Tolman Takes Over at Corn Growers

September 8, 2000

Rick Tolman takes over as executive vice president and CEO of the National Corn Growers Association with the goal of working more closely with state organizations, building on NCGA’s national and international visibility and expanding new markets for corn. He joins NCGA from the U.S. Grains Council where he was executive director in charge of international programs and offices.

"I think NCGA has a good working relationship with most of the states, if not all, and I want to help strengthen that rapport, that relationship," he said. "As a national organization, we're only as strong as the sum of our parts, and we need to have strong state organizations and be servicing their needs and, in turn, have their support."

Tolman said he wants to continue to raise NCGA's national and international visibility. "There's a lot of things that NCGA has been doing that a lot of people aren't aware of - I wasn't aware of some of them and I've been associated with the organization," he noted. "But there are some tremendous success stories and tremendous influences that the organization has had, and we need to be able to tell our story even more."

He also wants to continue NCGA's emphasis on new uses. "There are a lot of things the organization is working on - some of these new lucrative potential markets. And part of what the organization is all about is taking some of the risks and being able to address new areas and be a catalyst for new corn market opportunities for the growers," he said.