Leon (Len) Corzine has many years under his belt as a leader and member of the IL Corn Growers Association. 

Corzine has been involved with ICGA for 30 years and contributed his time and talent as the President of ICGA and NCGA. Corzine sees the value in political action and is a longtime supporter of ICGA’s PAC. 

How can growers best be involved with the ICGA political action committee?
It’s important to pay attention to the messaging. The office does a good job of getting out information on hot button issues and highlighting how we can respond by email to our elected officials. I like to alter the letters our association puts together through our Call-to-Action system and make it a bit more personal. But the key is to respond. It takes just a few minutes to do it and numbers make a difference. We need responses so they see the issue is important. 

Why do you support the ICGA PAC?
I support ICGA’s PAC partially because I’ve been involved with the association for a long time. However, I had the opportunity to serve on NCGA’s board and found ICGA does one of the best jobs on the national scene in this space. Although I might be biased! We have got to have farmers in the room to make a difference, and we do make a difference. I’ve seen it. Our work with ICGA’s PAC has a direct impact on our farming operations.

You served ICGA as a grower for a lot of years. How does the contribution of time and talent help further corn growers politically?
I’ve been lucky to be involved with a great team, but also believe there are times when the good Lord gives you opportunities. The stars lined up with my family and farm situation where I could commit time to participate. It takes time not just going to the meetings, but also doing the homework to know the issues. As board members, we are there to push and let people know what is important to us. There are a lot of times there’s an issue that will have a dramatic impact on the way we farm and if we’re silent it will go the wrong way.

Why is it important to be politically active and plugged in as a corn grower?
There are decisions being made in Washington, D.C. and Springfield that are going to affect the way we farm and live. We need to have a voice in it, and if we are not proactive, they are still going to make those decisions. We want to influence them as much as we can to make decisions that are in our favor, helping our family farms. If we are silent the opposition is going to be proactive, and we’ve got to be as well.