Note to Editors: Adapted from the Kansas Profile radio series, this column profiles a different Kansan, Kansas community or Kansas-based company every Wednesday, as a regular feature of the K-State Research and Extension News  lineup. A photo of Ron Wilson is available at  http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/news/sty/RonWilson.htm.

Released: March 26, 2008

By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.

Corn.  Wheat. Grain Sorghum. Beef cattle. Soybeans. Canola. Farm equipment. FFA members. Farm women. What do they all have in common? Two things: First, they all involve agriculture in some way, and second, they have organizations in which the national leaders of those groups come from the state of Kansas. Today we’ll look back on our series about these national leaders who come from the rural part of our state.

In the last few weeks, we’ve met these remarkable Kansans who have, are, or will serve in the national leadership of their organizations. Last summer, it came to my attention that Kansas could claim the national presidents of both the corn and wheat organizations. That was quite an accomplishment, but the more I looked into the topic, the more amazing it became. Here is a recounting of the national leaders from our state.

In the recent past, the first Kansan in this current group to reach a national leadership role was Manhattan’s Jan Lyons, who was president of the National Cattleman’s Beef Association in 2004.

That was quite an accomplishment, but by 2007 the stars lined up for several Kansans to be presidents of their respective organizations at the same time. Greg Shelor of Minneola completed a term as president of the National Sorghum Producers. John Thaemert of Sylvan Grove was president of the National Association of Wheat Growers and Ken McCauley of White Cloud was president of the National Corn Growers Association. Not only that, the chair of U.S. Wheat Associates was Ron Suppes of Dighton and the chair of the United Soybean Board was Eric Niemann of Nortonville.

And it didn’t stop there. John Haas of Larned was immediate past president of the U.S. Canola Association and Rick Heiniger, who has a farm equipment business in Hiawatha, completed his term as president of the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association. Then to top it off, two K-State students were elected national officers of the national FFA organization, and Chris Wilson of rural Manhattan won election to become national president of American Agri-Women in 2009.

That makes 10 organizations whose national leaders came from the State of Kansas during essentially the same time period. Wow. And what’s more, I figured the average size of the home communities of these leaders to be 1,201 people. Now, that’s rural.

How exciting to see that rural people can be nationally influential. Of course, it makes sense that rural people would make their mark in agricultural organizations. Our state and national policy-makers have certainly noticed these accomplishments.

Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky says, “Kansas ranks first in wheat and grain sorghum produced, second in cropland, third in land in farms and ninth in corn produced, so it's less surprising than heartening to have so many Kansans at the helm of national agricultural organizations. Kansas is at the heart of American agriculture, so it's especially satisfying to have Kansans in positions to influence the national policies that affect farming, rural communities and the main street businesses that serve our small towns."

Senator Pat Roberts says, “It is no surprise to me that Kansas producers have been tapped to lead some of our most important national agriculture organizations. Kansans often step forward when leadership is required. As we debate critical legislation regarding the nation’s farmers and ranchers, it is good to see a friendly face across the table, providing their expertise and protecting the interests of our state.”

Congressman Jerry Moran says, “The very heart of American agriculture is in the work of Kansas farmers and ranchers. A new farm bill is only written once every five years, so it is significant to have the leadership of these Kansans in our national agricultural organizations. Each of these persons represents the best of what Kansas has to offer through their passion and dedication to agriculture.”

Corn, wheat, beef cattle, farm equipment, and more. What do they have in common? These are national organizations whose leaders come from rural Kansas. We commend all these individuals for making a difference with their service to their industry, state, and nation.  This is truly uncommon leadership.

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The mission of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development is to enhance rural development by helping rural people help themselves. The Kansas Profile radio series and columns are produced with assistance from the K-State Research and Extension Department of Communications News Unit. Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are available at http://www.kansasprofile.com. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/huckboyd/.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus in Manhattan.

For more information:
The Huck Boyd Institute is at 785-532-7690 or rwilson@ksu.edu

K-State Research and Extension