Jim Holte Elected to American Farm Bureau Federation Board of Directors

Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation President Jim Holte has been elected to the American Farm Bureau Federation Board of Directors.

Holte’s election to a one-year term was made by delegates at the 96th American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention in San Diego on January 13. He is one of six state Farm Bureau presidents that will be new to the AFBF board of directors.
Other Midwestern Farm Bureau presidents on the board are: Richard Guebert Jr. of Illinois, Craig Hill of Iowa, Kevin Paap of Minnesota and Don Villwock of Indiana.

Holte raises beef cattle and grows corn, soybeans and alfalfa on 460 acres of land near Elk Mound in Dunn County.

In December, Holte was reelected for a third one-year term as the president of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation and Rural Mutual Insurance Company. Holte was first elected to the WFBF Board of Directors in 1995 to represent District 9 on the board. District 9 represents the Superior Shores, Barron, Chippewa, Dunn, Pierce, Polk, Rusk, Sawyer and St. Croix county Farm Bureaus.

Holte previously served as WFBF’s representative to the Wisconsin Livestock Identification Consortium (WLIC) board. He formerly chaired the Wisconsin Livestock Siting Review board. He is a graduate of the Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program (WRLP). He formerly served as a school board member in Elk Mound, board member for GROWMARK, Inc. and citizen board member for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. He is also a past president of the Wisconsin Beef Council.

A 1975 graduate of UW-River Falls, Holte and his wife, Gayle, have two children and four grandchildren.

Next year, Farm Bureau members will gather for the 97^th AFBF Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show January 10-13, 2016, in Orlando, Florida.

The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general farm organization, representing farms of all sizes, commodities and management styles. WFBF provides legislative representation, public relations, leadership development and services to farmers across the state.