Jere White was recently honored by the Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association for his years of service to Kansas agriculture. White is retiring as executive director of the Kansas Corn Growers Association (KCGA) and Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association (KGSPA) positions he has held since 1988. He has been executive director of the Kansas Corn Commission since 2000. White continues to recover from injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident in September, 2012.
White received a plaque from KGSPA and letters of appreciation from several agricultural groups. White also received an award from the Kansas Corn Growers Association . The presentation took place in Manhattan on Feb. 12.
Upon accepting the awards, White encouraged growers to speak out on issues.
“If you want your thoughts to be considered, it is important to express yourself,” White said. “We are facing a lot of big issues in agriculture. When you have the opportunity, it is your obligation to speak up. Don’t take anything for granted.”
Senator Pat Roberts provided a videotaped greeting.
“Your ability to represent growers’ interests combined with your outstanding humor are genuine talents that are true to your Kansas upbringing,” Roberts said. “The strength and drive you have shown over the last two years only confirms what we have known all along: you are a fighter.”
White is a former member of the Kansas Corn Commission and is a past board member of the US Meat Export Federation. He served on the National Corn Growers Association Biotechnology Working Group, the US Grains Council’s Board of Directors and the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City. Since the 1970s, Jere has been active in promoting feedgrains and their uses, especially the livestock and ethanol industries.
White was a founder and the chairman of the Triazine Network, a national coalition of growers involved with the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation of the triazine herbicides, atrazine and simazine. In the past 20 years, he has played a pivotal role in representing growers in these issues.
