Indiana soybean farmers must cast their votes for the Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) annual election by July 31. There is one contested race in this year’s election. “Farmers who vote for ISA board members play an important role in influencing how their checkoff dollars work for farms and Indiana agriculture,” said Tom Griffiths, chairman of ISA and farmer from Kendallville, Ind. “The ISA board directs how checkoff dollars are spent, and Indiana soybean farmers shape the direction of the board through casting their votes for new board members.”
The board is responsible for investing Indiana soybean checkoff funds in programs to increase the viability of Indiana soybean farmers. Currently, ISA has seven major areas of focus, including grain marketing, livestock, aquaculture, production research, consumer education, sustainability programs, and new uses for soybeans.
ISA has contested races in one of its four districts this year. Ballots have been distributed to Indiana soybean farmers in Districts 1 by mail, and ballots must be postmarked by July 31.
The candidates from District 1 are Denise Scarborough from LaCrosse in LaPorte County, Joe Tuholski from Mill Creek in LaPorte County and Kyle Tom from Warsaw in Kosciusko County.
District 1 counties include: Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Elkhart, Fulton, Howard, Jasper, Kosciusko, LaPorte, Lake, Marshall, Miami, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, St. Joseph, Starke, Tipton, Wabash and White.
Farmers who vote in the election must have grown a soybean crop within the past two years, must vote in the county they reside, and may vote once per farm entity. Farmers in this district who have not received a ballot can request one by calling 1-800-735-0195.
Those farmers elected in July will begin serving on the ISA board of directors in December 2017 and will serve a three-year term.
There is no formal election process for Districts 2, 3 and 4 because of uncontested races. However, the districts did have candidates who will serve a three-year term on the ISA Board of Directors.
The candidates from District 2 are CJ Chalfant from Hartford City in Blackford County and John Emmert from Ligonier in Noble County. District 2 counties include: Adams, Allen, Blackford, DeKalb, Delaware, Grant, Henry, Huntington, Jay, LaGrange, Madison, Noble, Randolph, Steuben, Wayne, Wells and Whitley.
The candidate from District 3 is Derika Lynam-Spaetti from Evansville in Vanderburgh County. District 3 counties include: Clay, Daviess, Dubois, Fountain, Gibson, Greene, Knox, Martin, Montgomery, Owen, Parke, Pike, Posey, Putnam, Spencer, Sullivan, Tippecanoe, Vanderburgh, Vermillion, Vigo, Warren and Warrick.
The candidates from District 4 are Jim Douglas from Flat Rock in Shelby County and Anngie Steinbarger from Edinburgh in Shelby County. District 4 counties include: Bartholomew, Boone, Brown, Clark, Crawford, Dearborn, Decatur, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock, Harrison, Hendricks, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Lawrence, Marion, Monroe, Morgan, Ohio, Orange, Perry, Ripley, Rush, Scott, Shelby, Switzerland, Union and Washington.
For more information, visit www.indianasoybean.com/elections or call Hannah Vorsilak, ISA Director of Education and Training at 1-800-735-0195.