feeding operation. Darrin has been involved in corn-grower issues at local, state and national levels participating in NCGA’s Leadership Academy, South Dakota Corn Growers Association, NCGA’s Biotechnology Working Group, and Production and Stewardship Action Team. |
| Charles “Jamie” Jamison, Dickerson, Maryland |
Jamie manages a family farm that grows corn, soybeans, wheat and sod. He’s been an active member in state and national agriculture associations for a number of years. Aside from holding many leadership positions with the Maryland Corn Producers Utilization Board, Charles served on the NCGA Production and Stewardship Action Team, including a two-year term as its chair. He has participated in several NCGA lobbying trips to Washington, D.C., and says that growing corn on the East Coast gives him a unique perspective. |
|
| Dave Nelson, Belmond, Iowa |
| Dave raises corn, soybeans, oats, hay and vegetable crops and manages a region of Conservation Reserve Program land. He has held many offices including president, in several local organizations including Iowa Corn Growers Association board and NCGA Grower Services Action Team. He is currently president of the Midwest Grain Processors board of directors, on the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Board of Directors and a member of the NCGA Ethanol Committee. |
| Garry Niemeyer, Aurburn, Illinois |
| Garry grows value-added crops on his farm, including high-oil corn and soybean seed. He has been actively involved in a host of agriculture organizations for a number of years. Garry has served as president, vice president, market development director, treasurer and public relations chairman of the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA). He currently acts as the District 10 director of ICGA. Garry’s experience in politics is evinced by his appointment to former Illinois Gov. George Ryan’s Illinois Farm Development Authority. He also served on Ryan’s Ag Transition Committee and was a delegate to the first Illinois Ag Assembly in 2000. |
| Bart Schott, Kulm, North Dakota |
| Bart and his family are third- and fourth-generation owner/operators raising no-till corn, soybeans and small grains. Bart also runs a seed business including both sales and small grain seed for the North Dakota State Seed Department. Bart has served as chairman and vice chairman of the North Dakota Corn Growers Association and as a member of the NCGA Biotechnology Working Group and Research and Development Business Action Team. |
| Theresa Schmalshof, Adair, Illinois |
| Theresa and her husband, Gary, started farming in 1969. Today, with their two sons, Jeff and Dan, they raise corn and soybeans. The family operates a small trucking business and hauls its grain to the Illinois River for shipment. Theresa has a long history of involvement in agriculture organizations. At the state level, she has served as secretary, treasurer, vice chair and chair of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board. Nationally, Theresa has served on the NCGA Public Relations Committee and Trade/Policy Committee. She served in many positions with the U.S. Grains Council, including director of the council and chair of the Value-Added Team. |
| Mark Schwiebert,
Hamler, Ohio
|
Mark is a partner in a farm operation that grows corn, popcorn, soybeans and soft red winter wheat. He also owns and operates a farm drainage contracting business, specializing in the installation of drainage tile. Mark has served on the Ohio Corn Growers Board of Directors for six years, with one year as president. He was a member of the NCGA Public Policy Action Team for four years. He is a member of NCGA’s Finance Committee and a liaison to the Food and Ag Export Alliance. |
| Steven Yoder, Dalhart, Texas |
| Steven and his family operate a family farm, growing center pivot sprinkler irrigated corn, wheat and alfalfa. Through his experiences in running his own business and supervisory roles, he has gained a diverse view of the corn-growing industry. Steven’s leadership skills enable him to be a team player and lead by example. |
|
Last reviewed October 1, 2007 |
|
KEY ISSUES
