Iowa Corn Growers Association Announces 2016 Friend of Iowa Corn Awards
The Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) has named two recipients for the 2016 Friend of Iowa Corn Award. Recipients include United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and former Speaker of the Iowa House, Representative Kraig Paulsen (R-District 67). The Friend of Iowa Corn Award is an annual award honoring individuals that show exemplary effort on Iowa Corn Growers Association policy issues. ICGA President Kurt Hora presented the awards at the ICGA Annual Grassroots Summit on Saturday, August 27th in Cedar Rapids. Award winners were selected based on their support of ICGA’s highest priorities, their accessibility and working relationships with ICGA, their effectiveness as a leader on important issues to the ICGA and overall support of ICGA policy.
“We are proud to recognize these outstanding individuals for their efforts to help with the policy goals set by farmers in Iowa,” said Hora, a farmer from Washington. “We recognize the Secretary’s work on ethanol, GMO labeling, atrazine, the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement and biotechnology – his efforts have not only advanced the interest of agriculture in these areas, but has also elevated these important issues to a global scale. As he enters into the final months of his term, we applaud the Secretary on his support for the agriculture industry and appreciate the relationship we have had with the USDA under his leadership. In addition, we honor Representative Paulsen as a longtime advocate for our issues including ethanol, taxes, transportation infrastructure, and water quality funding. As Speaker, he discussed publicly, early and often the need for investments in improving Iowa’s roads and bridges. He took extraordinary efforts to encourage his House Republican Caucus’s support of the fuel tax increase, one of ICGA’s top priorities at the time.”
Paulsen addressed the ICGA delegates in-person thanking them for the award while Secretary Vilsack, unable to attend, provided a recorded video message. Past Friends of Iowa Corn award recipients include, Representative Josh Byrnes, Representative Bobby Kaufmann, Sam Willett, Brenna Findley, Dean Lemke, and Joe Shultz.
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The Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) is an 8,000-member strong grassroots-driven organization, headquartered in Johnston, Iowa, serving members across the state, and lobbying on agricultural issues on behalf of its farmer members to create opportunities for long-term Iowa corn grower profitability. For more information, visit iowacorn.org.
For More Information:
Mindy Larsen Poldberg, Director of Government Relations, 515-225-9242 | mpoldberg@iowacorn.org
Lisa Cassady, Public Relations Manager, 515-225-9242 | lcassady@iowacorn.org