Inaugural MI CENT training next-gen Michigan corn growers

LANSING, Mich. — The inaugural class of MI CENT, the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan’s young farmer leader program, met for the first time this January. This program is designed to provide educational opportunities for the next generation of Michigan corn farmers.

Topics include agronomy, technology, farm management, the work of the National Corn Growers Assoc. and a trip to Washington, D.C., to lobby Michigan’s Congressional delegation. This year’s class includes the following Michigan leaders:

Logan Crumbaugh, St. Louis: Logan is part of his family’s 3,500-acre cash crop farm, Crumbaugh Legacy, Inc. They grow sugar beets, corn, soybeans and wheat, in addition to custom work for neighbors. He received a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness management from Michigan State University in 2017.

Steve Keinath, Deckerville: Steve has been farming full-time with his father since 2006. They raise nearly 1,000 acres of corn, wheat, navy beans and sugar beets. Before returning to the farm full-time he worked in construction and as a certified mechanic. He also started a Pioneer seed dealership, C&M Seeds, in 2016. He and his wife, Kayla, have two children, Maggy and Charly.

Jake Lonier, Lansing: Jake is the sixth generation to be a part of his family’s 3,000-acre operation, Shady Lodge Farm. He has worked full-time on the farm for nearly 10 years and hopes to take it over one day. They grow corn, soybeans and wheat. In addition, they do custom harvesting and fertilizer spreading and have their own tile plow.

Allyson Maxwell, Hope: Allyson is a city girl-turned-farm wife who left her suburban roots near Kansas City and married into a fourth-generation farm family. Allyson and her husband, Peter, farm with his family near Midland. They raise corn, soybeans, sugar beets and wheat.

Allyson earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Kansas State University before working for Monsanto and Crop Production Services. Currently, she works at home and helps with the family farm business. Allyson and Peter have two sons.

Jason McConnachie, Deckerville: Jason farms 3,600 acres of sugar beets, corn, dry beans and wheat with his father and two younger brothers. He has been farming full-time since graduating from the ag mechanics program at the University of Northwestern Ohio 15 years ago.

He and his wife, Angie, have three kids, Alayna, Adrianna and Ethan. He enjoys coaching the kids in sports, serving on the Michigan Corn Growers Assoc. board and being involved with the Masonic Lodge and Goodtimer’s organizations.

Ross Meyer, Grand Ledge: Ross has worked for Shady Lodge Farm LLC since 2011. He also rents 500 acres of corn and soybeans of his own, in addition to his duties at Shady Lodge Farm. Ross is responsible for all the management decisions on his 500 acres. While in high school Ross took heavy equipment repair and equipment operator classes at AIS.

Damien Miller, Elsie: Damien has been farming with his father, Scott, all his life. They operate a 2,300-acre cash crop farm growing corn and soybeans. Damien graduated from Ferris State University with a degree in construction management and surveying engineering.

He currently works full-time off the farm but returns whenever he can to help, and hopes the addition of a 4,800-head hog finishing facility will bring him closer to being able to farm full-time. He and his wife, Kortney, have one daughter, Paisley.

Jay Parr, Brown City: Jay has been farming with his father, Jeff, since 2008. Together, they operate a 1,300-acre cash crop farm growing corn, soybeans and sugar beets. They also provide custom planting and harvesting services to neighboring farms.

He attended Michigan State University, graduating from the Agricultural Industries program. Jay and his wife, Tara, have two daughters, Millie and Hazel.

Scott Thomas, Brown City: Scott has worked for Eager Farms for the last 15 years. They raise 1,200 acres of corn, soybeans and sugar beets. In addition to planting, scouting, spraying and harvesting, he also manages the farm’s seed warehouse for their Pioneer dealership and helps with his family’s 450-acre farm.

Scott was the Michigan Farm Bureau Young Farmer Agriculture Employee Award winner in 2017 and serves on the Sanilac County Farm Bureau Board.

