Nov. 13: The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) announce the incorporation of the National Agricultural Genotyping Center (NAGC). Structured as a non-profit initiative for the purpose of agricultural development, the NAGC will leverage the benefits of high-throughput genotyping with the support of two of the nation’s most prominent organizations in the fields of science and agriculture. With incorporation complete, the NAGC now seeks …

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Aug. 30: The second edition of the National Corn Growers Association’s Research Glossary is now available online. This glossary, which covers the terms most frequently used in agricultural discussions of genomics, genetics and biotechnology, provides a simple, accessible resource for those looking to better understand and communicate on programs such as the corn genome sequence.

Click here for the online glossary. A pocket guide version is also available …

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July 27:  The National Corn Growers Association’s Research and Business Development Action Team met in Washington July 16-17 to discuss current programs and hear presentations from biotech providers on product pipeline research related to higher corn yield, the White House’s National Bioeconomy Blueprint, and potential research collaborators describing potential new uses and high throughput phenotyping.

“In looking back over this last year, the most significant accomplishment that the team …

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June 6: A successful Corn Utilization and Technology Conference concluded today with the presentation of awards recognizing the top poster contest entries this year.

“The National Corn Growers Association is pleased to lend our support and encouragement to young researchers,” said NCGA Director of Research and New Uses Dr. Richard Vierling. “Corn offers a variety of solutions for many of today’s problems, and we are honored to play a small …

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June 4: The research journal Nature Genetics published two manuscripts this week offering an unprecedented glimpse into the diversity of modern corn in their online edition.  Gathered through the U.S. Maize Diversity Project, the information in these studies provides important data that will aid breeders and geneticists in efforts to develop improved traits.

“The information in these studies has very exciting implications for corn farmers,” said National Corn Growers …

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June 1:  The National Corn Growers Association is ramping up for the 2012 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference, which will opens June 4 in Indianapolis. With a theme of “Back to the Grind,” the biennial conference will feature the cutting-edge technologies and new uses that continually improve and dynamically change the corn industry.

This year, the conference debuts a third tier of presentation options offering participants the opportunity to …

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May 22: The National Corn Growers Association proudly launched a redesigned version of the National Agricultural Genotyping Center website.  The site, which features more intuitive navigation and a more pleasing visual layout, offers an abundance of information on the project, the partners involved in the center and many resources for those interested in its work.

“We believe strongly in the mission of the National Agricultural Genotyping Center and hope …

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May 21: With the 2012 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference rapidly approaching, the National Corn Growers Association’s Off the Cob podcast series spoke with Indiana Corn Marketing Council Secretary Gary Lamie, one of the event’s platinum sponsors.  Lamie welcomed attendees to his home state and invited them to attend the Amazing Maize exhibit at the Indiana State Museum. 

“Those of us on the boards of the Indiana Corn Growers …

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Recent Purdue University research about growing efficiency in nitrogen use shows the importance of science in making modern production agriculture not only more efficient, but more sustainable in the long run, the National Corn Growers Association said.

“At a time when farmers need to work smarter and harder to grow their crops and maintain their farms for future farming generations, we’re especially looking for ways to reduce inputs and …

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Today, the National Corn Growers Association launches a new series featuring information on the scientific topics relevant to farming, food, biofuels and agriculture as a whole.

What Do Chemical, Organic, Synthetic and Natural Really Mean?

By Dr. Pam Keck, NCGA Director of Biofuels Programs and Business Development

Would you vote to ban a substance with the following characteristics?

Recent scientific evidence has shown the substance hydrogen oxide to …

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Mar. 14:  The National Corn Growers Association announced today that the early registration period for 2012 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference has been extended by one week and will now close on Friday, April 6.  The biennual event will be held June 4-6 in Indianapolis. With a theme of “Back to the Grind,” CUTC will feature the cutting-edge technologies and new uses that continually improve and dynamically change the …

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Feb. 16:  Feb. 28, 2008, a red-letter day for modern corn production, also marked what may be the National Corn Growers Association’s greatest research achievement to date.

It was the day scientists from Washington University’s Genome Research Center announced the completion of a working draft of the corn genome – a breakthrough expected to accelerate the production of new corn hybrids, allow researchers to develop better varieties without using …

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Jan. 27:  The National Corn Growers Association’s Research and Business Development Action Team investigated plant nitrogen use efficiency at its meeting this week in Fresno, Calif. Team members toured Biagro Western, where they saw several varieties of citrus crops, and heard a presentation on nitrogen efficiency in plants.

Biagro is commercializing a metabolite, developed by Pat Unkefer of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Bioscience Division, that modifies a plant’s metabolism …

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Nov. 22: The National Corn Growers Association actively defended the importance of publicly funded research into corn last week to a panel of industry stakeholders tasked with discussing the future of federally funded agricultural research programs. Noting that corn is not only the largest crop in the United States but also a major export product, NCGA staff defended against calls to kill public funding for corn research, stressing the …

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July 21: Today, Off the Cob speaks with Carolyn Lawrence, a research geneticist with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. Coming from the understanding that growers need the results of research such as the Maize Genome Sequencing Project to result in technology that produces real world results, the National Corn Growers Association will fund a functional genomic data base coordinator. This project will incorporate needed software tools into the Maize …

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July 20: Keeping research at the forefront of our national agenda is always a challenge. However, the research done today has a direct impact on the technologies available for farmers to utilize ten and fifteen years from now. NCGA understands this situation, and will fund a functional genomics data utilization project that will incorporate needed software tools into the Maize Genetics and Genomics Database (MaizeGDB).

“Congress is talking about …

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The National Corn Growers Association’s new Research Glossary is now available online. This glossary, which covers the terms most frequently used in agricultural discussions of genetics, provides a simple, accessible resource for those looking to better understand and communicate on programs such as the corn genome sequence.

Click here for the online glossary. A pocket guide version is also available through the mail by contacting NCGA at corninfo@ncga.com.

“While …

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