The Iowa Cattlemen's Association held elections for the organization's executive board. The elections were prior to the 2008 ICA Annual Convention, which was January 8-9 in Ames. Here are the results:
ICA President Kevin Carstensen was re-elected to a second one-year term. While he served as president in 2007, Kevin and wife Terri continued to operate their feedlot in Odebolt, Iowa. For the past 30 years the Carstensens have operated a diversified family farm which includes cattle, row crops and hay. Kevin and Terri have raised three children and have been sole proprietors of the farm since the retirement of Kevin's father in the mid-1980s.

Carstensen re-elected president of ICA

ICA President--Kevin has served at many levels of beef industry organizations. In Iowa he's served as Sac County Cattlemen's president multiple times, ICA membership chair, president's council committee and ICA political action committee chair. Kevin is a past board member for the Iowa Cattlemen's Foundation. As a member of the ICA board of directors for nine years, Kevin completed his second term (four years) as NW Iowa regional vice-president. He was on the ICA finance committee 2005-06, Phase II fund-raising for the ICA office building, Iowa Young Cattlemen's Tour participant and received the ICA membership Top Hand Award.

On the national level Kevin chairs the National Private Lands & Environmental Management committee. He's been a past chair of the national Environmental Stewardship Awards Program selection committee where he still serves as a feedlot representative, both in Iowa and nationally. Recently Kevin has been involved with reviewing the rules of the "clean air act and dust ruling"; an issue which Sen. Grassley has been actively promoting public awareness of. Kevin has acted as vice-chair of the NCBA PAC committee, been a National Top Hand for 15 years and has placed third in recruiting three times, as well as being a participant in National Young Cattlemen's Tour.

"Continuing to build on the momentum we have generated during the past year and leading the Iowa cattle industry in an expansion mode is my goal for 2008," says Carstensen. "We have unique opportunities to take advantage of ethanol coproducts as feedstuffs giving us a competitive advantage over producers in other regions of the U.S.," he adds. "ICA needs to be a catalyst in the transfer of technology to allow this potential growth to become reality."

Pruismann is president-elect

ICA vice president--Kent Pruismann was elected to his second term as vice president/president-elect for 2008. He served his first year as ICA president-elect in 2007 and his re-election means he'll become the next ICA president in 2009.

Kent and wife Sylvia have three children and reside in Rock Valley. He operates a diversified livestock and grain farm; finishing cattle, raising contract hogs and is in partnership of a small cow herd with son Mark on the Century Farm. Kent has been in the cattle business most of his adult life and became actively involved in ICA about 17 years ago. He was county president for two years then served four years as ICA District 1 director from 1995-1998 and four years as Northwest regional vice-president for ICA 1999-2002. He also was state membership chair in 2001, was a member of the strategic long range planning committee in 2005 and was the feedlot representative on the ICA board of directors.

Kent is a strong proponent of value-added agriculture and believes commodity groups play a vital role in promoting Iowa agriculture and representing rural Iowa's voice in the state Legislature. Kent currently serves on the board of directors of Siouxland Ethanol and Livestock Cooperative at Sioux Center.

Regional vice presidents elected

Scott Heater of Wapello, Iowa was elected as SE regional vice president for 2008. Scott just completed his final term as District 20 director; he served two terms--the maximum allowed. Scott and wife Janelle have two children. Their farming operation is 40% cattle, 40% row crop and 20% conservation practices. The cattle portion consists mainly of Maine-Anjou seedstock. Over the last 25 years they've planted more than 25,000 trees in their conservation efforts.

G.N. (Butch) Neumeyer was re-elected as NE regional vice president. Butch and wife Patsy have one daughter and two sons. Butch has had a life long involvement in agriculture and cattle. In 1960 he became president and part owner of NuMac Inc., a feed manufacturing plant located in Walker. In 1990 the plant was sold and since then he has expanded Golden Chute Ranch, an Angus seedstock business started in 1964. The family now has two registered Angus cow farms, one in Linn County and a larger farm in Appanoose County.

Butch was awarded Seedstock Producer for Iowa in 2004. A long-time member of NCBA, ICA and Linn County Cattlemen's Association, he's served ICA officer positions on county and state boards and as District 10 director. Butch is past president of the Hawkeye Angus Association, the Iowa Angus Association and currently represents Iowa Angus on the Beef Breeds Council. He also currently serves as chair of the genetic improvement committee. Butch has served as the state, county and District 7 regional director as a soil conservation district commissioner and has just concluded his two-year term as president of the Conservation Districts of Iowa organization.

Associate vice president: Jim Falvey was re-elected ICA associate vice president. Jim and wife Dagni have two children and reside in West Des Moines. Jim is a sales representative of McVean Trading and Investments.

Jim has been a long-time active member of the ICA. He's a member Sacred Heart Catholic Church in West Des Moines, a member of the Finance Council at the church, is a lifetime member of the ISU Alumni Association and a former Sale of Champions chairman at the Iowa State Fair.

New ICA district directors: Elections were held at district meetings this past fall for directors to serve on the ICA board. Newly appointed are: Dist. 5 Mike Codner of Bristow, Dist. 6 Rod Medberry of Volga, Dist. 12 Jessica Utesch of Pierson, Dist. 14 Gary Kingery of Knoxville and Dist. 20 Barb Wellman of Bonaparte.

Retiring board members: Board members who completed their terms on the ICA board in 2007: John Hall of Ankeny, Calvin Poppe of Ionia, Dan Schmitt of Nichols, Duane Ohnemus of Milo, and Scott Heater of Wapello. Retiring members were presented plaques.