Meet Nebraska Corn Board Director, Dennis Gengenbach

Dennis Gengenbach represents District 6 for the Nebraska Corn Board and has been serving on the board since 2006. He and his wife live and farm near Smithfield, NE. Their operation consists of 1,350 acres of irrigated corn and soybeans and 300 acres of native pasture.

Dennis attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he majored in the Animal Science Agricultural Honors Program and graduated with a bachelor of science in 1971. Dennis continued his education at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York where he received a Ph.D. in Reproductive Physiology in 1975. After completing further research and a year of teaching at Cornell, he and his family returned to the farm in Nebraska.

Dennis has been very active in the agriculture industry over the years by being involved in a variety of organizations. Dennis served two years as President of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association and also served as chairman of the board. He is a member of the National Corn Growers Association’s Ethanol Committee and has membership in the American Soybean Association, Nebraska Cattlemen and Farm Bureau. Dennis was privileged to be inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement in 2003.

Not only has Dennis been active on the state level, but he has also been very active in his community. He served eight years as a member of the Bertrand Community School board serving as President, Vice-President, and Treasurer. He also served on the Gosper County Extension Board and 4-H Auction, Phelps Gosper Livestock Feeders Board, and served as President of the Gelbvieh Association in Nebraska. Dennis has been active in the ELCA serving his congregation as Council President and Secretary, Choir, Sunday School Teacher, Confirmation Guide, and Usher. He is also a member of the Nebraska Synod ELCA Rural Ministry Task Force and Campus Ministry Committee.

Dennis is married to Janice who is a Consulting Dietitian in health-care facilities. They have two children, Nate and his wife Nikki of Hastings and Darcy of Gering, Nebraska. Dennis and Janice are the proud grandparents to grandchildren Micah and Hannah Gengenbach and Macy, Max, and Clare Schlothauer.