July 23, 2008
AMES, Iowa — Jim Rouse has been named the executive director of the Iowa Crop Improvement Association. The nonprofit association is the official seed certifying agency for the state of Iowa and is affiliated with Iowa State University's agronomy department.
Rouse previously served a year as interim director of the association. A native of Ayrshire, he has been project leader for the association's Iowa Crop Performance Tests since 2005. Each year the performance tests measure yields and other agronomic characteristics of hundreds of varieties of corn, soybeans, alfalfa and small grain crops throughout Iowa to help growers identify high-performance lines.
Rouse was a graduate research assistant in Iowa State's corn breeding program from 2001 to 2004. Prior to that he worked in the commercial seed industry. He has a doctorate degree in plant breeding and a master's degree in entomology from Iowa State.
The Iowa Crop Improvement Association's mission is to provide an unbiased source of service and education in production and quality assurance for Iowa agricultural crops. Founded in 1902, the association has provided seed production and crop performance testing services for 87 years.
The association's membership includes farmers, seed producers and others interested in crop improvement. Lee Huey of Ames is president of the nine-member board of directors.