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July
25, 2003 * Volume 10* Number 29
NCGA's
Mission: To Create and Increase Opportunities
for Corn Growers in a Changing World
This is Corn Commentary,
the weekly newsletter for state and national grower leaders of the National
Corn Growers Association (NCGA) available via the U.S. Postal Service.
For complete stories and updated NCGA information, visit www.ncga.com
or the NCGA Leader Resource Center, www.insidencga.com.
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| Biotech Working
Group Vice-Chair Helen Inman inspects the corn in an experimental
field at the Syngenta Seeds laboratory in Stanton, Minn., during
the BWG's meeting this week. |
IN THIS ISSUE:
- NCGA
Pleased Senate to Resume Work on Energy Bill
- NCGA
Discusses Natural Gas Prices with Interior Secretary Norton
- Water
Resources Development Act (WRDA) Sails Through House Committee
- Aug.
1 Final Deadline for NCGA National Corn Yield Contest
- NCGA
Members, Ag Secretary Veneman Discuss Future of Agriculture
- New study
analyzes pesticide exposure among farm families
- NCGA
Attends PRX World Grain Workshop; Fertilizer Prices Key Topic
- NCGA
Pleased With Grains Council’s Asian DDGS Promotion Efforts
- NCGA
Hosts Japanese Grain Reps; Discuss Exports, Biotech
- NCGA-Sponsored
AgriTalk Pump Tour Stops in South Dakota
NCGA
Pleased Senate to Resume Work on Energy Bill
The Senate Republican
leadership has pledged to finalize its energy bill (S. 14) prior to
the chamber’s Aug. 4 recess. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist
(R-Tenn.) and Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) maintain
that the chamber will not adjourn until an energy bill is passed out
of the Senate. (More
On This Story)
NCGA
Discusses Natural Gas Prices with Interior Secretary Norton
National Corn Growers
Association (NCGA) Vice President of Public Policy Jon Doggett met Monday
with U.S. Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton to discuss the impact
of high natural gas prices on the corn industry. (More
On This Story)
Water
Resources Development Act (WRDA) Sails Through House Committee
The National Corn
Growers Association (NCGA) was pleased Wednesday when the Water Resources
Development Act (WRDA) of 2003, or H.R. 2557, sailed through the U.S.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The measure was unanimously
approved by voice vote. (More
On This Story)
Aug.
1 Final Deadline for NCGA National Corn Yield Contest
The Aug. 1 deadline
for the 2003 National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) National Corn
Yield Contest is fast approaching. So far, 1,313 corn growers nationwide
have registered for the contest, an increase over last year's number
of 1,195 at this time last year. NCGA is estimating up to 2,000 more
entries over the next week. (More
On This Story)
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| National Corn
Growers Association (NCGA) members (from left) Mark Schwiebert,
Bill Horan and Loren Tusa met with Secretary of Agriculture Ann
Veneman (center) in Washington, D.C. last week to discuss the economic
forces changing agriculture and possible scenarios the future might
hold. |
NCGA
Members, Ag Secretary Veneman Discuss Future of Agriculture
What will the next
farm bill look like? Will closed loop cooperatives, high-value agriculture
clusters and strategic investments in rural development be part of the
landscape of agriculture in the future? (More
On This Story)
New
study analyzes pesticide exposure among farm families
A new study conducted
by researchers at the University of Minnesota shows that farm families
can have very low exposure to pesticides used on their farms if they
exercise good judgment and follow label instructions. (More
On This Story)
NCGA
Attends PRX World Grain Workshop; Fertilizer Prices Key Topic
The National Corn
Growers Association (NCGA) are among several agriculture organizations
and representatives attending ProExporter's (PRX) World Grain Workshop
in Kansas City today. Topics to be covered include the outlook on ethanol,
a look at the world grain trade and U.S. exports, and the natural gas
situation and its impact on fertilizer prices. (More
On This Story)
NCGA
Pleased With Grains Council’s Asian DDGS Promotion Efforts
NCGA is pleased
with U.S. Grain Council’s (USGC) efforts to promote Distillers
Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) in Taiwan are starting to take shape.
Two Taiwanese companies are expected to begin conducting feed trials
of DDGS in August, the results of which are expected in October.
In recent months,
the Council has conducted seminars in Taiwan to promote DDGS. The education
efforts prompted feed milling company, Charoen Pokphand Enterprise to
purchase 50 metric tons of DDGS to conduct feeding trials for swine
and poultry. Likewise, Lin-Fen-Ying Dairy Farm will conduct feeding
trials for dairy cattle utilizing 3.5 tons of DDGS donated by the Council.
If the trials prove
to be successful and if the price of DDGS is competitive, Taiwan’s
market could handle 300,000 to 400,000 tons of DDGS in the future, Grains
Council’s Taiwan office staff projects. USGC has worked to promote
DDGS not only in Taiwan, but around the world. For example, they have
worked in Japan to revise the country’s feed ingredient nutrition
table as it relates to DDGS.
USGC has also promoted
the corn co-product on a recent trip to Australia and, as a result,
a representative of Australian feed ingredient importer, Hunter Grain,
attended the Council’s annual membership conference in Minneapolis
July 18-23 to learn more about the uses and applications of DDGS.
--Information
Provided by U.S. Grains Council
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| NCGA Director
of Development Tom Slunecka (left) spoke to a contingent of Japanese
grain directors and managers Friday at NCGA's office in Chesterfield,
Mo. The Japanese nationals were in St. Louis to disseminate accurate
information on customer-oriented U.S. grains, biotechnology, ethanol
industry and co-products. |
NCGA-Sponsored
AgriTalk Pump Tour Stops in South Dakota
AgriTalk host Mike
Adams and representatives from the South Dakota Corn Growers Association
(SDCGA) broadcasted live and pumped gas from Ranch Mart, 520 Birch Ave.,
in Rapid City, S.D., Friday. (More
On This Story)
Of
Special Interest:
To View the July, 2003, Corn Congress Photo Album, Click HERE!
NCGA
THIS WEEK
- June
28-30 NCGA Vice President of Research and Business Development Dr.
Richard Glass will be in Lansing, Mich., visiting the Michigan Corn
Growers Association
- June
30 NCGA President Fred Yoder will speak at the Monsanto Center of
Excellence in Van Buren, Ohio
More calendar information
is available on the NCGA Leader Resource Center, http://www.insidencga.com.
© 2003 National
Corn Growers Association
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