Voting Rights
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The Yeas Have It – Voting Rights to All PFI Members

Robert Karp

Guess what, non-farming members? You now have full voting rights within PFI due to the passage of a recent ballot put to the farmer members of PFI! The ballot came after more than a year of discussion by the PFI board and included the following changes:

• All PFI members (farmers and non-farmers) now have full voting rights, even those living out of state (no more associate members). To serve on the board, however, you still have to be a farmer and a resident of Iowa.

• The definition of farmer for the purpose of serving on the board is now anyone who files a schedule F on their federal income tax return. (See last paragraph for further clarification on this change.)

• It is now stipulated in the PFI Articles of Incorporation that changes to this document will require a vote of the membership.

• Changes to the Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation will not be possible at a so called special meeting.

Thanks to the ninety-five voting members who returned their ballot (eighty-three voted “yes”) and to the many people who have provided input and suggestions regarding these changes over the last several years. Also, special thanks to Richard Koontz of the Iowa Non-profit Resource Center at the University of Iowa for his many hours of work guiding us through the legal side of this process.

Unresolved Questions About Schedule F

It has been called to our attention, since submitting the ballot to the membership, that there may be some farmers who would be unfairly excluded from board service by the Schedule F definition, because they operate their farm via an organizational structure, such as limited liability corporation, which requires a different form than a Schedule F. The PFI board plans to research this matter further and, if necessary, add some language to this requirement which, being only part of the Bylaws, can be done by a majority vote of the board. We apologize if this oversight caused consternation amongst any members. The purpose of this change, once again, was to make board service more open to part-time farmers, and not to limit in any way the type of farmers eligible for board service.