Just like 250 years ago, farmers need to answer a call to action

By Alan Dunn, Indiana Corn Growers Association President

This year marks the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, complete with celebrations and remembrances of a series of remarkable events that led to the creation of our great country.

Part the history we will celebrate is the critical writings of author Thomas Paine. His pamphlets inspired and motivated the American cause to persist and succeed in the face of overwhelming odds. His December 1776 pamphlet, The American Crisis, begins with words that were powerfully appropriate then and can resonate with most farmers today.

“These are the times that try men’s souls.” he wrote, expressing a sense of fear and frustration that the freedoms enjoyed by the colonists were at risk of being lost if the Revolution was lost.

Many corn growers today feel a similar fear and frustration. Multiple years without profits, weather challenges, trade wars, tariff impacts and regulatory overreach have all combined to threaten the financial foundation of U.S. farms. Many of us haven’t seen times like this since the 1980s.

The macro nature of the problems we face, combined with the very individualized nature of the farms we manage, can leave farmers unsure on what they can do to stem the flow of fiscal red ink.

To any farmer who feels these frustrations, I want to begin my term as ICGA president by offering a hand of help and hope. You are not alone. Each day the incredibly talented staff of both the Indiana Corn Growers Association and National Corn Growers Association go to work with one simple mission in mind – to protect, promote and grow the business of producing America’s Crop – corn.

For less than the cost of a bag of seed or a full tank of gas in your pickup truck, an annual membership with the Indiana Corn Growers Association gives your farm access to a team of researchers, economists, policy analysts and lobbyists that no one farm could ever afford to have on their staff. It is a return on investment that is so large, it begs the question, why are so many Hoosier corn growers not members?

You may think to yourself, “I get what you are saying, but I’m just one person. Whether I’m a member or not doesn’t really matter.”

Let me assure you your membership does matter. The size of an organization’s membership does matter. It is a realization that many of those organizations who work for goals and policies against which we push back have long since mastered.

Fellow farmers, it is time to join the fight. It is time to add your voice, or at least your name, to the membership of an organization that is standing up for the right of your farm to operate profitably and under the style of management that you think is best for you.

If you are not already, please consider joining me as a member of ICGA by contacting Industry Affairs Outreach Manager Khyla Goodman at kgoodman@incorn.org.

In many ways we live in a time of American Farming Crisis. Together, with strength in numbers, we will continue the effort to ensure that corn remains America’s Crop for generations to come.