Four incumbents and four newcomers earned election to the Indiana Soybean Alliance Board of Directors in July. The election results were certified on July 19 with two new board members each filling the seats in Districts 2 and 3, and incumbent board members returning to service in Districts 1 and 4.
In District 1, Kirklin, Ind., farmer Nancy Cline and Bremen, Ind., farmer Joe Stoller were re-elected. Cline earned her third and final term on the board. She owns Cline Farms, Inc. with her husband, Michael, in Tipton, Clinton, Hamilton and Howard counties. Stoller won a second term on the ISA board. He operates J.R. Stoller Farms in Marshall and Elkhart counties, growing soybeans and commercial corn. District 1 includes Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Elkhart, Fulton, Howard, Jasper, Kosciusko, LaPorte, Lake, Marshall, Miami, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, St. Joseph, Starke, Tipton, Wabash and White counties.
In District 4, Seymour, Ind., farmer Kevin Burbrink and Greensburg, Ind., farmer Mike Koehne were re-elected. Burbrink won a second term. A full-time farmer since 1973, he grows soybeans, corn, wheat on his farm and has also grown popcorn, tomatoes, green beans and cucumbers for pickles. Koehne earned a third ISA board election. He grows corn, hay and raises cattle. A first-generation farmer, he started in 1992 and also owns a farm drainage business.
District 4 counties are 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.
In District 2, incumbents Matthew Chapman of Springport, Ind., and Elaine Gillis of Dunkirk, Ind., will term off the board later this year. Newly elected directors include Jenna Scott and Mark Wenning. District 2 include Adams, Allen, Blackford, DeKalb, Delaware, Grant, Henry, Huntington, Jay, LaGrange, Madison, Noble, Randolph, Steuben, Wayne, Wells and Whitley.
In District 3, Oaktown, Ind., farmer Craig Williams will finish nine years in office this year, and Oaktown, Ind., farmer Andrew Miller did not seek re-election. Winning the District 3 race were Jason Misiniec and Larry Rusch. District 3 includes the counties of Clay, Daviess, Dubois, Fountain, Gibson, Greene, Knox, Martin, Montgomery, Owen, Parke, Pike, Posey, Putnam, Spencer, Sullivan, Tippecanoe, Vanderburgh, Vermillion, Vigo, Warren and Warrick.
Here are brief descriptions of the new ISA board members:
• Jenna Scott – A full-time farmer, Scott farms in a partnership with her father, Greg Cox, near Muncie, Ind. They produce soybeans, corn, hemp and vegetable transplants. “We grow 52 million vegetable transplants for Midwest Fresh Market farmers,” Scott added. She is a 2006 Purdue University graduate. Scott and her husband, Doug, has are raising two children.
• Mark Wenning – A full-time farmer, Wenning grows soybeans and corn on his Henry County farm near Cambridge City, Ind. He studied agricultural economics and agricultural systems management at Purdue University where he graduated in 2012. “If elected to director of the ISA, I will promote the value of soybeans, educate the general public about agriculture, particularly soybeans,” Wenning said.
• Jason Misiniec – Misiniec grows soybeans, seed soybeans, white corn and wheat on his farm near Bicknell, Ind., in Knox, Daviess, Greene and Sullivan counties. A full-time farmer, he also owns a small, show pig operation and operates JAM Feeds. He and his wife, Heather, have two children.
• Larry Rusch – Rusch grows soybeans and corn on his farm near Vincennes in Knox County, Ind., and Crawford and Lawrence counties in Illinois. A full-time farmer, he began farming in 1991. He earned degrees from Vincennes University and Western Kentucky University. Rusch and his wife, Jerri, have three children.
