Every year Ohio Corn & Wheat invites a small class of Ohio’s grain producers to our offices in Lewis Center to get an intimate look at the organization and how it impact the lives of Ohio’s growers every day. This year we welcomed Evan Davis, Brad Gerten, Walker Heard, Jason Massie, Mark Stewart, and Parker Williams to the 2025 Emerging Leader Class.
The Emerging Leader program is made to identify premiere growers who show an aptitude for serving Ohioans through one of Ohio Corn & Wheat’s Board of Directors. The Ohio Wheat Checkoff, the Ohio Corn Checkoff, and the Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association consist of and are ran by corn and small grains producers in Ohio. The people invited into this leadership program are, too, no matter their age, location, or demographic.
Over the next few days the Emerging Leaders will learn about the policy and advocacy work of the Association. They will hear from national partners about the research, market development, and education done by both Checkoffs. They will tour an ethanol plant to see the efforts of both advocacy and checkoff work going hand in hand. They will learn about the process of American policy making and how they can individually influence it. And so much more.
In a few months the members of this class will be invited to join us in Washington, D.C., to put their policy knowledge into practice.