USW Board Seats New Officers at 2017 Annual Meeting
ANNAPOLIS, Maryland – The U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Board of Directors seated new officers at its annual meeting July 11, 2017, in Annapolis, Md. USW officers for 2017/18 are: Chairman Mike Miller of Ritzville, Wash.; Vice Chairman Chris Kolstad of Ledger, Mont.; Secretary-Treasurer Doug Goyings of Paulding, Ohio; and Past-Chairman Jason Scott of Easton, Md. Vince Peterson succeeded Alan Tracy as USW President, a staff office position, on July 1, 2017. USW officers were elected to these one-year positions at the February 2017 Winter Wheat Conference in Washington, D.C.
Also during the USW board meeting, committees met on July 9 and 10, including the Joint Wheat Breeding Innovation and Joint International Trade Policy committees that operate in conjunction with the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG). Official business was called to order at 1 p.m., EDT, July 10 and continued through 10 a.m. July 11.
USW’s next Board meeting will be held jointly with NAWG Oct. 16 to 19, 2017, in Charleston, SC.
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. He is the current Chairman of the Washington Grain Commission and this is his sixth 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 (HRW) wheat, dark northern spring wheat, durum, barley and dry peas. A commissioner of the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee, Kolstad has been a USW director 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.
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, L.L.C. Scott is a founding member of the Dorchester County Young Farmers, past president of the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board and the Maryland Grain Producers Association. In 2011, he won the Maryland Young Farmers Achievement Award. He and his wife Dr. Casey Scott have two children.
Doug Goyings’ family has been farming in northwestern Ohio since 1884. Goyings and his family grow soft red winter (SRW) and have hosted numerous trade teams on their farm. He has served in Ohio and national agricultural leadership positions for 36 years. Goyings has been a member of the USW board since 2009 and is a past chairman of the USW Long-Range Planning Committee. He serves as a director for the Ohio Small Grains Checkoff Board, is a past-president of his local Farm Bureau and has served as a director for the Ohio Veal Growers Inc., Creston Veal, Inc. and Paulding Landmark, Inc.
USW is the industry’s market development organization working in more than 100 countries. Its mission is to “develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance the profitability of U.S. wheat producers.” The activities of USW are made possible by producer checkoff dollars managed by 19 state wheat commissions and through cost-share funding provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. For more information, visit www.uswheat.org or contact your state wheat commission.
2016/17 U.S. Wheat Associates Chairman Jason Scott, a wheat farmer from Easton, Md., passes the gavel to 2017/18 Chairman Mike Miller, a wheat farmer from Ritzville, Wash., at the organization’s annual meeting June 11, 2017, in Annapolis, Md.
Header Photo: U.S. Wheat Associates 2017/18 officers were seated June 11, 2017, at the organization’s annual meeting in Annapolis, Md. Left to right: President Vince Peterson; Secretary-Treasurer Doug Goyings; Past Chairman Jason Scott; Chairman Mike Miller; and Vice Chairman Chris Kolstad.
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