Wipf graduates from national leader program

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ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Brandon Wipf, a soybean farmer from Huron, SD, recently joined 12 other farmers from across the country to complete the two-part Leadership At Its Best program, co-sponsored by Syngenta and the American Soybean Association (ASA). This valuable leadership training provides the skills necessary to be an effective voice for the U.S. soybean farmer. Participants were trained in media relations, public speaking skills, soybean industry policy issues, future trends, effective advocacy and organizational leadership.
 Part 1 of the Leadership At Its Best program was held last August near Syngenta’s offices in Greensboro, N.C.  During this part of the program, the farmer-leaders also had the chance to network with fellow participating farmers representing the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). Part 2 of the program was held in conjunction with the recent ASA Board Meeting, March 20-22, in Washington, D.C. During this session, the training put a greater emphasis on preparing the farmer-leaders for meetings with legislators.


ASA President Ron Moore, a farmer from Roseville, Ill., had the opportunity to meet the participants of this year’s Leadership At Its Best class and observe part of their training.
“It’s exciting to spend time with a new group of leaders interested in becoming more involved in our association and helping improve the soybean industry,” Moore said. “Our industry needs engaged, intelligent spokespeople taking the lead, and Leadership At Its Best offers training to boost these individuals to the next level of advocacy for U.S. soybean farmers.”
Wipf and the other members of the 2017 Leadership At Its Best class received a special certificate to acknowledge their graduation from the program. After the program, all participants joined other farmer-leaders on visits with Members of Congress to discuss key policy issues affecting soybean farmers and the agriculture industry.