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 Reminds Growers of CRP Sign-Up Extension
- Yoder Discusses Coexistence and Biotechnology with Polish, Lithuanian Groups
- NCGA Applauds Iowa Corn Growers for Work on State’s RFS Bill
- NCGA Comments on Need for Domestic Natural Gas Development
- NCGA, Coalition Urge EU to Follow WTO Obligations on Approval of Biotech Products
- CUTC Session to Highlight New Value-added Products
- NCGA Reminds Growers to “Know Before You Grow”
- States Active on Ensuring E85 Availability for Consumers, Notes NCGA
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NCGA Reminds Growers of CRP Sign-Up Extension
The NCGA reminds growers that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has extended the sign-up period for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the special CRP re-enrollment and extension opportunities through April 28. The original deadline was April 14. (More On This Story)
Yoder Discusses Coexistence and Biotechnology with Polish, Lithuanian Groups
Ohio corn grower Fred Yoder represented the NCGA on a trip last month to Poland and Lithuania to discuss biotechnology and coexistence with government officials and students. (More On This Story)
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National Corn Growers Association staff, including Vice President of Marketing Fred Stemme (right), visited Illinois corn grower Greg Guenther’s (left) farm in Belleville, Ill., this week to learn about his operation. |
NCGA Applauds Iowa Corn Growers for Work on State’s RFS Bill
The NCGA applauds the diligent work of the Iowa Corn Growers Association in promoting the benefits of a 25 percent Iowa Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), which passed the Iowa House on Wednesday and the Iowa Senate last Thursday. (More On This Story)
NCGA Comments on Need for Domestic Natural Gas Development
The NCGA has a direct and strong interest in the development of the next offshore leasing program because corn growers rely on affordable natural gas for production. In comments submitted by NCGA to the Minerals Management Service (MMS) on the “Draft Proposed Program” for a new five-year outer continental shelf (OCS) oil and gas leasing program for 2007-2012, NCGA said increasing natural gas prices and unstable supplies have had a negative impact on corn growers. (More On This Story)
NCGA, Coalition Urge EU to Follow WTO Obligations on Approval of Biotech Products
The NCGA, along with the Ag Biotech Planning Committee, urged the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to insist the European Union (EU) honor its World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations and end the moratorium on biotechnology products. (More On This Story)
CUTC Session to Highlight New Value-added Products
New value-added products from corn will be discussed in detail at Dr. Dennis Miller’s “Value Added: New Products from Corn” session at the Corn Utilization & Technology Conference (CUTC), sponsored by the NCGA. CUTC is the premier technology conference on corn products and will be held in Dallas, June 5-7. (More On This Story)
NCGA Reminds Growers to “Know Before You Grow”
The NCGA reminds growers to visit the Know Before You Grow database before making planting and marketing decisions. (More On This Story)
States Active on Ensuring E85 Availability for Consumers, Notes NCGA
Highlighting the lack of E85 availability at the pump, Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin (D) and Barrack Obama (D) and Govs. Rob Blagojevich (D-Ill.) and Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.) joined together in sending formal letters to six of the nation’s largest oil companies, requesting them to increase their availability of E85 across the country, notes the NCGA. (More On This Story)
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AROUND THE CORN BELT
News
from State Associations
Colorado: If you are out and about in Sterling, Fort Morgan or Greeley April 17-18, you will likely see the familiar "corn car" driving through your area. Sen. Ken Salazar has requested he drive the corn car while he makes a two-day tour of northeastern Colorado. The tour will begin on Monday in Sterling and make its way through Fort Morgan and finally end on Tuesday in Greeley. Sen. Salazar will be meeting with officials from Sterling Ethanol during his visit.
Missouri: The Missouri House of Representatives passed its version of the Missouri Renewable Fuels Standard (MoRFS). The MoRFS, among other things, will: establish an implementation date of Jan. 1, 2008; require marketers to use ethanol blends whenever price competitive with gasoline; prevent major oil companies from blocking marketers from blending ethanol; require infrastructure to be built in the few areas not already prepared to use ethanol; help ensure a lower price for wholesalers that marketers should be able to pass along to consumers.
South Dakota: Choosing ethanol at the pumps just got easier for motorists fueling up at Sioux Valley Co-op (SVC) in Watertown, S.D. The co-op recently installed blender pumps which will allow customers to essentially blend their preferred level of ethanol fuel. SVC is only the second station in South Dakota, and possibly the nation, to offer ethanol blender pumps; Four-Seasons Co-op in Britton, S.D., installed ethanol blender pumps just last month. The pumps give drivers the option of using regular gas, gas with 10, 20, or 30 percent ethanol, and there’s E85 for flex-fuel vehicles. Motorists need only to push the button to select the blend they want.
Minnesota: On April 22, groups from Ducks Unlimited to the Nature Conservancy to farm commodity groups like Minnesota Corn Growers Association will come together for the "Rally for Ducks, Wetlands and Clean Water," which takes place on the capital grounds in St. Paul. "We want other conservationists to recognize that farmers are an important part of this conservation picture, because they control significant amounts of land, and they do so with the best stewardship practices in mind," said Warren Formo, program director of Minnesota Corn Growers Association. For more information on the "Rally for Ducks, Wetlands and Clean Water," go to www.wetlandsrally.org.
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KEY ISSUES
