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.
Our View
Rosie, Paris Move Over; Corn’s the New Media Darling
By Rick Tolman
NCGA Chief Executive Officer
Like most of us, I get a lot of my news from TV. I consider myself pretty well informed. Thanks to TV news, I know that Paris might have to go to jail a week earlier. Thanks to TV news, I know all about the controversy between Rosie and Elisabeth on “The View.” And thanks to TV news, corn has become the unwelcomed media darling. (More On This Story)
|
IN THIS ISSUE:
- NCGA Calls On Members to Engage Legislators on Farm Bill, WRDA
- Producers Offer Different Perspective on Prices, NCGA Says
- New Gene Technology May Improve Corn Traits, NCGA Says
- Innovation, Technology and Investment Will Grow Biofuels Industry and Rural America, NCGA Notes
- Corn Board Candidate Profile: Clark Gerstacker
- Corn Crop Looking Good, NCGA Says
- New Developments Adding Structure to DDGS Market, NCGA Notes
- House Set to Markup Farm Bill Titles, NCGA Notes
- Agriculture Research Benefits Corn Industry and a Thriving Rural Economy, Notes NCGA
**********************************
NCGA Calls on Members to Engage Legislators on Farm Bill, WRDA
With Congress heading home for the traditional Memorial Day break, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is calling on its members to engage and educate their representatives on critical pieces of legislation-– namely the 2007 farm bill and the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). (More On This
Story)
Producers Offer Different Perspective on Prices, NCGA Says
A Minnesota hog producer has taken to cyberspace to challenge some popular misconceptions about the price of food. (More On This
Story) |
 |
| NCGA President Ken McCauley discussed NCGA’s farm bill priorities, ethanol and the Water Resources Development Act in a meeting this week with House Agriculture Committee member Jerry Moran (R-Kans.).
|
New Gene Technology May Improve Corn Traits, NCGA Says
It took nearly 20 years for researchers to develop the first commercial genetically enhanced corn hybrids. The next generation of genetic technology may be developed in less than half that time. (More On This
Story)
Innovation, Technology and Investment Will Grow Biofuels Industry and Rural America, NCGA Notes
The corn and growing biofuels industries continue to contribute to the nation’s economic stability, energy security and the revitalization of rural America, driving the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) to continue to see a bright future for renewable fuels. That was the message NCGA President Ken McCauley delivered at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 2007 Biofuels Dialogue Series Tuesday in Washington, D.C. (More On This
Story)
Corn Board Candidate Profile: Clark Gerstacker
Clark Gerstacker’s priorities as a member of the Corn Board are to work to embrace tradition and the values of American agriculture while pursuing new ideas and programs for the future in order to maintain profitability for producers. He would also work to protect and further develop NCGA as a respected leader in Washington, D.C., and across the United States on corn policy and its growers’ issues. (More On This
Story)
Corn Crop Looking Good, NCGA Says
More than three-quarters of the nation’s corn crop is in good to excellent condition, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s first estimates for 2007, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) said. The nation’s corn crop is now more than 90 percent planted. (More On This
Story)
New Developments Adding Structure to DDGS Market, NCGA Notes
Long considered simply a coproduct of ethanol production, distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) is increasingly being recognized as a permanent and valuable component of the U.S. feed market, according to the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). (More On This
Story)
House Set to Markup Farm Bill Titles, NCGA Notes
The long process of designing a new farm bill is under way. The House will begin its initial framework for the markup of the 2007 farm bill this week. The National Corn Growers association (NCGA) will have its eye on the Conservation Title, Energy Title and Livestock Title markups. (More On This
Story)
Agricultural Research Benefits Corn Industry and a Thriving Rural Economy, Notes NCGA
In written comments to the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research May 11, the National Corn Growers Association said federal scientific research will continue to help answer real world problems while bringing value to agricultural producers. (More On This
Story) |
AROUND THE CORN BELT
News
from State Associations
Iowa: A.J. Foyt, one of the most prominent figures in U.S. racing history, will be coming to the Iowa Corn Indy 250 on Sunday, June 24, 2007. The race is sponsored by the Iowa Corn Promotion Board and the Iowa Corn Growers Association to showcase the power and efficiency of ethanol fuel made from corn and produced by corn growers in Iowa. The IndyCar Series is running on 100% fuel-grade ethanol, not only at the Iowa Speedway on June 24, but throughout the 2007 racing season. The Iowa Corn Indy 250 will be televised worldwide by ABC on Sunday, June 24, at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Kansas: Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has signed legislation that will give a 6.5 cents per gallon tax credit to fuel retailers who meet a Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) beginning in 2009. The legislation will play a major role in increasing the use of ethanol-blended fuels and biodiesel in Kansas. The Kansas Corn Growers Association and Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association supported the creation of an RFS. Kansas currently has eight ethanol plants producing 215.5 million gallons of ethanol fuel annually. This summer two more plants, Pratt and Garden City, are expected to begin production adding an additional 105 million gallons per year, bringing the Kansas production total to 320.5 million gallons per year.
Minnesota: Corn in Minnesota was 98 percent planted, and 82 percent emerged, according to the latest crop-weather report from National Agricultural Statistics Service-Minnesota Field Office. The rapid emergence is well ahead of Minnesota's average for this date-over the past five years 42 percent of the crop has emerged at this point. At this point, not even six in ten Minnesota acres have adequate topsoil moisture. On the flip side of this lack of moisture, farmers had almost the entire week to make progress on their fieldwork. NASS rated 6.6 days of the week suitable for farm work.
Nebraska: The expansion of the ethanol industry is one way to bring jobs to rural Nebraska, but a way to add a multiplier affect to that growth is to expand the cattle industry, too. “Industry growth is a benefit to the state—but growing the cattle industry is important to rural areas and rural development,” said Dr. Terry Klopfenstein, veteran beef nutritionist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Don Hutchens, executive director of the Nebraska Corn Board, said growing Nebraska’s cattle industry compounds the growth of the ethanol industry many times over by providing numerous jobs and benefits to rural communities.
Ohio: Grants administered by the Ohio Department of Development, were approved for Leipsic (Putnam County), Fostoria (Seneca County) and The Greater Marion Community Area New Development Organization, Inc. to make infrastructure developments for ethanol production facilities. |
|
KEY ISSUES
