Jacob Porter

My farm operation includes dryland, no-till farm operated in conjunction with my parents, produces soybeans, wheat, milo, corn and forage crops. A cow-calf complements the crop operation.

I am currently on the CVA Board and was previously on a merged cooperative’s board. Before returning to the farm, I had several years of experience in engineering, consulting, and petroleum companies that provided exposure to business meetings and agreements. I was raised on the farm, and my wife and I are raising our children there also.

I have enjoyed being a CVA Director and would like to continue in that role. I can both advocate for producer interests and broadly direct the operation and growth of CVA.

I believe my participation in the daily details of our farming operation equips me to add value by considering the farmer’s view of the situation during CVA Board decisions and strategic planning. My on-farm and off-farm experiences contribute to my vision of alignment of the strategic growth of CVA with that of individual producers. Hopefully, I bring occasional insight, or at least offer a question that prompts further thought and discussion.

The cooperative system allows producers to own the infrastructure necessary to grow and market their crops. Cooperatives extend the producer’s reach, beyond the edges of their fields, up and down the commodity value chain, to therefore capture a larger part of the “pie.” I strongly believe that our unique producer-owned structure is vital to maintaining a healthy market for crop inputs and bushels of grain.

CVA, and the broader cooperative system, will serve as a relevant market participant and counterweight to the increasingly large, consolidated, integrated, privately-held or publicly-traded, agricultural companies. CVA serving that function should benefit all farmers, regardless of whether or not they are CVA members.