Leigh elected NCGA first vice president

MINONK, Ill. — The National Corn Growers Association’s board elected Bill Leigh, of Minonk in north-central Illinois, as the organization’s next first vice president, putting him on track to become board president on Oct. 1, 2027.

His term as first vice president begins this October, the beginning of NCGA’s new fiscal year.

“Being elected to this role by my peers is the honor of a lifetime,” Leigh said. “I look forward to working alongside dedicated grower leaders and staff as we advocate for issues that are critical to the success of farmers, specifically growing and expanding demand for corn.

“Corn grower engagement is needed now more than ever, and I am thrilled that I will be serving on the front lines of these efforts.”

Leigh is a sixth-generation farmer who grows corn and soybeans in Marshall County on his 150-year-old-family farm. He and his wife, Debbie, have two sons, James, an engineer, and Christopher, who returned to the farm from service in the U.S. military.

Leigh went to Toluca High School and graduated from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. He served as the 2020 Illinois Corn Growers Association president.

Currently, he is serving on the Illinois Corn Marketing Board representing District 4.