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July 21, 2016

21/07/2016: USW directors install new officers at summer board meeting

The US Wheat Associates Board of Directors installed new officers at its annual meeting on July 20, 2016, in Fargo, North Dakota.
   
Jason Scott of Easton, Maryland, was installed as Chairman, while last year’s Chairman Brian O’Toole of Crystal, North Dakota, transitioned to Past Chairman and Chairman of the USW Budget Committee. Other officers installed included Mike Miller of Ritzville, Washington State, as Vice Chairman and Chris Kolstad of Ledger, Montana, as Secretary-Treasurer. USW officers were elected to these one-year positions at the January 2016 Winter Wheat Conference in Washington, DC.
  
Jason Scott is a sixth generation wheat farmer from Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where he is farm manager of Walnut Hill Farms and produces soft red winter (SRW) wheat, row crops and vegetables. He is also an Independent Sales Representative for Pioneer Hi-Bred Int'l, under the title Scott’s Seed, LLC.  Scott is a founding member of the Dorchester County Young Farmers, past president of the Maryland Grain Producers Utilisation Board and the Maryland Grain Producers Association. In 2011, he won the Maryland Young Farmers Achievement Award. In his seven years on the USW Board, Scott has represented his state and USW on two board team delegations to Africa and Europe and served as Secretary-Treasurer and Vice Chairman as well as on several USW committees. He and his wife Dr Casey Scott have a young daughter.
      
http://www.uswheat.org/
Jason Scott accepts the USW Chairman's gavel from Brian O'Toole
Mike Miller is a fourth generation farmer who operates a dryland wheat farm and grows multiple crops on a separate, irrigated farm in east central Washington. He has served on many local, state and national boards, and is in his third term on the Washington Grain Commission and his fifth year as a USW director representing Washington. Miller is also very active in supporting wheat research and development. He and his wife, Marci, have three children.
  
Chris Kolstad is the fourth generation of his family to farm in Montana’s 'Golden Triangle' region. He and his wife Vicki have four children, including their son Cary who is a partner in their operation. They grow hard red winter wheat, dark northern spring wheat and durum, plus barley and dry peas. A commissioner of the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee, Kolstad has represented his state on the USW board since 2012. He is also a member of the Montana Grain Growers Association and Montana Farm Bureau. His community leadership includes serving on his local school board, as treasurer of his family’s church and as a regular blood donor who has given almost 19 gallons of blood since 1972.
   
Brian O’Toole is the president of TE O'Toole Farm Seed Company. He and his wife Sara have four children and raise wheat, edible beans and sugarbeet on their northeast North Dakota farm. O'Toole is an experienced agricultural and community leader. He serves on the North Dakota Wheat Commission, on the board of the Wheat Marketing Centre in Portland, Oregon, and is Chairman of SBARE Wheat Granting Committee. He is also past president of the North Dakota Crop Improvement and Seed Association and past president of Crystal Farmers Elevator Co-op. Mr O’Toole has received the Young Outstanding Farmer Award, Master Farmer Award and Friends of 4-H Award. He has served as Secretary-Treasurer and Vice Chairman of USW.
       
http://www.uswheat.org/
L-R: Roy Motter, Brian O'Toole, Jason Scott, Chris Kolstad and Alan Tracy
Also during the USW board meeting, committees met on Monday, July 18, and Tuesday, July 19, including the Joint Biotechnology and Joint International Trade Policy committees that operate in conjunction with the National Association of Wheat Growers. Official business was called to order Tuesday, July 19, and continued through Wednesday, July 20.
  
Reports to the board included a welcome from North Dakota Lieutenant Governor Drew Wrigley, background on local production and policy from the Agriculture Commissioner of North Dakota, Doug Goehring, and a review of market factors that could change the dynamics of the world wheat market from Mike Krueger, President of The Money Farm. 

     
The board also heard an update on trade relations with Cuba from Tyler Jameson, Legislative Assistant to North Dakota's Democrat Senator Heidi Heitkamp, USW Regional Vice President Mitch Skalicky and Assistant Director of Policy Ben Conner. The farmer directors from 18 states also heard from Vance Taylor, President and General Manager of the North Dakota Mill and Elevator Association in Grand Forks, North Dakota, about the history and output of the only state-owned milling facility in the United States.
   
USW's next Board meeting will be held jointly with NAWG in Denver, Colorado, November 2- 5, 2016.

Visit the USW site HERE
 

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