CHS owners elect seven board members, pass bylaws amendments

Above, elected to the CHS Board of Directors at the 2023 CHS Annual Meeting were, from left, C.J. Blew, Cortney Wagner, Tony Rossman, Jon Erickson, Scott Cordes, Dan Schurr and Tracy Jones.

CHS owners elected seven board members to three-year terms during the cooperative’s 2023 annual meeting held Dec. 7-8 in Minneapolis.

Reelected to the CHS Board of Directors were:

• Scott Cordes, who raises corn and soybeans with his family near Wanamingo, Minn., representing Region 1 (Minnesota)
• Cortney Wagner, a first-generation cattle and hay producer based near Hardin, Mont., representing Region 2 (Montana and Wyoming)
• Jon Erickson, who raises small grains and oilseeds and has a cow-calf operation with his family near Minot, N.D., representing Region 3 (North Dakota)
• Tracy Jones, who raises corn, soybeans, wheat and cattle with his family near Kirkland, Ill., representing Region 5 (Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin)
• Dan Schurr, who raises corn and soybeans with his family near LeClaire, Iowa, representing Region 7 (Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee)
• C.J. Blew, who farms and ranches in a family partnership in south-central Kansas, representing Region 8 (Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas)

Newly elected CHS Board member

Anthony Rossman was elected to the CHS Board to represent CHS members in Region 1 (Minnesota), succeeding Perry Meyer, who retired from the Board at the conclusion of the annual meeting. Rossman operates a diversified crop and livestock operation near Rochester, Minn., and manages genetic alliances in the beef industry.

CHS Board officer elections

The following CHS Board members were elected to one-year officer terms:

• Dan Schurr, LeClaire, Iowa, reelected chair
• C.J. Blew, Castleton, Kan., elected first vice chair
• Scott Cordes, Wanamingo, Minn., elected second vice chair
• Russell Kehl, Quincy, Wash., reelected secretary treasurer
• Al Holm, reelected assistant secretary-treasurer

Bylaws amendments

At the Annual Meeting, CHS members also approved two amendments to the organization’s bylaws.

The first amendment decreases the number of representative directors in Region 1 from four to three directors and increases the number of representative directors in Region 7 from one to two directors.

The second amendment modifies how dividends are treated when calculating the net income or net loss of an allocation unit from patronage business and provides the Board with increased authority to add an additional amount of patronage income, not to exceed 35%, to the capital reserve.