Sandhusker, you and I disagree on the value of polls, however there was NO vote of the members of that affiliate, only a poll, then the board of directors made the decision without giving the members a chance to vote on it. Do you know what information those members were given by their board of directors? I don't. Nor do I know how many members joined the group because it is common for some ag organizations fo provide free suppers, entertainment, etc. for members. SDCA is an issue focused organization and most members espect their dues plus a lot of their personal effort and their own money into addressing those issues, not expecting perks.
BTW, the differences were due to the fact that a member of that affiliate, who had been a state officer, was not elected again by the state membership during the annual meeting held last November in the local area town of the Coteau Hills membership. Having maybe 200 members, only about 12 chose to show up at the meeting, which they had the time and opportunity to do, if they so chose. Their members and directors knew they could have easily outvoted the members from other areas of the state in attendance as it was located in the northeast corner of the state, and elected their member, had they chosen to come to the reasonably nearby meeting. The weather was bad to the south and east, where the population is quite high, so some members of other affiliates planning to attend were unable to do so.
It clearly was an internal, local personality issue, having nothing to do with policy issues of SDCA or NCBA. Time will tell if his fellow members choose to stay with him, or remain with the state association. There was no problem with any other of the SDCA state affiliates, and that should tell you something about the situation.
mrj