-Submitted photo
Dennis Friest, past president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, attends a Legislative Day pressing the case for Iowa corn producers.

As the Iowa Legislature gets busy again this winter, one group dedicated to standing up for the interests of corn producers in Iowa is the Iowa Corn Growers Association, and no one tells the story of the important work of this organization better than its past president, Dennis Friest.

“I’ve had a real great pleasure in serving,” said Friest. “I’ve worked with some very good people.”

Farming is his full-time job, raising corn, soybeans, and farrow-to-finish hogs on his family farm near Radcliffe in Hardin County.

A graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in animal science, Friest has been farming for more than 50 years and says building markets is critical to helping future generations maintain profitability.

Input from farmers at the local level, he said, is what gives the Iowa Corn Growers Association its greatest credibility.

“We’re definitely a grassroots organization,” Friest said. “We have grassroots round tables in the summer. We invite all members and people who want to become members to come to our discussions.”

The Iowa Corn Growers Association is led by farmers from all nine crop reporting districts in Iowa, with two farmers from each district and a state board of directors. But it all starts at the local level, according to Friest.

It’s from those grassroots meetings that issues are identified and prioritized. New ideas are forwarded to the state meeting in August, assigned to committees, and matched against those priorities already in the policy book, according to Friest. It’s a process of listening at the local level and then moving those concerns forward to the state and even federal level.

At the state level, among the top issues consistently have been taxes, ethanol, livestock, and conservation and water quality concerns. Looking to the federal level, taxes and ethanol are again priorities, along with carbon credits, transportation infrastructure and trade.

But more than just policies and committees, the greatest impact is often from face-to-face conversations with legislators and representatives, according to Friest.

“At the state level, we take those issues to the Capitol and take them right to the legislators,” Friest said. “Every legislator really likes to talk to their constituents. They represent them and they want to hear from them directly. We invite our members to join us for a day on The Hill and go in there to talk to their representatives. It’s a very rewarding and worthwhile day on The Hill to talk to our representatives.”

Friest strongly encourages farmers to consider becoming a member of the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

“We have a corn growers association that deals with policy and a corn promotion board that deals with checkoff dollars. There are certain things that we cannot do with checkoff dollars because of federal regulations. That’s why it’s so important to be a member. Membership dollars is what it takes to sit at the table with policymakers at both the state and federal level.

“I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for every farmer to consider being a member because we are at the table and we can do a lot of good influencing our legislators and representatives.”

In addition to his service to Iowa Corn Growers Association, Friest has served on the Iowa Corn Research and Business Development Committee.

But it’s not just corn that Friest works to promote.

He is also a past president of the Iowa Soybean Association and served nine years on the American Soybean Board. His work has also taken him to the national level in promoting Iowa-grown commodities.

Friest served as chairman for the Middle East Marketing Committee of the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health on behalf of the American Soybean Association. Also among his credits is volunteering on the U.S. Grain Count Value Added A-Team.