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:
- Dorr Tabbed as Keynote Speaker at CUTC
- Hartman Aims to Improve Profitability of Corn Growers, Industry
- NCGA Calls on Administration to Stand Firm on WTO Negotiations
- NCGA Congratulates Iowa Corn Growers on RFS
- Commodity Classic Web Site, Poster Unveiled
- Senate Ag Committee Begins Hearings on Farm Policy, NCGA Notes
- NCGA Urges Members to Press for WRDA Passage During Congressional Recess
- NCGA, Ethanol Industry Mark Opening of 100th Ethanol Plant
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Dorr Tabbed as Keynote Speaker at CUTC
U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Tom Dorr will present the keynote address at the National Corn Growers Association’s Corn Utilization and Technology Conference June 5-7 in Dallas. (More On This Story)
Hartman Aims to Improve Profitability of Corn Growers, Industry
If elected to the NCGA Corn Board, Ken Hartman will work to strengthen the profitability of corn growers and improve the corn industry for all growers. (More On This Story)
NCGA Calls on Administration to Stand Firm on WTO Negotiations
In a letter to President George W. Bush Thursday, the NCGA joined U.S. agriculture groups stating their unwillingness to make concessions regarding domestic support beyond those already proposed by the administration in the Doha Round World Trade Organization (WTO) agriculture negotiations. (More On This Story) |
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Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (seated) signs the state’s renewable fuels standard and accompanying legislation into law in Des Moines on Tuesday in front of members of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, the state legislature and ethanol and corn industry representatives. The Iowa RFS schedule starts in 2009 with at least 10 percent of the state’s fuel being blended with ethanol. By 2019, 25 percent of Iowa’s fuel must be blended with ethanol. |
NCGA Congratulates Iowa Corn Growers on RFS
The NCGA applauds the Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) for its diligent work in securing the state’s Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), which Gov. Tom Vilsack signed into law Tuesday. Vilsack also signed two infrastructure bills, House File 2754 and House File 2759, at a ceremony in the state capitol rotunda. (More On This Story)
Commodity Classic Web Site, Poster Unveiled
Ahoy mateys! The 2007 Commodity Classic poster and Web site have been unveiled, announcing “Bounty on the Bay,” scheduled for March 1-3 in Tampa, Fla. The highly stylized artwork of a soybean and an ear of corn has a new look to celebrate the addition of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) to the annual trade show and convention of the American Soybean Association (ASA) and the NCGA. (More On This Story)
Senate Ag Committee Begins Hearings on Farm Policy, NCGA Notes
The Senate Agriculture Committee will begin its series of field hearings across the country in an effort to reach out to growers and producers and gather feedback on how farm policy programs have or have not been working, the NCGA notes. The House Agriculture Committee and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have been holding field hearings on the upcoming 2007 farm bill. (More On This Story)
NCGA Urges Members to Press for WRDA Passage During Congressional Recess
The Memorial Day holiday may be the official kick off to the lazy days of summer, but for NCGA members it is a signal to put their grassroots know-how into action by contacting their elected senators and representatives and stress the importance of passing the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) upon their return to Capitol Hill June 5. (More On This Story)
NCGA, Ethanol Industry Mark Opening of 100th Ethanol Plant
NCGA members and ethanol producers recognized a milestone last week as Frontier Ethanol in Gowrie, Iowa, became the 100th ethanol plant to open in the United States. (More On This Story)
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AROUND THE CORN BELT
News
from State Associations
Colorado: The Colorado Corn Growers Association (CCGA) and Administrative Council express deep disappointment in Gov. Bill Owens decision to veto Senate Bill 138. "I am very disappointed in this decision. This is the right time for this type of legislation," said CCGA President Trent Bushner. "Not only does the governor's decision to veto 138 affect people who value clean air, but it will have an impact in rural Colorado, and not for the better," Bushner said. In the governor's letter to the secretary of the state senate, Owens states, "This bill is yet another intrusion on the free market and is clearly unnecessary given the continued growth of ethanol production and use." Blinded by his allegiance to the oil and gas industry, it certainly didn't appear as though the governor put a lot of thought into signing this bill into law.
Illinois: A new Value Enhanced Corn (VEC) Report shows weak premiums continue to do little to entice growers to shift acres to specialty corn or even non-biotech corn. “The market is flat to declining and there is not enough margin in it in many cases. Many customers aren’t mentally prepared to pay the premium necessary to lure acres into production with the exceptions of Japan and Korea,” said Phil Thornton, Value Enhanced Projects Coordinator for the Illinois Corn Growers Association and Illinois Corn Marketing Board. Novecta, LLC, a joint venture of the Illinois and Iowa Corn Growers Associations, participated in the development of the 2005-06 VEC Report on behalf of the U.S. Grains Council. The VEC Report covers issues such as acreages, geographic production, premiums, trait characteristics, and end uses.
The report also covers industry trends associated with measurement technology, traceability, identity preservation, production contracting and pipeline products. The VEC Report will be unveiled at the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference in Dallas, June 5-7.
DID YOU KNOW?
At a conversion rate of 2.8 gallons/acre and 150 bushels per acre, 420 gallons of ethanol would be produced. In a flex-fuel, sport utility vehicle with a 20-gallon tank, it would take 21 tanks of E85 to use 420 gallons. At 18 miles per gallon, this SUV could travel 7.500 miles on one acre of corn! |
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KEY ISSUES
