The boards of two organizations that represent South Dakota corn farmers have elected officers for 2022.
The South Dakota Corn Growers Association re-elected Scott Stahl of Bridgewater as president, Travis Strasser of Wilmot as vice president and Dave Ellens of Madison as secretary/treasurer.
The South Dakota Corn Utilization Council elected Chad Blindauer of Mitchell as president, Jim Ketelhut of Pukwana as vice president and Reno Brueggeman of Miller as secretary/treasurer. Blindauer succeeds Grant Rix of Groton, who retired as president, but continues to serve on the board.
Stahl, a third-generation family farmer, has been on the Growers board since 2017. He served as president during the past year and previously served terms as vice president and secretary/treasurer.
Strasser also joined the board in 2017 and served a term as secretary-treasurer before moving up to vice president a year ago. He represents the Corn Growers Association as a delegate to the U.S. Grains Council.
Ellens joined the Growers board in 2019 and quickly moved into a leadership role as secretary/treasurer. In addition to farming, he owns an ag retail business and is a seed dealer.
Blindauer has many years of experience representing the state’s corn farmers. He served nine years on the Growers board beginning in 2001 and six years on the Council board after that. A past president of both boards, he rejoined the Council board in 2020.
Ketelhut joined the Council board of directors in 2020 and served as secretary/treasurer for the past year. His years of experience also include serving on the on the Brule County Weed Board and the Ola Township Board.
Brueggeman, who farms north of Miller, is no stranger to the Council. He initially joined the board in 2013 and served six years, including two as president. Term-limited, he took a break from the board before rejoining in 2021.
The Corn Council welcomed two new board members.
Doug Noem of Bryant won election to the District 3 seat previously held by Laron Krause of Clear Lake, who was term-limited. Noem is a familiar face to corn farmers as he previously served nine years as a Growers director, including two years as president. District 3 covers Brookings, Codington, Deuel, Hamlin and Kingsbury counties.
Nick Fickbohm, a fourth-generation farmer from the Alcester area, is the new District 1 director, succeeding Robert Walsh of Elk Point, who also was term-limited. District 1 includes Clay, Lincoln, Turner, Union and Yankton counties.
Five other directors were re-elected to their board seats.
Growers: Gary Duffy of Oldham, Taylor Sumption of Frederick, Mark Gross of Bridgewater, Wes Chambers of Yankton (industry representative).
Council: Justin Minnaert of Madison.
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