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Chesterfield, MO 63005

Phone: (636) 733-9004
FAX: (636) 733-9005

WASHINGTON D.C. OFFICE
122 C Street, N.W., Suite 510
Washington, DC 20001

Phone: (202) 628-7001
FAX: (202) 628-1933

©National Corn Growers Association | corninfo@ncga.com

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.

REMINDER:
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, Corn Commentary will not be published the week of Nov. 20

IN THIS ISSUE:

Vital Energy Bill Coming Up for Vote – Growers Must Speak Up
Growers Must Continue to Add Value, Forge Links
NCGA Congratulates Harkin, Looks Forward to Working with Senate Ag Committee
Deadline Near for Gallery of Corn Photo Contest
NCGA Asks for More Flexibility on EPA Fuels Proposal
Vietnam PNTR Could Secure More Level Markets for Corn, Coproducts
As Congress Returns, NCGA Calls for WRDA Passage

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Vital Energy Bill Coming Up for Vote - Growers Must Speak Up
Domestic natural gas exploration and development is one of the measures Congress is set to take up before the end of the lame duck session, and NCGA issued a legislative “call to action” today, urging growers to make one last big push to ensure passage of the legislation. (More On This Story)

Growers Must Continue to Add Value, Forge Links
Agricultural producers must commit to research and technology, and seize opportunities to add value to their products. That’s the lesson of the growth of ethanol, according to NCGA Vice President of Public Policy Jon Doggett. (More On This Story)

NCGA's revenue-based 2007 farm bill proposal, passage of the Water Resources Development Act, and the food versus fuel myths were among the topics NCGA officers covered yesterday at Trade Talk, the annual meeting of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting, in Kansas City. Here, NCGA President Ken McCauley talks with Ken Root of the Iowa Ag Farm Network.

NCGA Congratulates Harkin, Looks Forward to Working with Senate Ag Committee
This week Senate Democrats realigned the 110th Congress’s U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), currently the committee’s ranking member, will become chairman. NCGA is looking forward to continuing a good working relationship with members of a key committee for corn growers. (More On This Story)

Deadline Near for Gallery of Corn Photo Contest
Only two weeks remain for NCGA members to submit their entries for the Gallery of Corn Photo Contest. (More On This Story)

NCGA Asks for More Flexibility on EPA Fuels Proposal
Calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule “detailed and complex,” the NCGA and other agricultural groups asked for greater flexibility by EPA in regulating the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). (More On This Story)

Vietnam PNTR Could Secure More Level Markets for Corn, Coproducts
Although legislation authorizing the granting of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with Vietnam was passed by the House of Representatives yesterday evening in a vote of 228 to 161, the legislation did not secure the two-thirds majority required to suspend House rules and pass without debate. (More On This Story)

As Congress Returns, NCGA Calls for WRDA Passage
The effort to pass the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) enters the next phase this week with the “Ring for WRDA” call in campaign. The NCGA is urging its nearly 33,000 corn grower members to contact their representatives and senators office during the “WRDA Call-In” campaign and encourage them to pass WRDA. In addition, NCGA is encouraging calls into the offices of WRDA conferees. (More On This Story)

AROUND THE CORN BELT
News from State Associations

Illinois: Meetings have started for Illinois residents interested in investing in ethanol plants. Green Lion Bio-Fuels, an Illinois bio-fuels developer, has ethanol plants underway in Streator (Emerald Ethanol LLC), Beardstown Prairie Breeze Ethanol LLC), and Charleston, Ill. (Diamond Ethanol LLC).The meetings will offer interested farmers, landlords, and other off-farm investors opportunities to buy shares in the Emerald Ethanol and Prairie Breeze Ethanol plants. Charleston’s Diamond Ethanol will hold its stock offering next month.

Michigan: As Thanksgiving approaches, the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan (CMPM) wants to educate consumers about one of America’s first and most bountiful crops - corn. While many food products contain corn or ingredients derived from corn, many other products could not be in existence without corn,” explained Jody Pollok, CMPM executive director. “Many beef, pork, and poultry products are value-added forms of corn. The livestock industry is the largest market for Michigan-grown corn. Approximately one-third of the corn grown in the state is utilized for livestock feed.” For more information on the CMPM or the MCGA visit the Michigan Corn office’s website at www.micorn.org.

Minnesota: Minnesota Ag in the Classroom program marks its 21st year training elementary teachers to incorporate facts about farming into their lessons. New state geography standards for fourth grade students require more knowledge than ever about the state's connection to farming, and have brought a growing number of school districts to regard Minnesota Ag-In-The-Classroom as the perfect set of supplemental graphs and other visuals. Program supporters include the Minnesota Corn Growers Association.

Ohio: Mark Thomas won his sixth International Hot Rod Association Alcohol Funny Car Division world championship in an ethanol-power dragster. Thomas, a Louisville, Oh., finished well ahead of his next opponent. Thomas' Ethanol Performs dragster is sponsored in part by the Ohio Corn Growers Association and the South Dakota Corn Utilization Board. In September, Thomas was on Capitol Hill displaying his Ethanol Performs car prior to the President's Cup race in Budds Creek, Maryland.


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Next Week
Nov. 20:	NCGA 1st Vice President Ron Litterer meets with the Illinois Corn Growers Association in Bloomington, Ill.
Nov. 21:	NCGA CEO Rick Tolman speaks at the Biotechnology Industries Organization conference in Washington, D.C.
Nov. 23-24:	NCGA offices closed.
Following Week:
Nov. 29-Dec. 1:	NCGA Joint Action Team, Committee and Corn Board Meetings in St. Louis, Mo.
Calendar information is available on the NCGA Leader Resource Center, http://www.insidencga.com © 2005 National Corn Growers Association