NCGA's Mission: To Create and
Increase Opportunities for Corn Growers
This is Corn Commentary, the weekly newsletter for state and national
grower leaders of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). For
complete stories and updated NCGA information, visit www.ncga.com or
the NCGA Leader Resource Center, www.insidencga.com.
IN THIS ISSUE:
- NCGA Notes Introduction of American Fuels Act
- CUTC Session to Focus on Biotechnology’s Future
- Ethanol Takes the Stage as IRL Kicks off 2006 Season
- NCGA as Part of Coalition Applauds USTR Efforts on Canada Corn Case
- Iowa DNR Study Could Help Dispel Myths About Odors From Animal Feed Operations
- NCGA Accepting Photo Contest Entries, Adds New Category
- NCGA Stymied by Senate Inaction on WRDA, Calls Growers Into Action
- NCGA’s Third Trade School Set for March 30-31
- NCGA Gathers Support for Funding of Preconstruction, Engineering and Design on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers
- NCGA Celebrates National Agricultural Week
- NCGA Pleased with USTR Action to Seek WTO Consultation
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NCGA Notes Introduction of American Fuels Act
The NCGA is pleased with action taken last week by Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) in stepping forward to advance renewable fuels, such as ethanol, as part of the solution to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. (More On This Story)
CUTC Session to Focus on Biotechnology’s Future
The future of biotechnology and how it can impact the corn industry will be discussed at the National Corn Growers Association’s Corn Utilization Technology Conference June 5-7 in Dallas. Dr. Frank Barresi of Grain Processing Corporation is chairing the session “Biotechnology: Its Benefits and Future,” which will have four presentations on the issue. (More On This Story)
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Paul Dana’s No. 17 Team Ethanol IndyCar—and all IndyCars—will be using E-10 throughout the 2006 Indy Racing League season, beginning with this weekend’s Toyota 300 in Homestead, Fla. In 2007, all IRL cars will use 100 percent ethanol. |
Ethanol Takes the Stage as IRL Kicks off 2006 Season
Ethanol makes its grand entrance on the racing scene this weekend as the Indy Racing League (IRL) kicks off the 2006 season on March 26 with the Toyota Indy 300 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. The NCGA applauds the decision by IRL to use America’s clean-burning, renewable fuel.(More On This Story)
NCGA as Part of Coalition Applauds USTR Efforts on Canada Corn Case
The NCGA, as part of the U.S. Corn Coalition, applauded U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman today for initiating WTO consultations with Canada regarding its preliminary injury finding by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT). This finding last November led to provisional antidumping and countervailing duties on U.S. corn exports to Canada beginning on December 15, 2005. (More On This Story
Iowa DNR Study Could Help Dispel Myths About Odors From Animal Feed Operations
The NCGA applauds the work of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on its recently released report analyzing odor from animal feeding operations. Reports such as these may help the public understand more about livestock operations and dispel myths about odors from these operations. (More On This Story)
NCGA Accepting Photo Contest Entries, Adds New Category
The NCGA is now accepting entries for this year’s Gallery of Corn Photo Contest, giving corn growers, their families and state and national association staff the opportunity capture corn in the field, life on the farm and scenic farm landscapes. (More On This Story)
NCGA Stymied by Senate Inaction on WRDA, Calls Growers into Action
At a time when the U.S. Senate should be moving forward the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)—a vital transportation infrastructure improvement bill—it is failing to act by not bringing it to a vote on the Senate floor, according to the NCGA. In an effort to get the Senate moving on the bill, NCGA is calling on growers to contact their senators while in their home states and urge them to move WRDA to a vote. (More On This Story)
NCGA Gathers Support for Funding of Preconstruction, Engineering and Design on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers
The NCGA played an integral role in gathering much-needed support for increased funding for preconstruction, engineering and design (PED) on the Upper Mississippi River Systems in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 Energy and Water Development appropriation bill. (More On This Story)
NCGA Celebrates National Agricultural Week
The NCGA is reminding Americans of the contribution of agriculture to our society as America celebrates the 33rd annual National Agriculture Week this week. (More On This Story)
NCGA Pleased with USTR Action to Seek WTO Consultation
The NCGA is pleased with U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Rob Portman’s action late last week seeking World Trade Organization (WTO) consultations with Canada over the countervailing and antidumping case brought against the U.S. corn industry. (More On This Story) |
AROUND THE CORN BELT
News
from State Associations
Nebraska: Within the next couple years, Nebraska will move past Illinois to claim the number two spot in ethanol production, according to updated projections recently released by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). Nebraska's annual ethanol-producing capacity currently stands at 543 million gallons. However, expansion of existing plants and construction of new plants in the state is expected to push that figure to 1.049 billion gallons, according to RFA. Meanwhile, Illinois' ethanol production capacity is expected to grow at a much slower pace, from its current 780 million gallons to around 887 million gallons, despite the fact that Illinois produces nearly one-third more corn each year than Nebraska. Iowa is expected to remain the top ethanol-producing state in the U.S. Iowa's current annual production of 1.135 billion gallons will increase to 1.7 billion in the next few years, RFA projections indicate.
Illinois: Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich today announced a $74,000 High Technology School-to-Work training grant to the Illinois Corn Growers Association, which will be used to prepare Illinois college students to transition from school to high-skilled, high-paying jobs in the field of biotechnology. The grant is administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The program provides grants to consortia of high technology businesses and local schools. Projects are designed by partnerships among employers, associations and schools to provide youth with work experience in high technology occupations, combined with closely related classroom instruction. These programs allow students to explore careers in fields such as information technology, biotechnology, engineering, agriculture, electronics, medical technology and advanced manufacturing.
Minnesota: Minnesota's trend towards milder winters has proved itself once again, with the maximum depth of frost in the soil across the state much shallower than average. This may lead to an earlier start for Minnesota's agricultural producers, according to climatologist Mark Seeley, a professor in the University of Minnesota Department of Soil, Water and Climate. Seeley confirmed that shallower frost should mean both a better distribution of moisture from the melting snow, throughout the root zone, and could possibly also allow for an early start to field work, if the fields become dry enough to withstand the weight of farm equipment. He predicts a mid-April start.
Michigan: The Michigan Corn office recently launched their newly designed website, www.micorn.org. The site has been completely revamped to provide more information to not only the state’s corn producers, but to the general public as well. The new site includes information about the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan (CMPM) and the Michigan Corn Growers Association (MCGA), newsletters, press releases, and links to many other organizations that also provide information pertinent to the corn industry.
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KEY ISSUES
