Schott Recognized For 10 Years Of Service

North Dakota farmer Bart Schott was awarded with a plaque commemorating his 10 years of service to the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) at its 20th International Marketing Conference and 63rd Annual Membership Meeting in Savannah, GA, last week. Schott grows corn, soybeans and wheat on his farm in Kulm and served as president of the National Corn Growers’ Association (NCGA) in 2010-11.

Schott became a member of the Council’s Trade Policy Advisory Team (A-team) in 2013. He moved to the Ethanol A-team in 2015, where he still serves today.

Schott’s first experience with the Council came when he joined a trade mission to Colombia and Panama in 2011, just before the U.S. signed free trade agreements with both countries.

“They wanted to hear a farmer’s voice, and I kept getting asked whether the U.S. would be a reliable partner and have enough supply for them,” Schott said. “That was kind of funny to me because we had over one billion bushels in the pipeline at that time!”

The vast amounts of time and traveling as NCGA president helped Schott learn and prepare for working more closely with the Council and expanding awareness of grain export among his fellow producers.

“Here in North Dakota, we export everything, but farmers still don’t always know where their crops are going or what the Council does,” Schott said. “The Council is a great organization and it’s important to keep our young farmers educated on what’s going on in other parts of the world and how that affects their work.”

Schott has three sons and 14 grandchildren, and he is in the process of handing over day-to-day farming operations to the next generation to continue a legacy that began over 100 years ago when his grandfather immigrated and became a farmer in the early 1900s. Schott said that his family helps him stay busy and active in addition to his passion for hunting deer and waterfowl.

Please join the Council in recognizing Bart for his 10 years of service!