INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Jan. 9, 2020) — The Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) welcomed a few new farmer-leaders recently while several others earned re-election. The winners include: District 1, incumbent Nancy Cline and new board member Joseph Stoller; in District 3, incumbent Craig Williams and new board member Andrew Miller; and in District 4, incumbent Mike Koehne and new board member Kevin Burbrink. Incumbents Elaine Gillis and Matthew Chapman were unopposed and earned re-election in District 2.
District 1: Cline owns and operates Cline Farms, Inc. with her husband, Michael, in Tipton, Clinton, Hamilton and Howard counties. The Clines began farming in 1976 and grow soybeans and corn and raise pigs. Stoller operates J.R. Stoller Farms in Marshall and Elkhart counties. He grows soybeans and commercial corn seed. Stoller has been a full-time farmer since 2010.
District 2: Gillis has farmed with her husband, Craig, since 1999 on their operation that covers Blackford, Delaware and Jay counties. Gillis has served on the ISA board since 2013. Chapman produces soybeans, corn and wheat on Chapman Brothers farm in Henry County. A pork producer, as well, he started farming in 2004.
District 3: Williams grows soybeans, corn and a variety of vegetables, including melons, tomatoes and sweet corn, on his farm in rural Knox and Sullivan counties. He has been a full-time farmer since 1993. Miller grows soybeans and corn on his farm near Oaktown, Ind. that spans Knox and Greene counties. Miller farms full-time, and has worked his land since 1996.
District 4: Koehne grows soybeans, corn and hay and raises cattle on his farm near Greensburg, Ind. in Decatur and Franklin counties. A full-time farmer since 1992, he also has a farm drainage business. Burbrink grows soybeans, corn and wheat on his farm near Seymour in Jackson County, Ind. He has also raised popcorn, tomatoes, green beans and cucumbers for pickles.
Last week, during the ISA’s quarterly meeting, the directors elected David Rodibaugh of Rensselaer, Ind., as the board’s chair for 2020. Rodibaugh served as ISA vice chair in 2019. Rodibaugh grows soybeans and corn, plus he manages a farrow-to-finish hog farm in Jasper County, Ind. Joe Tuholski, who was the 2019 ISA chair, was elected as the new chair of the ISA Marketing and Communications Committee. Tuholski raises soybeans, corn, seed corn, alfalfa and wheat on his farm in LaPorte and St. Joseph counties near Mill Creek, Ind.
Other members on the ISA Executive Committee include Vice Chair Matt Chapman, Springport, Ind.; Secretary Jim Douglas, Flat Rock, Ind.; Treasurer Denise Scarborough, LaCrosse, Ind.; Membership and Policy Committee Chair Mike Koehne, Greensburg, Ind.; and Grain Production and Utilization Committee Chair C.J. Chalfant, Hartford City, Ind.
In other news, the ISA board elected Phil Ramsey to fill a third seat on the American Soybean Association (ASA) Board of Directors. The ASA represents U.S. soybean farmers on domestic and international policy issues important to the soybean industry. ASA has 26 state associations representing 30 soybean-producing states and more than 300,000 soybean farmers. Ramsey of Shelbyville, Ind. accepted the post. He joins Kendell Culp of Rensselaer, Ind. and Joe Steinkamp of Evansville, Ind. on the ASA board. Ramsey grows soybeans, corn and wheat on his farm in Shelby, Rush and Hancock counties.
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The Indiana Soybean Alliance works to enhance the viability of Indiana soybean farmers through the effective and efficient investment of soybean checkoff funds and the development of sound policies that protect and promote the interest of Indiana soybean farmers. The ISA is working to build new markets for soybeans through the promotion of biodiesel, livestock, grain marketing, aquaculture, new soybean uses and research. ISA is led by an elected, farmer board that directs investments of the soybean checkoff funds on behalf of more than 28,000 Indiana soybean farmers and promotes policies on behalf of the ISA’s 700 dues-paying members. Visit www.indianasoybean.com for more information.
This communication was funded with soybean checkoff dollars.
