INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Don Villwock, a third-generation farmer from near Vincennes, will soon be getting back to raising the white corn he sells for use in making tortillas on more of a full-time basis.
Gone will be the days of living part-time at a hotel because of the two-hour one-way commute to his job as president of Indiana Farm Bureau. Villwock, 64, is stepping down at the end of 2015 after 14 years at the helm of the Indianapolis-based group that acts as an advocate for farmers.
He’ll turn 65 in December and with his three-year term due to expire Jan. 1, 2016, instead of running for reelection he felt it was best to make way for new leadership.
"I’m just thinking., well, it might be time to let some new blood come in and get some new ideas and vitality into the organization," said Villwock, whose decision reflects his belief that changes in leadership are good to keep things from becoming stagnant.
He has no specific future plans except returning to his wife, Joyce, and their farm on a more daily basis and becoming a grandfather for the second time in November. Villwock does hope to continue his work in developing policy for agriculture in some capacity.
"That’s been really my life’s work, and mission, to do that," said Villwock.
Much of his white corn is delivered to a tortilla/flour processing plant in Evansville and the remainder travels on barges in the Ohio River before arriving in Mexico and Japan. His farm also produces soybeans to four different companies and, in lesser amounts, crops like popcorn.
Villwock said his biggest achievements are his work on holding down increases in property taxes – which he believes are still too high for Indiana farmers – and leading the charge to create a state department of agriculture. Indiana was just one of two states when he took office not to a have such an agency.
He also was influential on establishing the Indiana Grain Indemnity Fund, a farmers-owned insurance account that helps in the recovery of losses stemming from grain elevator failures and other mishaps.
Villwock said he’s most disappointed, perhaps, that permanent property tax relief has not become reality yet, but vowed the fight will continue once he steps down. His successor won’t be determined until the election, but whoever fills the seat has major challenges – such as easing growing tensions between farmers and city dwellers who complain about noise and odors after moving into agricultural areas.
One of the keys toward bridging the gap is continuing to educate people who don’t have a good handle on what’s involved in getting food off the farms and onto store shelves, and of the strides made recently in farming through technology.
More work still has to be done on spreading the message that farmers really are good stewards of the land.
"We’re concerned about the environment. We’re concerned about food quality and food safety just as much as they are," said Villwock, a 1972 graduate of Purdue University with a degree in agricultural economics.
He is leaving with a long list of credentials that include being the state executive director of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service for four years starting in 1989, and serving as a liaison for former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana to the national Commission on 21st Century Production Agriculture in 1997.
