IARN — Randolph, Iowa farmer Will Longinaker was included with the latest group to travel to South America as part of the Iowa Corn Growers Association’s Leadership Enhancement and Development (I-LEAD) program.
Longinaker is heavily involved with various volunteer organizations related to agriculture. His class through I-LEAD completed an international mission to Peru, Colombia, and Panama in March. He says they learned about trade and agricultural production, among many other things.
“The first or second of March we left for Peru right as this coronavirus stuff was kicking off,” Longinaker said. “It was early enough that they didn’t have all of these travel restrictions. We spent roughly five days in Peru talking to their trade ministry trying to learn what we could help with to better that trade relationship. Peru is already a good trading partner.”
“From there, we went to Colombia,” he added. “We did essentially the same there, but from Colombia’s perspective. On the way back, we landed in Panama for about a day and a half where we saw the (Panama) Canal.”
While this was not Longinaker’s first international Ag mission, he says it is one at the top of his list.
“One thing this trip had that was unique was the people I went with,” Longinaker said. “They are leaders in the Ag industry all over Iowa. That’s something that I-LEAD really prides itself on is finding the best people in Iowa to be involved in this.”
Longinaker says he would recommend Iowa Corn’s Leadership Enhancement and Development program to anyone within the Ag industry.
“l would say it was a top five experience in my life,” he said. “And, actually, the applications for I-LEAD Class 10 are available right now on Iowa Corn’s website. It’s easy to find. Those applications I believe are due July 1st. They aren’t the easiest applications because they have a lot of people applying and they want to find the best people. I would say that if you are interested get your application filled out early. I can’t say enough about this program.”
I-LEAD is a two-year program for talented people who want to become strong leaders for Iowa agriculture and spokespeople for the Ag industry. For more information on the program, visit www.iowacorn.org/about/ilead.
To hear the complete interview with Longinaker, visit the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
