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 Saturday, March 31, 2012.

“By becoming part of the board, soybean farmers are able to have a voice in where checkoff dollars are invested,” said Kevin Wilson, ISA president and farmer from Walton, Ind. “Serving as an ISA director is not only a great way to help shape checkoff programs, but it is also a great opportunity to build leadership skills and meet soybean farmers from across the state and beyond.”

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 http://www.indianasoybean.com/elections or call the soybean office at 1-800-735-0195. Completed paperwork must be postmarked or faxed before March 31, 2012 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 between September 2010 and September 2012. 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 January 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, download the form at http://www.indianasoybean.com/elections or call 1-800-735-0195.

Source: ISA

Just where does USDA get its numbers? Farmers and analysts have been asking and at the upcoming Indiana Livestock, Forage & Grain Forum they will be presented with answers by Greg Preston, Director of USDA’s NASS Indiana Field Office and Deputy Director Greg Matli.

They will speak at the first afternoon breakout session for corn and soybean growers.

“I think every farmer sits out there and scratches his head once in a awhile wondering about the USDA numbers, so we’re going to bring the guys in who really work with them and help us better understand how they come up with all the numbers that they’re using,” said Jane Ade Stevens, CEO of the Indiana corn and soybean organizations.

Since so many really are scratching their heads, will they have a chance to ask questions?

“That’s always our plan as long as our speakers stay within their time limit. It’s always our plan that there will be plenty of time for Q and A from the audience so that all of their thoughts and questions can get thoroughly addressed. So we encourage both grain and livestock farmers to come to the forum. We really try to put together a good program for everyone with all of the commodity groups involved.”

Indiana Corn and Soybean are hosting the morning session of the forum which features keynote speaker Dr. Frank Luntz. The Fox News Channel regular has written a book about Words that Work, so his address should be very insightful for Indiana’s farmers.

Stevens says, “His message is going to be very appropriate for us because, in part, we as the agricultural community need to be pretty in tune with the way we talk to non-farm people and how they perceive what we say.”

The forum sponsors are:

Indiana Soybean Alliance

Indiana Beef Cattle Association

Indiana Forage Council

Indiana Professional Dairy Producers

Milk Promotion Services of Indiana, Inc.

Indiana Pork

Indiana Corn Marketing Council

Indiana Horse Council

Indiana Farm Bureau

Indiana Board of Animal Health

Purdue Extension

Indiana State Department of Agriculture

The Indiana Livestock, Forage & Grain Forum is February 27 at the JW Marriott, 10 S. West St. in Indianapolis. Registration of $50 is required by Feb. 22. There will be no on-site registration. For more information or to register, go to http://www.indianasoybean.org/forum .

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Jane Ade Stevens on keynote speaker Frank Luntz:

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More with Jane on breakout sessions:

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Thursday was a good day for Indiana corn growers, according to the president of the Indiana Corn Marketing Council. Mike Shuter was one of those celebrating the grand opening of the first Fort Wayne flex fuel pump at the Lassus Handy Dandy Store.

The store benefitted from a grant from ICMC which funds 50 percent of the cost up to $20,000 per pump. This pump offers 5 fuel options including the typical unleaded selections.

“It has an E85 nozzle,” Shuter (2nd from left) told HAT, “and it also has an E30 nozzle that you can use now to get a mid-level blend instead of just the E85. The E30 formulation seems to be where we’re finding the mileage sweet spot on most vehicles, which means it’s probably the optimum fuel economy point. It just seems you don’t lose much mileage with an E30 blend.”

E30 is approved only for flexible fuel vehicles and the cost Thursday at the Lassus store was 25 cents cheaper than 87 octane unleaded. E85 was priced 50 cents lower than the unleaded.

The Flex Fuel Pump Program has awarded 14 grants to six different retailers, so more installations around the state will be unveiled in the coming months. And Shuter says still more grant money is available.

“We still have some funds available. I think there are still funds in the program for 7 or 8 pumps right now, and I’m sure that we’ll be funding this program again in the future.”

Shuter says it’s always a great day when you can witness the opening of a pump that represents one of the many products being produced with Indiana corn.

Todd Lassus, President of Lassus Handy Dandy welcomed Shuter to the grand opening of his new location, along with Tom Henry, Mayor of Fort Wayne, and Kellie Walsh of the Greater Indiana Clean Cities Coalition.

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Hear more from Mike Shuter in the HAT interview, starting with his description of the new pump in Ft. Wayne:

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(Pictures courtesy Megan Kuhn-ICMC)

Bell Aquaculture, a pioneer in sustainable fish farming operations, teamed with Indiana Soybean Alliance, Virginia Cobia Farms, University of Wisconsin School of Freshwater Sciences and The Conservation Fund’s Freshwater Institute to present the ‘Future of Fish’ at Bell Aquaculture’s operations in Albany and Redkey, Indiana. The announcement is made jointly by Norman McCowan, President of Bell Aquaculture, and Shelia Lingle, Director of Aquaculture for Indiana Soybean Alliance.

According to McCowan: “We are simply thrilled to be partnering with the Indiana Soybean Alliance, Virginia Cobia Farms and The Conservation Fund’s Freshwater Institute to advance the knowledge of best practices in the Aquaculture Industry in the U.S. Our first event was January 11th here in Redkey and Albany. We look forward to hosting similar events in the near future.”

Further, says Lingle: “As our country, and world, seeks sustainable, quality food options, Indiana Soybean Alliance is very pleased to be supporting this effort to provide healthy, great-tasting and ecologically responsible fish options for consumers. We’ve been working closely with Bell Aquaculture since its inception in 2005 to develop more sustainable, soy-based feed options for the aquaculture industry.”

The ‘Future of Fish’ on January 11th included tours of Bell Aquaculture’s production and processing facilities, followed by luncheon presentations from Fred Binkowski, Senior Scientist, School of Freshwater Sciences  University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Steven T. Summerfelt, Ph.D, P.E., Director of Aquaculture Systems Research, The Conservation Fund’s Freshwater Institute; Dr. Espen Staubo, President & CEO of Low Salinity, Inc., and Virginia Cobia Farms; and Steve Hart, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Soy Aquaculture Alliance.

The luncheon was prepared by chefs from The Chef’s Academy, Indianapolis. Entrees featured breaded Bell Perch and Virginia Farms Cobia and Pompano.