Organic Growers Elect Fehringer Chapter President

High Plains OCIA of Nebraska chapter of Organic Crop Improvement Association held its annual general membership meeting on Saturday, March 24 in Sidney to elect officers for 2018 and conduct other business.

Bernie Fehringer was elected president of the High Plains chapter for 2018.

Current and newly elected board members include Mark Jones of Oshkosh, Walt Kallsen of Big Springs, Mike Wiest of Lodgepole, Cliff Johnson of Sidney, and Dennis Demmel of Ogallala.

A resolution was adopted to amend the Bylaws. The classification of “Farmer/Processor” was removed and classification of “Contract Processor” was edited due to no longer being relevant to the chapter.

In other business, the members approved a budget for the 2018 year, discussed the 2018 scholarship program and heard reports from the crop improvement committee.

The Organic Crop Improvement Association was established to provide organic crop improvement through professional development of organic farmers. The process includes technical assistance, education and research. OCIA International also provides impartial third party certification of organic farmer and processor members through uniform standards used to define identity and quality of organic foods.

The High Plains OCIA of Nebraska chapter, organized in 1998, has members who are certified organic producers in Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota. Supporting members are also welcome. Sara Fehringer of Sidney, Nebraska is the Chapter Administrator and can be reached at 308-254-3330 for more information.