Iowa Farm Bureau Federation

“Ryan steinfeldt and matt steinfeldt have a family relationship.”

“The organization utilizes a wholly owned subsidiary, farm bureau management corporation (fbmc), to provide the day to day management function of ifbf. This corporation employs the president, secretary-treasurer, general counsel, chief financial officer, chief marketing & communications officer, director, field service, director, government relations, director, information resources and allocates their expenses across all of the entities under fbmc management.”

“Article ix, section 1 and article x, section 8 were amended to update the role of the vice president as an officer of the organization and his eligibility for employment by an associate or subsidiary company.”

“The organization has members. County farm bureaus in the state of iowa are eligible for membership; those county farm bureaus that are members of the organization have voting rights. Every member of a county farm bureau also becomes a member of the organization upon the payment of applicable dues and thereafter has access to member benefits.”

“County farm bureaus that are members of the organization have voting rights, including the right to elect of the board of directors. With respect to district directors, the county farm bureaus comprising each respective district meet and nominate candidates for the district directorships.”

“Certain rights are reserved to county farm bureaus that are members of the organization, including: 1) adopt the general policies of the organization, 2) elect the board of directors and approve the compensation of directors, including the president, 3) nominate voting delegates to the american farm bureau federation, 4) select the organization's internal study committee, and 5) adopt amendments to the articles of incorporation.”

“The officers of the organization review the completed form 990 first. Before the september board meeting, an electronic version of the 990 is placed on the board website for board review. After all comments or questions have been addressed, the executive director will sign the return and instruct the accounting department to timely file the return, taking into account all extensions and filing deadlines.”

“On an annual basis, all officers, directors, and key employees are required to sign a statement which affirms that they have: 1) received a copy of the conflict of interest policy, 2) read and understood the policy, 3) agreed to comply with the policy, and 4) understand that the organization is tax-exempt and in order to maintain its federal tax exemption it must engage primarily in activities which accomplish its tax-exempt purpose. A committee, comprised of non-conflicted board of directors, annually receives all conflict of interest information, reviews, and determines if there are conflicts of interest. The committee then reports its findings back to the board.”

“Independent third party reviews are periodically conducted for all officers and key employees. With respect to the compensation of the president, these results are reviewed by the internal study committee (described in comment for part vi, item 7b above), which recommends the compensation of the president for approval by the county farm bureaus that are members of the organization. For other officers and key employees, these results are reviewed by, and compensation for these positions is approved by, the board of directors.”

“The organization does not make its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, or financial statements available for public inspection. Pursuant to state law, some documents may be made available to members.”

“Iowa farm bureau deploys several different strategies to help invest in the growth of rural and small communities for iowa's economic vitality and quality of life. One of those strategies is offered through our renew rural iowa (rria) initiative. Rria is an initiative, launched in 2006, to support new and existing businesses through education, mentoring, and financial resources. Since existence, rria has had over 3,000 participants in its educational seminars. On an annual basis, rria supports over 140 jobs around the state of iowa.”

“Pension plan contributions include three amounts: 1) defined contribution plan contributions, 2) defined benefit plan fas 87 and fas 132 accruals, and 3) other pension changes as required by fas 158. The latter two items are actuarial calculations that do not require funding and should not be deemed as actual contributions.”