New Missouri Corn Leadership Taking The Wheel

(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.)—With harvest underway, the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council (MCMC) and the Missouri Corn Growers Association (MCGA) are kicking off a new fiscal year with new leadership and new board members.

The election of the 2015-16 MCMC officer team took place during an August board meeting held in Camdenton. The following MCMC leaders assume their new roles Oct. 1:

	Chairman Vice Chairman Secretary Treasurer	Gary Porter Mark Scott Jay Fischer Mike Moreland	Mercer Wentzville Jefferson City Harrisonville	District 2 District 6 District 5 District 4
Also elected in August, the 2015-16 MCGA officers are:
	President Vice President Secretary/Treasurer	Morris Heitman Kyle Kirby Greg Schneider	Mound City Liberal Warrenton	District 1 District 4 District 6

New MCMC board members Brent Hoerr of Palmyra and Clint Stephens of Advance were recently elected by growers in Districts 3 and 7 respectively and assume their new roles Oct. 1. Hoerr and Stephens will be nominated to the MCGA board at the organization’s annual meeting in January. Hoerr replaces board member Scott Hays of Monroe City while Stephens replaces retiring board member Jim Stuever of Dexter. Stuever served the maximum nine years on the board and held multiple leadership roles including MCMC chairman and MCGA president. He will remain on the MCMC and MCGA boards in an ex-officio role through his service on the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) board of directors.    

MCMC is a longstanding partner with the USGC in working to enhance the value of corn, ethanol and distillers grains through strong international exports. In addition to Stuever representing Missouri corn farmers on the USGC board of directors, several other corn growers will be involved with key committees. Serving on USGC advisory teams are: Jay Schutte, Asia; Greg Schneider, Middle East/Africa; Mark Scott, Trade Policy; Morris Heitman, Value Added; Jay Fischer, Ethanol; and Gary Porter was appointed as the Advisory Team Leader for the Western Hemisphere. Missouri Corn Director of Public Policy Shane Kinne will serve on the USGC Biotechnology Advisory Team.

Several Missouri Corn leaders have also been appointed to serve on National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) action teams and committees. Kevin Hurst has been reappointed to the Corn PAC; Kyle Kirby will again join the Public Policy Action Team; Morris Heitman was renamed to the Production & Stewardship Action Team; Mike Moreland will again serve on the Grower Services Action Team; Jay Schutte of Benton City was renamed to the Ethanol Committee; Greg Schneider was reappointed to the Research and Business Development Action Team; Mark Scott was named to the Nominating Committee and Missouri Corn Director of Market Development Bradley Schad will again serve as a staff member of the Ethanol Committee.

The MCMC board of directors is comprised of 14 corn growers elected from across the state. This volunteer board was formed in 1984 with the passage of a corn checkoff and is dedicated to market development, research and education. MCGA is a grassroots organization of more than 2,500 members committed to increasing the profitability of corn production through sound policies, continued market development and strong involvement in the political process. To learn more, visit www.mocorn.org.