By Lesly McNitt, VP/Public Policy at the National Corn Growers Association
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| Jed Bower |
This month, Ohio farmer Jed Bower began his term as board president for the National Corn Growers Association. Like all presidents, Jed will serve a one-year term as leader of the organization. I have enjoyed getting to know Jed over the years, and I have seen his commitment to this organization and its members firsthand. I recently asked Jed five questions to help EiW readers learn more about his background and his goals for the organization.
Questions
Q: Jed, tell us about yourself and your farm.
A: I am fifth-generation corn and soybean farmer from Washington Court House, Ohio, where I farm with my wife Emily and children Ethan and Emma. I am an Army veteran, who was deployed to the Balkans in the 1990s. I retired from the military and came back to run the family farm in 2005 after my father’s untimely death.
Q: Tell us about your experience in leadership.
A: Well, I have decades of leadership experience going back to my time in the Army. But in the interest of time, I’ll talk briefly about my work in agricultural advocacy. I served the last year as the vice president of NCGA’s board while contributing as a member to several key NCGA committees, including the finance committee. I have also served as a board member for the Ohio Corn Marketing Program, and I am a former president of the Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association. I have led delegations to meet with federal and state policymakers more times than I can count. I really enjoy being a part of any activity that helps the nation’s corn growers.
Q: What are your policy priorities over the next year?
A: Farmers are facing hard economic times. Corn prices are at a five-year low while input costs are climbing. I would say in many ways this is an existential moment for farmers who could soon lose their family farms. We need new markets to help alleviate this economic crisis. That’s why NCGA will continue to press Congress to act immediately to pass legislation that expands consumer access to higher blends of ethanol year-round and urge the Trump administration to move quickly to develop new foreign markets. Will these actions completely solve our problems? No, but they will be important to forward progress, and if we are successful, farmers will feel the benefits. We also must figure out why input costs are climbing. To that end, NCGA has initiated an input task force to investigate this matter and identify solutions to bring costs more in line with today’s commodity prices.
Q: What are your thoughts on the turmoil in Washington. Do you see it as a difficult climate for advancing legislation for corn growers?
A: It will be difficult but certainly not impossible to get our legislative priorities across the finish line. And there is ample opportunity to continue to build our coalition. Take ethanol, for example. It’s a biofuel that has something for everyone. Want to lower fuel prices? Expand access to ethanol. Want to bring down greenhouse gas emissions? Turn to ethanol. Want energy security? Ethanol. You get the picture. We will continue to make this case. I also think that farmers have a way of garnering support from a lot of different policymakers, which will certainly work to our advantage. It’s also important to remember that we have some major legislative champions in Congress. All these factors are a winning formula for us. So, yes, the environment is formidable but not insurmountable.
Q: How can readers help with our advocacy work?
A: NCGA’s grassroots membership is its greatest advocacy asset, and we seek to create different types of opportunities to engage. Your readers are important and could help us win our advocacy fights. I would encourage growers to make sure that they join their state corn groups. That’s the best way to get plugged into our advocacy efforts. I would also encourage them to sign up for NCGA’s advocacy alerts, which will allow them to weigh in with policymakers on issues of importance to corn growers. If they take that first step to get involved in all of this, who knows, they may end up becoming president of NCGA!
We look forward to working with Jed over the next year to accomplish major wins for corn growers. And hopefully our readers will follow our work on our website at www.ncga.com. Here’s to a new presidency. Here’s to Jed!
McNitt is the vice president of public policy at the National Corn Growers Association.
