The Indiana Beef Cattle Association (IBCA) held elections during the recent Area Beef Meetings to choose three Area Directors who sit on the IBCA-IBC Board of Directors. Beef producers in Area 5 re-elected J.D. Faulk of Worthington, producers in Area 7 elected Dan Chesnut of Bath and producers in Area 11 elected Jacob Pettigrew of Columbia City.
During the recent convention at the Sheraton Hotel on January 21st, the IBCA membership elected officers for 2023-2024. The new officers approved by the membership were: President- Jeff Sherfield of Spencer, President-Elect- Kelley Sheiss of Larwill; Vice President- Keegan Poe of Franklin and Treasurer- Andrew Stewart of Greensburg. Also serving on the Executive Committee with the officers are Promotions Committee Chair, Dr. Jennie Hodgen, Membership Chair, Tim Schwab and Immediate Past President, Jill Duncan.
The IBCA Board of Directors is made up of 10 Area Directors as well as representatives from dairy, veal and allied industries. These local producer leaders serve on the board for the IBCA as well as the Indiana Beef Council (IBC) to manage the collection and allocation of the Beef Checkoff.
In addition, the Indiana Beef Cattle Association (IBCA) honored the state’s top cattlemen and women during their convention.
The IBCA Friend of the Industry Award was given to Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Marketing Council. This award is given to a group, an individual or a company who has stood out in their support of the beef industry either through financial support or other promotional and marketing efforts. Both organizations support Hoosier cattle producers through research and sponsorship of their key annual events. Accepting on behalf was Dr. Paul Hodgen, President of Indiana Corn Marketing Council.
Honoring cattlemen and women who possess beef management skills and leadership abilities, the IBCA awarded the 2022 Outstanding Cattleman of the Year to Tim Schwab of Batesville. He works as the farm manager of Kopp Land and Livestock in Batesville. They farm about 600 acres of row crops including corn, soybeans, wheat, and about 1200 acres of pasture. They background about 500 head of feeder steers each year and the farm maintains about 200 to 250 cows. Two club calf sales and a bred heifer and cow sale take place each year. Through these sales they have sold cattle which have won champion honors at the North American International Livestock Expo, American Royal, National Western, California State Fair, Wyoming State Fair, North Carolina State Fair, Hoosier Beef Congress, Ohio AGR and AGS shows, Kentucky Beef Expo and many local and county fairs. He is proud of breeding and raising the promotional sire Hi Ho Silver.
The most esteemed award each year is the coveted Robert C. Peterson Lifetime Achievement Award. This year the IBCA awarded the 2022 honor to two very deserving recipients: Steve Gunn of Greensburg and Bob Bishop of Leesburg. For 20 years, Steve Gunn and Bob Bishop served as the co-chairs of Hoosier Beef Congress. Steve was the HBC committee chair and Bob was the junior show chair. In the beginning, there were about 600 head in the show. When they turned over the reins in 2012, there were close to 1500 head. Both have served as President of IBCA and are active leaders in their local communities.
The Indiana Beef Cattle Association congratulates all the award recipients and is proud to honor them for their work and commitment to the Indiana beef industry and agriculture.
For more information about the board or to get a complete listing of the IBCA Board of Directors, visit www.indianabeef.org or contact the IBCA office at 317-293-2333.
