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 Says “King Corn” Film an Attempt to Sway Farm Bill
Increase in Corn Harvest, Supplies Forecast
Corn Harvest Proceeding Rapidly, NCGA Notes
Agriculture Secretary Says Oil, Weather Drive Food Prices, Not Ethanol
NCGA, Farm Groups Ask President Bush to Push for Trade Reform
America's Heartland Launches New Season Highlighting Farmers and Ranchers
From This Week’s Blog: King Corn Movie Review
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NCGA Says “King Corn” Film an Attempt to Sway Farm Bill
NCGA says the film “King Corn” may be an interesting idea for a movie, but, unfortunately, does little to cultivate real knowledge about agricultural production. The film, which premieres in theaters today, is an attempt to influence the farm bill, a federal law that governs the nation’s farm policy. Film makers Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney based an unsubstantiated assault on the corn industry on their experience growing one acre of corn. Corn growers planted more than 93 million acres in 2007. “This film could have been an excellent vehicle to educate viewers on the lives, dedication, and strong work ethic of corn growers nationwide,” said National Corn Growers Association president Ron Litterer, a resident of Greene, Iowa—the site of the film. “Unfortunately it fails to communicate to its viewers the efforts by corn growers to develop new markets for the crop.” Click here for NCGA’s position on farm policy.
Increase in Corn Harvest, Supplies Forecast
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) again raised its estimate for this year’s corn crop, said NCGA. In its crop production and supply and demand estimates released Friday morning, USDA forecasts corn production at 13.318 billion bushels, 10 million bushels more than last month’s estimates. The average yield is now projected to be 154.7 bushels per acre, the second best on record. Total U.S. corn supplies are projected to be a record 14.6 billion bushels. USDA estimates that during the 2007-2008 market year, 3.2 billion bushels of corn will be used for ethanol and 2.35 billion bushels will be exported. Click here for the current USDA supply and demand report. Click here for the current crop production report.
Corn Harvest Proceeding Rapidly, NCGA Notes Warm, dry weather throughout much of the country has accelerated corn maturity and helped growers get there crop in faster, notes NCGA. Figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) show more than 95 percent of the crop has reached maturity, a rate faster than historical averages. Harvest also is running far ahead of average in most areas. Current estimates show more than 40 percent of the crop is already harvested. This is a much higher figure than last year’s 31 percent or the five-year average of 30 percent. The speed at which the crop is maturing is helping to bear out high yield predictions. On Sept. 12, USDA estimated that the 2007 crop yield would reach 155.8 bu. per acre. That would be the second highest U.S. corn yield ever, exceeded only by 2004’s yield of 160.4 bu. per acre. Total production this year was estimated at 13.3 billion bushels.
AROUND THE CORN BELT News
from State Associations
Iowa: Cuba can become a more important market for Iowa’s agricultural commodities, according to representatives of the Iowa Corn Growers Association and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board who traveled to Cuba with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey.
“For the last decade, Iowa Corn and the Iowa Department of Agriculture (IDALS) have led a sustained effort to increase food and feed sales to Cuba,” said Craig Floss, Iowa Corn chief executive officer. “Last market year, 95% of Cuba’s corn imports came from the U.S. That is real progress, given the legal restrictions on U.S.-Cuba trade.” Iowa Corn’s Cuba effort began with a humanitarian food donation in 1998.
Minnesota: The Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) board of directors met recently and elected Roger Moore president for the coming year. Also elected were Doug Albin of Clarkfield, vice president; DeVonna Zeug of Walnut Grove, treasurer; and Tim Dolan of Gaylord, secretary. The new officers' terms are effective
October 1
Nebraska: Cattle producers in Nebraska have seen cost advantages in feeding cattle increase over the past year, first due to better access to corn without transportation costs and now due to increased supplies of distillers grains. Industry reports indicate that the cost of gain in Texas and the Southern Plains is running in the neighborhood of $72-77 per hundredweight. Numbers crunched through the University of Nebraska’s Cattle CODE (Co-product Optimizer Decision Evaluator) estimate the cost of gain in Nebraska to be around $65-66 per hundredweight for a traditional corn-based ration without distillers grains.