Jake Wamhoff, Williamston: Jake farms 1,500 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat with his father and grandfather. He has been back on the farm for three years and a Beck's Hybrids seed dealer for two. Jake graduated from Michigan State in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in finance. He is an avid Spartan sports fan and, in his spare time, restores old John Deere tractors with his father.

To nominate yourself or another farmer for next year’s program, contact Theresa Sisung at 517-668-2676.

3 seats available on Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee

FRANKENMUTH, Mich. — Every year several seats on the seven-member Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee (MSPC) board are open for appointment or reappointment by the governor. Three of these positions will be filled this summer.

The districts seeking two people to apply for each position include:

•District 2: Calhoun, Eaton, Hillsdale, Ingham and Jackson counties

•District 4: Huron, Macomb, Oakland, Sanilac and St. Clair counties

•District 5: Arenac, Bay, Lapeer, Saginaw and Tuscola counties

Interested soybean farmers residing in these districts should contact MSPC Executive Director Gail Frahm at 877-769-6424 or gfrahm@michigansoybean.org and the link will be provided to you for the online application process. All applications need to be completed by July 31.

The term starts at the end of September. Interested applicants are encouraged to attend a regular MSPC board meeting to check it out; the next meeting will be at the DoubleTree in Port Huron on June 25 (from 4-6:30 p.m.) and June 26 (from 8 a.m.-3 p.m.). Call to RSVP if interested in attending.

USDA announces American Egg Board appointments

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the appointment of 11 members and 10 alternates to serve on the American Egg Board. Nine member appointees and nine alternates will serve two-year terms. Three appointees will serve the remaining one-year portion of vacant positions.

The appointed members and alternates in the Farm World region are: Thomas Stoller, Ohio City, Ohio; Steven L. George, Grinnell, Iowa; Tim Vande Bunte, Holland, Mich., alternate; Robert Gornichec, Centerburg, Ohio, alternate (one-year term); and Blair Van Zetten, Oskaloosa, Iowa, alternate.

The American Egg Board is composed of 18 members and 18 alternates representing six areas. The board is authorized by the Egg Research and Consumer Information Act of 1974.

Indiana farmer reelected to National Pork committee

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The U.S. pork industry held its annual business meeting, the National Pork Industry Forum, Feb. 28-March 2 in Kansas City. At the meeting, Indiana pork producer Joe Baldwin was reelected for a two-year term to the National Pork Producer Council's Nominating Committee, which evaluates candidates for the organization's board of directors.

"I'm happy to have the opportunity to continue serving pork producers," said Baldwin. "Serving on NPPC's Nominating Committee allows me to work with the leadership on issues facing our industry. I'm grateful my fellow pork producers put their trust in me to work with the leaders of this organization."

Baldwin is a pork producer in Union City, Ind., and is currently serving as president of Indiana Pork, a not-for-profit representing the state’s 3,000 family pork farmers through the pork checkoff program.

Appell inducted into National Pork Hall of Fame

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jill Appell, a pork producer from Altona, Ill., was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Pork Producers Council for her leadership of and dedication to the U.S. pork industry, at NPPC's annual business meeting, the National Pork Industry Forum.

Appell, who grew up near Chicago, early on developed an interest in agriculture. Her career in the pork industry began when she joined the Knox County Pork Producers Assoc., which eventually led to her role as president of the Illinois Pork Producers Assoc.

Shortly after NPPC was formally separated from the National Pork Board, she joined the NPPC board and was appointed vice president of the organization in 2005. She served as president from March 2007-March 2008. Prior to becoming president of NPPC, Appell was appointed as director of Rural Development for Illinois.

She has continued her service to the pork industry through her role as vice chair on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiation for the U.S. Trade Representative, and has served on the Illinois Attorney General's Advisory Committee and the Illinois Governor's Advisory Committee. Appell and her husband Paul originally had a farrow-to-finish operation, then transitioned to a weaner operation. While they no longer have pigs, they still raise 1,100 acres of corn and soybeans.