Eleven running in 2008 Indiana Soybean Alliance election

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Hoosier soybean farmers can cast their votes in the Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) director election from the comfort of their own home this year.

During the month of August, farmers should watch their mailboxes for the new mail-in ballot, which must be postmarked by Aug. 30.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for each and every soybean farmer in the state to vote and have a say on who is representing them on the ISA board,” said Doug Morrow, ISA president and Grant County farmer. “Receiving a ballot in the mail that they just have to open, fill out and mail back is convenient and accessible to all.”

ISA works on behalf of nearly 28,000 soybean farmers in Indiana who contribute to the soybean checkoff. The ISA board of directors manages the investment of those checkoff funds.

Under its strategic plan, the ISA has identified six major initiatives: Aquaculture, Biofuels, Grain Marketing, Livestock, Research and Soy New Uses/Commercialization.

The state is divided into four voting districts and there are open seats in each district, including two seats in District I; three in District II; two in District III; and three in District IV. The directors will be elected from each district to serve a three-year term on the ISA board starting in January 2009.

Candidates in District I are Michael Morehouse of New Paris in Elkhart County and Adam Renbarger of Wabash in Wabash County. 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.

Candidates in District II are David Lowe of Dunkirk in Jay County and Douglas Morrow of Marion in Grant County. District II counties include Adams, Allen, Blackford, Dekalb, Delaware, Grant, Henry, Huntington, Jay, LaGrange, Madison, Noble, Randolph, Steuben, Wayne, Wells and Whitley.

Candidates in District III are Robert DeVault of Lafayette in Tippecanoe County, Shelley McDaniel of Boonville in Spencer County and Joseph Steinkamp of Evansville in Vanderburgh County. 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.

Candidates in District IV are Linda Bacon of Milroy in Rush County, C. Burl Carmichael of Greenfield in Hancock County, Carl Kissell of Shelbyville in Shelby County and Mark R. Nigh of Shelbyville in Shelby County.

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.
According to the USDA, farmers who vote in the election of directors to the ISA board must have grown a soybean crop within the past two years, must be voting in the county in which they reside and may vote once per farm entity.

Ballots must be postmarked by Aug. 30.

If you are an eligible voter and did not receive a ballot, call the Indiana Soybean Alliance at 800-735-0195.

UT-Martin will expand livestock sales facility

MARTIN, Tenn. (AP) — The University of Tennessee at Martin is getting two grants to expand its agriculture program.
The grants – totaling more than $180,000 – will be used to increase the size of the university’s livestock merchandising facility. UTM agriculture and natural resources chairman Jerry Gresham said the university will receive a $55,000 grant from the USDA Rural Development program and $127,000 from the state Agricultural Enhancement Program.

The university built the Ray and Wilma Smith Livestock Merchandising Facility five years ago and farmers use it for livestock sales. Gresham said the sales have outgrown the existing building.

KFB Insurance named to Ward’s Benchmark Group

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. was named to the 2008 Ward’s 50 Benchmark Group, for being one of the 50 top performing property-casualty insurance companies in the industry.

Ward Group, a Cincinnati, Ohio-based management consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry, annually analyzes the financial performance of insurance companies domiciled in the United States and identifies the top performers.

The objectives of the analysis are to recognize the 50 companies that have excelled at balancing safety, consistency and performance over the past five years (2003-07), and then to benchmark their performance with the industry. Kentucky Farm Bureau has received this recognition 12 of the last 13 years.

AGCO honors top dealers in North America

NORTH STAR, Ohio — AGCO Corp. recently recognized North Star Hardware and Implement, Inc. for superior achievement upon completion of the Continuous Improvement Program (CIP), AGCO’s annual dealer evaluation review.

Tom Reno, sales manager of AGCO, presented Jeff and Jerry Stamm of North Star with a Silver Medallion Dealer’s plaque and a financial award as recognition for their excellence in the CIP. The CIP evaluates dealers’ performance in areas such as sales, parts, service certification, advertising, training, overall facility and signage with the ultimate goal of improving customer satisfaction.
North Star was recognized for its exemplary efforts to excel in these standards of dedication and determination. Founded in 1990, AGCO is a global manufacturer of agricultural equipment and related replacement parts, which are distributed through more than 3,000 independent dealers and distributors in more than 140 countries.