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:
Dickey Will Use Corn Board Experience to Improve Corn Industry
NCGA Cites House Passage of Oil, Natural Gas Drilling Bill as Step Forward in Answering Natural Gas Supply Crisis
House Passes Energy and Water Spending Bill, Including Funding for Navigation Rehabilitation, NCGA Notes
NCGA sponsored AgriTalk Ethanol Pump Tour Stops in Jacksonville, Ill.
House Passes Ag Appropriations Spending Bill, Increases Research Funding, NCGA Notes
NCGA Promotes Ethanol at Indy 500’s Ethanol Summit
“Renewable Energy Entities” Page Now Available on NCGA Web Site
Growing Season Provides Great Snapshots for NCGA Photo Contest
Total U.S. Cropland Erosion Drops 43 Percent from 1982 to 2003, NCGA Notes
Planting Season Coming to a Close, NCGA Notes
NCGA Attends Distillers Grains Symposium
NCGA to House Ag Subcommittee: Time is Now for Renewable Fuels
House Amendment to Interior Bill Could Affect Growers, NCGA Notes
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Dickey Will Use Corn Board Experience to Improve Corn Industry
If re-elected to the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Corn Board, Bob Dickey looks forward to using the experience he gained from his first-term as a Corn Board member in advancing the corn industry. (More On This Story)
NCGA Cites House Passage of Oil, Natural Gas Drilling Bill as Step Forward in Answering Natural Gas Supply Crisis
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) called today’s passage of legislation to open the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) to oil and gas production a significant step forward in answering the natural gas supply crisis corn growers and consumers face. (More On This Story)
House Passes Energy and Water Spending Bill, Including Funding for Navigation Rehabilitation, NCGA Notes
The NCGA is pleased the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5427, the fiscal year (FY) 2007 Energy and Water Development appropriations spending bill, which includes funding for major rehabilitation for locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi River System The bill passed by a vote of 404-20. (More On This Story)
NCGA-sponsored AgriTalk Ethanol Pump Tour Stops in Jacksonville, Ill.
The AgriTalk Ethanol Pump Tour, sponsored by the NCGA, rolls into South Jacksonville, Ill., on Friday at the Fanco Station on Route 67. (More On This Story)
House Passes Ag Appropriations Spending Bill, Increases Research Funding, NCGA Notes
By a vote of 378-46, the House of Representatives last night passed H.R. 5384, the fiscal year (FY) 2007 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriations spending bill, which includes funding for programs important to corn growers, notes the NCGA. (More On This Story)
National Corn Growers Association Chairman Leon Corzine and U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary of Rural Development Tom Dorr pose in front of driver Jeff Simmon’s No. 17 Ethanol car at Thursday’s Indy 500 Ethanol Summit at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Corzine and Dorr, among some Indy Racing League (IRL) drivers, promoted the benefits of ethanol to racing media. IRL is using a 10 percent ethanol-90 percent methanol blend for fuel this year. Next year, the circuit will use 100 percent ethanol.
NCGA Promotes Ethanol at Indy 500’s Ethanol Summit
The NCGA attended the Ethanol Summit at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, helping promote America’s renewable fuel as it becomes part of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” this weekend at the Indianapolis 500. (More On This Story)
“Renewable Energy Entities” Page Now Available on NCGA Web Site
Information about ethanol construction firms, public companies involved in ethanol production and renewable energy mutual funds is just a mouse click away. The NCGA is now providing a one-stop source for grower questions regarding companies associated with renewable energy production on its Web site, www.ncga.com. (More On This Story)
Growing Season Provides Great Snapshots for NCGA Photo Contest
As the planting season winds down and growing season begins, the NCGA reminds growers of the opportunity to capture agriculture in action for the 2006 Gallery of Corn Photo Contest. (More On This Story)
Total U.S. Cropland Erosion Drops 43 Percent from 1982 to 2003, NCGA Notes
The NCGA applauds the nation’s corn growers for contributing to a substantial reduction in cropland erosion. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns announced on May 23 that total soil erosion on cultivated and non-cultivated U.S. cropland decreased 43 percent between 1982 and 2003. (More On This Story)
Planting Season Coming to a Close, NCGA Notes NCGA members and corn producers across the country are finishing planting the crop, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The agency released its Crop Progress report May 22, reporting that 92 percent of the corn crop has been planted in the top 18 corn-producing states and 66 percent of the crop has emerged. (More On This Story)
NCGA Attends Distillers Grains Symposium
The 10th Annual Distillers Grains Symposium in Louisville, Ky., provided the NCGA an opportunity to meet face-to-face with key collaborators on distillers grains initiatives and learn more about the impact of emerging ethanol production processes on distillers grains. NCGA Director of Ethanol and Business Development Geoff Cooper attended the conference. (More On This Story)
NCGA to House Ag Subcommittee: Time is Now for Renewable Fuels
With gasoline prices at record levels, petroleum imports rising, and domestic energy production declining. Bruce Noel, NCGA Ethanol Committee chairman, told members of the House Agriculture subcommittee field hearing in Rochester, Mich., now is the time to maximize the production and use of domestic renewable fuels. (More On This Story)
House Amendment to Interior Bill Could Affect Growers, NCGA Notes
The House of Representatives passed an amendment to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 Interior and Environmental appropriations bill that negatively impacts the nation’s waterways and creates more confusion regarding agency practice over regulated waters, notes the NCGA. (More On This Story)
AROUND THE CORN BELT News
from State Associations
Illinois: Illinois State University is proposing to establish a renewable energy major because they believe the school is uniquely situated to meet the increased demand for workers in this field. Key ISU faculty met with a newly formed advisory committee made up of individuals from the renewable energy industry. They represented a broad cross section of interests from traditional coal and electric to wind, solar and of course ethanol. Supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ISU is working diligently to establish and launch the new curriculum and the associated major by fall of 2007. ISU’s Colleges of Economics, Technology and Agriculture are teaming up to develop the broad-based program which will address the social, economic and technical issues related to the emerging field of renewable energy.
South Dakota: The South Dakota Corn Utilization Council will provide $1 million for the South Dakota State University (SDSU) Seed Technology Laboratory project. The Seed Technology Lab will be a state-of-the-art facility designed to focus on seed science and technology. The goals of the Seed Technology Laboratory will encompass many components and priorities of South Dakota corn producers. The specific goals include:
modernization of the SDSU Seed Testing Lab with facilities for seed testing, genetic/trait analysis, and test development;
development of a comprehensive seed science and technology program at SDSU;
expansion of research in crop and grain quality, trait identification and monitoring, and plant product extraction and utilization;
partnerships with private industry in research and application; and
facilitation of economic development opportunities in the agricultural biotechnology industry in South Dakota and the region.
Kansas: About 150 people attended a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for a 55 million gallon ethanol plant in Garden City. Dirt work being done on the site went on while leaders of Conestoga Energy Partners LLC outlined their plans for the plant. The Kansas Corn Growers Association and Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association congratulated the group on beginning the construction phase of the project. The Garden City ethanol plant will use more than 19 million bushels of corn and grain sorghum to produce 55 million gallons of ethanol and 420,000 tons of wet distillers grains per year. The total cost of the project is $85 million and will be built by Kansas-based ICM, Inc. When completed, the plant will hire between 33 and 40 employees with a payroll of over $1.4 million.
DID YOU KNOW?
NCGA CEO Rick Tolman gives his opinion on the “Food versus Fuel Debate” in his new editorial space, “Our View,” available at www.ncga.com.
KEY ISSUES
