Corn growers encouraged ‘to step up’

DENVER — Farmers must advocate for themselves. That is a matter of fact.

Young or old, new or veteran, all farmers need to be involved in advocating for their way of life, said Chris Cherry, president of the Indiana Corn Growers Association.

“For years and years, I kind of kicked the can down the road and let the older people do it, the generation ahead of me. You keep looking around and there’s just not enough young people that are stepping up and doing this. I’m not young anymore, but it was my time to step up,” he said.

“I followed a Hancock County farmer that was very giving of his time. My dad was also very active on these boards, and I find it important for us to stand up. Legislators want to hear from us. Congressmen want to hear from us.”

Cherry, who grows corn, soybeans and wheat on his farm just east of Indianapolis in central Indiana, has been to Capitol Hill several times — and he has been to the Statehouse six times in just eight days.

He urged other farmers to get involved and speak out on the issues important to them, as well as to become a member of their state corn and soybean associations.

In Indiana, sign up at incornandsoy.org. In Illinois, go to ilcorn.org and ilsoy.org.

“Membership is huge for us. I mean, honestly, there’s only about 800 members in Indiana for the Indiana Corn Growers Association. There’s about 20,000 farmers in Indiana. So, you think about the numbers there,” Cherry said.

“We need strength in numbers,” he said. “Those numbers count. They know that it’s real farmers behind these, so get involved, whether it’s the Corn Growers, the Soybean Association, or both; be a joint member. We need members.”

Cherry spoke with AgriNews in a one-on-one interview in Denver at the Commodity Classic, where he was serving his third year as a delegate for the National Corn Growers Association’s Corn Congress and helping to make critical decisions and set farm policy priorities.

At home, ICGA and the Indiana Soybean Alliance’s Membership & Policy Committee are promoting opportunities for renewable biofuels.

The groups, in particular, are touting state legislation for an income tax incentive for retailers to boost investment in modern fuel pumps and tanks to create a wider range of fuel options, including gasoline with 15% ethanol content.

“Right now, there’s around 400 or so stations in Indiana utilizing E15. We need that to be more mainstream. We need all of them on board — the GetGo, the Speedway, not just the Casey’s and the Thorntons and the Family Express,” Cherry said.

“If you go to E15, you’re almost doubling how much corn we’re gonna use on that. So, it’s huge to get that.”

Looking to the future, the farm leader said he is most excited about biofuels.

“My charge within Indiana Corn is to move the pile, whether that’s feed, fuel, or food. And the easiest thing at our disposal, or the most readily available thing at our disposal, is to use it for fuel — so, it’s biodiesel, it’s ethanol, using homegrown products from Indiana, and those are the things the easiest to move the pile,” he said. “I think there’s a bright future for Indiana.”

The sky is the limit, Cherry said, for sustainable aviation fuel, an alternative fuel made from non-petroleum feedstocks.

“We’re pushing toward that. We need to get plants in Indiana that can manufacture the stuff, so that’s kind of our next big thing,” he said.

Cherry said farmers can learn more about ag policy issues, talk directly with lawmakers and join the associations at Shop Talks across the state.

He cited past conversations with U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin and Sens. Todd Young and Mike Braun, who now serves as the governor of Indiana.

“When we have an opportunity to get in front of them, it means a lot — they want to hear from us,” Cherry said. “You spend enough time with these guys, you develop those relationships and that’s so important.”