September Stand Up with Stan

By: Stan Nelson

Stan Nelson is a farmer from Middletown, Iowa, and currently serves as the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) President and on the Animal Agriculture and Environment Committee.

Standing up for what I believe in is something I have always placed emphasis on. In fact, that’s why I first got involved with the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB). I wanted to stand up, use my voice and make a difference when it came to the research, market development and education that happens within the corn industry.

My name is Stan Nelson, and in addition to being a farmer this year I am an advocate for each of you as I serve as the 2023-2024 President of the ICPB. This column is my way of standing up to share with each of you how we invest corn checkoff dollars to give us as farmers the best return on investment for our farms.

As an analytical thinker, I want to make sure the dollar amounts add up and prove effectiveness. I know my investment in the Iowa corn checkoff is of value, but seeing the numbers helps me recognize the immensity of what the checkoff does in our state. In fact, without the checkoff, we wouldn’t be able to…

• Invest in the Iowa Nitrogen Initiative with Iowa State University which works to improve nitrogen usage recommendations for farmers.
• Engage in conversations with NASA to ground truth their satellite imagery for global climate models.
• Collaborate among the ag commodity groups on a variety of projects from Iowa Food & Family Project, Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers, Iowa Ag Water Alliance, Ag State, RAGBRAI, Iowa State Fair and more.  
• Multiply our resources with livestock customers to serve U.S. meat on the global table.

There is strength in numbers and by working together we can make a larger impact for all our farmers for today and into the future. Stand up with me and see the real value the corn checkoff brings to you and your farm.

Thank you,