June 11, 2004 * Volume 11* Number 22

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). For complete stories and updated NCGA information, visit www.ncga.com or the NCGA Leader Resource Center, www.insidencga.com.

IN THIS ISSUE:

• USDA Economist to CUTC Attendees: Net Energy Value of Ethanol Continues to Increase
• NCGA Responds to Exxon Chair’s Misconceptions on Net Energy Balance of Ethanol
• New USDA Grants Available for Value-Added Agribusiness, Renewable Energy Ventures
• NCGA Urges EPA Administrator Leavitt Not to Grant Waivers
• NCGA Kicks Off Photo Contest, Encourages Member Participation
• NCGA, Pioneer Hi-Bred Sign Letter of Intent to Provide Ethanol Rapid Assay to Industry
• NCGA Urges Members to Stand Up for Lock Modernization at Corps Hearings
• StarLink Settlement Closer to Resolution, Law Firm Says
• Biotech Working Group Meets in Chicago to Discuss Policy
• NCGA, USGC Expect Trade to Stabilize in Taiwan

Wendell Shauman, an Illinois corn grower and member of the NCGA Research and Business Development Action Team, looks at technical posters Tuesday at the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference in Indianapolis.

USDA Economist to CUTC Attendees: Net Energy Value of Ethanol Continues to Increase
Preliminary findings of a new study on the net energy balance of ethanol indicate ethanol produces 67 percent more energy than it takes to generate. The study, “The 2001 Net Energy Balance of Corn-Ethanol,” was presented Tuesday at the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference (CUTC) by Hosein Shapouri, a U.S. Department of Agriculture economist. (More On This Story)

NCGA Responds to Exxon Chair’s Misconceptions on Net Energy Balance of Ethanol
NCGA yesterday sent a letter to Exxon Mobil Corporation Chairman and CEO Lee Raymond dispelling several inaccuracies he made during a speech concerning U.S. dependence on foreign oil. (More On This Story)

New USDA Grants Available for Value-Added Agribusiness, Renewable Energy Ventures
NCGA applauds Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman’s announcement this week that $13.2 million in grants is available to support value-added agriculture business development. The grants are an integral element of the administration’s plan to research and develop alternative renewable energy sources. (More On This Story)

NCGA Urges EPA Administrator Leavitt Not to Grant Waivers
In a letter today to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Leavitt, the NCGA urged the agency to deny Clean Air Act waiver requests from California and New York and instead support a national Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) that would continue to grow the ethanol market and revitalize rural America. (More On This Story)

NCGA Kicks Off Photo Contest, Encourages Member Participation
NCGA invites its members, their families, affiliated state organization members and employees to showcase the nation’s top crop through the NCGA “Gallery of Corn” Photo Contest. A grand prize of $500 will be awarded as well as cash prizes in each category.(More On This Story)

NCGA, Pioneer Hi-Bred Sign Letter of Intent To Provide Ethanol Rapid Assay to Industry
In a move toward providing the ethanol industry with a standard platform for measuring the fermentation characteristics of corn, the NCGA and Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., today signed a letter of intent for Pioneer to donate a tool designed to quickly quantify the ethanol yield potential of corn grain in the dry-grind process. (More On This Story)

NCGA Urges Members to Stand Up for Lock Modernization at Corps Hearings
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ final series of public hearings on the upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers navigation study begins today in Davenport, Iowa, representing the last chance for corn growers to voice their support of badly needed lock modernization initiatives. (More On This Story)

StarLink Settlement Closer to Resolution, Law Firm Says
Members of the NCGA who filed claims last year as part of the class action lawsuit against StarLink corn may soon receive compensation for their losses, according to the legal firm handling the case. (More On This Story)

Biotech Working Group Chair Helen Inman, standing, addresses growers and industry representatives at a meeting in Chicago last week.

Biotech Working Group Meets in Chicago to Discuss Policy
Many of the industry’s top seed companies and grain handlers met with the NCGA Biotechnology Working Group (BWG) in Chicago last week to discuss NCGA’s biotech policy and issues affecting the industry. (More On This Story)

NCGA, USGC Expect Trade to Stabilize in Taiwan
The U.S. Grains Council and NCGA are pleased trade with Taiwan will stabilize now that the Taiwanese government has reinstated a ban on Chinese corn imports. The Board of Foreign Trade announced a temporary lifting of the ban from March 24 to May 24. During that time, a 22,000-ton shipment of Chinese corn arrived in Taiwan and ultimately disrupted trade there. “While the landed cost of U.S. corn is about NT$7.2 per kilogram currently, the Chinese corn is allegedly being offered at lower than NT$6.0 per kilogram, thus forcing U.S. corn prices to go down to about NT$6.5 per kilogram,” explained C.M. Lynn, the Council’s director in Taipei. “Most feed millers who import U.S. corn are very unhappy with the government policy allowing the ban on China corn imports to be lifted suddenly as it allows imports of small quantities of Chinese corn to disrupt an otherwise orderly marketing system.” Currently U.S. corn enjoys about 95 percent of Taiwan’s market share. The country imported 4.3 million metric tons (169.3 million bushels) of U.S. corn in 2002/03.
Story courtesy of U.S. Grains Council

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© 2004 National Corn Growers Association

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