Johnson Elected, Podhajsky, Rozenboom Re-Elected to State Board of Directors

Joe Heinrich of Maquoketa was re-elected vice president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) for a two-year term at the organization’s 98th annual meeting in Des Moines.  Heinrich has served as IFBF vice president since 2011. 

Heinrich, a Jackson County farmer, farms with his family, including his wife Shelley and a nephew.  Together, they have a diversified farming operation including corn, soybeans, oats, and hay.  They also have a beef cow-calf herd and a dairy operation.  Heinrich was first elected to the IFBF board in 2004, representing District 6, prior to his service as vice president.  Before his election to the state board, Heinrich served as Jackson County president, vice president, voting delegate, young farmer chair, and served on the state internal study committee. 

IFBF voting delegates also re-elected Nick Podhajsky of Tama County and Calvin Rozenboom of Mahaska County to the state board of directors.  Brent Johnson of Calhoun County was elected to the state board, following the retirement of Doug Gronau of Crawford County.  Each director will serve a three-year term.

Podhajsky represents District 6, which consists of 11 counties in eastern Iowa.  He was elected to the position in 2011.  Podhajsky was a 2010 Iowa delegate representative for the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting and has served in many other elected positions in his county Farm Bureau office, including president and county voting delegate.

Rozenboom represents District 8, which consists of 10 counties in south central Iowa.  He was elected to the position in 2001.  Before that, he was very active in the Mahaska County Farm Bureau where he served as president and vice president.  He has also served as chairman of the IFBF swine advisory committee and as a member of the IFBF resolutions committee.  He was also a member of the AFBF swine advisory committee.  He has spent six years on the board of directors of CRWRC, an international relief agency which currently serves in 28 countries, primarily providing community development, health education, literacy services and disaster relief.

Brent Johnson was elected to represent District 4, which consists of 12 counties in west central Iowa.  Prior to his election to the state board of directors, Johnson served as president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer of the Calhoun County Farm Bureau.  Johnson and his wife LuAnn farm near Manson and grow corn, soybeans and have a herd of beef cattle. 

Nine delegates were elected to represent Iowa at the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Annual Convention in Phoenix, January 8-13.  They include: IFBF President Craig Hill of Warren County; IFBF Vice President Joe Heinrich of Jackson County; Nick Podhajsky of Tama County; Gary Rayhons of Hancock County; Terry Murray of Buena Vista County; Allen Burt of Marshall County; Karen Seipold of Mills County; Don Swanson of Wapello County; and Andy Hill of Worth County.  Steve Hoffman of Decatur County was elected as an alternate.

Matt Schuiteman of Sioux County was elected to a three-year term on the IFBF internal study committee.  The internal study committee serves as a liaison between the county Farm Bureau voting delegates and the state board of directors.