Corn and soy leadership changes
There is new leadership heading into the New Year at Indiana’s corn and soybean checkoff organizations. Joe Steinkamp from Evansville is the new president of the Indiana Soybean Alliance and David Gottbrath of Pekin in Washington County assumes the president’s role for the corn checkoff, the Indiana Corn Marketing Council.
HAT caught up with the outgoing presidents just before Christmas and Denny Maple of ICMC had a message for the state’s corn growers.
“We wish them a very, very merry Christmas and a happy New Year and hope you had a successful harvest this year. We look forward to next year always being better. We’re optimists and certainly there were areas in the state that were troubled with crop issues this year and we’re hoping for the best next year.”
David Lowe from east-central Indiana is stepping down at Indiana soybean.
“To all those farmers on my side of the state who were not quite as fortunate, there is next year and we’re glad for that and the activities of the Indiana Soybean Alliance will continue to strive to do the very best to bring programs that will help you make decisions in times like we had recently on the cropping reports and programs and cash rents and those kinds of things. Family is king this time of year, not corn, and the opportunity to share with our families no matter what the circumstances are, is vitally important.”
Lowe said ISA is looking forward to continued work on high oleic soybeans and the future of the automated plant phenotyping research and education facility now under construction at the Purdue University Agronomy Center for Research and Education.
“Indiana corn and soybean chose to invest in that, probably not for Denny or my generation, but for future generations. We know it’s a great opportunity for us to share but we think there is great opportunity for students and to keep some of these students local and working for us and for the future of agriculture here in Indiana.”