Agriculture Secretary Says Oil, Weather Drive Food Prices, Not Ethanol
Acting U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Conner said last week that higher corn prices are only a small factor behind higher food prices. In a speech to the Renewable Fuels Association, Conner said, “The data that has been presented to me shows that it (higher corn prices) has been assigned far more than its fair share of blame for what is happening in our grocery store aisles.” Conner noted that droughts in Europe, Asia and Australia have reduced yields in those areas, while demand for milk and dairy products in Asia has increased. The rising cost of oil, he added, affects processing, packaging, distribution and marketing costs. “A much, much greater impact than higher grain prices as a result of ethanol,” he said. Conner’s remarks bear out other food price studies, said NCGA President Ron Litterer. “It’s good the secretary is talking about this,” he commented. “Numerous independent studies show there is only a slight link between what corn growers receive for their crops and what consumers pay for their food. We’ll have a record harvest this year, and there’s plenty of corn to meet the demand for both food and fuel.” In his speech, Conner pointed out that the amount of corn being fed to livestock has actually increased, despite the growing demand for corn-based ethanol. “In addition to meeting all our demands for ethanol, the corn farmers in this country put out enough to actually increase the number of bushels of corn available for feed,” he said. U.S. Department of Agriculture economists predict food prices will moderate to a more normal rate of increase in 2008. “That would be in keeping with the historical patterns that we had seen prior to (increased demand for ethanol),” Conner said. For a complete transcript of Conner’s speech, click here.
NCGA, Farm Groups Ask President Bush to Push for Trade Reform
Proposed cuts in farm programs need to be balanced with improved trade opportunities for U.S. crops, including corn. That was the message of a letter NCGA and other groups sent to President George W. Bush. Groups representing a dozen different agricultural commodities asked the president to correct what they called a “severe imbalance” between proposed cuts in federal support for agriculture and weak or non-specific concessions by trade partners to remove barriers to their markets. “(T)he level of ambition in cutting trade distorting domestic support must be commensurate with the level of ambition in obtaining access to both developed and developing country markets,” the letter said. “Unfortunately, the current text for the agriculture negotiations proposes to further reduce U.S. domestic support well below the U.S. offer of October 2005, while the ranges for overall tariff cuts are set lower than those proposed by the United States. Even more troubling, the current agriculture text does not address key measures that could seriously erode any market access gains.” Without significant improvements in the current World Trade Organization negotiations, the groups said, there is “little hope of achieving balance between what the U.S. is being asked to give up in reduced domestic support and what our trading partners are offering on increased market access.” The groups cautioned the president that correcting the current flaws in the U.S. position was essential for continued support by agriculture for a new trade agreement. Click here to read the entire letter to President Bush.
America's Heartland Launches New Season Highlighting Farmers and Ranchers
America's Heartland, the weekly public television series that celebrates the contributions of America's farmers and ranchers, has launched its third season. NCGA is one of the program’s partners. Twenty-two new half-hour segments will be featured in the magazine-style program this year. This season will profile five members of a hard-working North Dakota ranch family located in a remote corner of the state; a young Kansas farmer who's laboring to keep his family's farm going; a Las Vegas casino buffet operation that illustrates the farm-to-consumer connection on a very large scale; and an Anchorage, Alaska innovator who figures out something profitable to do with the scraps from the state's salmon industry. By the middle of the third season, America's Heartland will have profiled unforgettable people, places and products of U.S. agriculture in all 50 states. Produced by KVIE, the public television affiliate in Sacramento, America's Heartland is available on many PBS stations across the U.S. and on RFD-TV, and each story is streamed to the program website,http://www.americasheartland.org/. Last year, the show reached over one million consumers. In addition to NCGA, the program is made possible with funding from Monsanto Company and the American Farm Bureau Federation.
From This Week’s Blog:King Corn Movie Review The only way you get that fat off is to eat less and exercise more.–Jack La Lanne
Exercise guru Jack La Lanne may be having a comeback, if his ads for Target are any indication. The 20 somethings out there might not know who Jack is, but his messages on diet and exercise have endured. You can bet that Momma still tells the kids to eat their vegetables, drink their milk and play outside. Balance. That’s the key. Apparently the creators of the junk movie “King Corn” didn’t get the message. This 90-minute movie (which is about 60 minutes too long) missed its opportunity to inform audiences on the contributions of U.S. farming. Instead, the movie is a poor attempt to influence the farm bill debate under way in Congress. Not surprising, slow-food movement advocate Michael Pollan was an advisor to the project, so says a New York Times article on the creation of movie. Much of the movie replays Pollan’s worn out mantra that corn is the cause of obesity. Our suggestion? Save the $8 you’d spend on a ticket for this movie. Stay home with a rental of “Field of Dreams.”
Next Week
October 15-17:
Cellulosic Ethanol Summit in Washington, D.C.
October 15:
NCGA Vie President of Public Policy Jon Doggett and Public Policy Director DaNita Murray attend the American Farm Bureau Conference in Washington, D.C.
KEY ISSUES
