The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) is accepting applications for new members to its Board of Directors until March 27.

The Council is a non-profit association charged with promoting the export of U.S.-produced corn, barley, sorghum and their related products, including ethanol and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS).

Its membership is made up of more than 175 commodity checkoffs, agriculture industry organizations and agribusiness offering expertise and financial resources that are matched by funds from market development programs in the 2014 Farm Bill.

The next USGC Board of Directors will be selected at the organization’s summer meeting in Vancouver, Washington, on Aug. 2. Two at-large director positions will be open at that time, eligible to be filled by any member of the current Board of Delegates.

The Council’s membership will also elect a new secretary/treasurer, the entry position into the Council’s officer rotation that lasts a total of four years. Qualified candidates must have served as a member of the Board of Directors or Executive Committee; been an Advisory Team leader for two years or more; or be a current delegate that has served at least two years and attended at least three of the last four meetings of the Board of Delegates.

Because of the financial commitment involved, individuals wishing to be nominated from state checkoff organizations must have their applications approved by the relevant state organization before being considered.

“Our strength as an organization lies in our members and the global network of staff who work on their behalf,” said Chip Councell, a Maryland grain farmer and the current chairman of the Council.
“As a farmer, I am encouraged by the excellent leadership we have now and hope anyone in our membership with a passion for expanding this work considers taking the next step toward board leadership.”

The USGC board also has sector-specific positions for corn, barley, sorghum, agribusiness, agribusiness/ethanol and co-products members and state checkoff executive directors. Sectors with expiring board members will determine their nominees at the Council’s winter meeting this month.

Applications for any of these positions can be obtained by emailing Wendie Cable in the Washington, D.C., office at wcable (at) grains.org.