Hoosier soybean farmers interested in serving on the board of directors of the Indiana Soybean Alliance – the state’s soybean organization – need to file a completed application by Friday, March 29, 2013. ISA works on behalf of nearly 28,000 soybean farmers in Indiana who contribute to the soybean checkoff. The ISA Board of Directors is responsible for the investment of those checkoff funds. Under its five-year strategic plan, the ISA identified six major focus areas, including grain marketing, livestock, new uses, production and environmental research, aquaculture, and biofuels.
To apply to be a candidate, Hoosier farmers must sign a Director Expectation Statement and provide information on an Indiana Soybean Leader Profile form. Download the forms at https://www.indianasoybean.com/elections or call the soybean office at 1-800-735-0195. Completed paperwork must be postmarked or faxed before March 29, 2013 to be eligible. ISA has four voting districts in the state and farmers elected to the 24-member board of directors will serve a three-year term. ISA is seeking candidates to fill two open seats in each of the four districts.
District I counties include: Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Elkhart, Fulton, Howard, Jasper, Kosciusko, La Porte, Lake, Marshall, Miami, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, St. Joseph, Starke, Tipton, Wabash and White.
District II counties include: Adams, Allen, Blackford, Dekalb, Delaware, Grant, Henry, Huntington, Jay, La Grange, Madison, Noble, Randolph, Steuben, Wayne, Wells and Whitley.
District III 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.
District IV 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.
Candidates for the ISA Board are required to have been engaged in the growing of soybeans in Indiana in the last two years. Candidates must certify that they own the soybeans or share the ownership and risk of loss of the soybeans.
Voting will take place in July and ballots will be distributed to Indiana soybean farmers by mail. Those farmers elected in July will begin serving on the ISA board of directors in December 2013.
Once elected to the Board, a director may also choose to represent the dues-paying members of the Alliance. Directors who choose to represent ISA’s dues-paying members will develop and promote public policies that benefit the interests of Indiana’s soybean farmers – both in Indianapolis and Washington, D.C.
Since federal law prohibits the ISA from using soybean checkoff funds to support policy activities, financial support for membership and policy activities comes from member dues and other contributions. An elected director’s service on behalf of dues-paying ISA members is strictly voluntary and a candidate for the Board is not required to be a dues-paying member of the Alliance.
For more information or to obtain a Director Expectation Statement, visit https://www.indianasoybean.com/elections or call 1-800-735-0195.