NCGA Ethanol Committee Chair Duane Adams discussed rising energy costs and international competition for fossil fuels at last week’s American Coalition for Ethanol meeting.

NCGA’s Adams Addresses World Energy Crisis at ACE Meeting
Duane Adams, chair of the NCGA Ethanol Committee, discussed the mounting world energy crisis and restated the importance of a national energy policy that promotes the use of renewable energy sources last week at the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) annual meeting in Duluth, Minn. (More On This Story)

NCGA Signs on to Petition Requesting Stay of ‘No-Fax’ Rules
The NCGA recently added its name to a petition calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to extend a stay on the implementation of new rules regarding the use of facsimiles. In 2003, the FCC adopted language that would require an association or business to receive written consent from potential fax recipients before faxing any information. In response to opposition from the business and association community, the regulation was stayed until Jan. 1, 2005. (More On This Story)

Tour Gives NCGA Members an Opportunity to Voice Support for Lock Modernization
Corn growers in the Upper Mississippi Basin have one last opportunity to personally voice their support of the Army Corps of Engineers’ lock modernization and ecosystem restoration plan released in May, according to the NCGA. (More On This Story)

NCGA Promotes Corn Grower Issues During Illinois Congressional Staff Tour
NCGA Director of Public Policy Samantha Slater joined several Illinois congressional staffers on a state tour last week that highlighted the importance of modernization of the nation’s waterways system and updated staffers on other issues important to corn growers. (More On This Story)

MISSOURI: Thanks to mild summer weather, the 2004 Missouri State Fair has been drawing record crowds to Sedalia the past week. Missouri Corn Grower Association farmer-leaders and staff attended the annual Governor's Ham Breakfast on Thursday, and had a chance to meet face-to-face with candidates for Missouri's top leadership positions, including incumbents Senator Kit Bond (R), Congressman Kenny Hulshof (R), and Congressman Ike Skelton (D), as well as candidates for Governor: Secretary of State Matt Blunt (R) and State Auditor Claire McCaskill.

TEXAS: Cargill announced plans to idle its corn processing facility in Dimmitt, Texas, in September. Company leaders cited poor returns in the high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) business. Cargill operates six HFCS manufacturing facilities in the United Stares. According to the company, employment at the Dimmitt site will be significantly reduced by elimination of contract workers.

ILLINOIS: The Opportunity Returns grant, which comes from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s (DCEO) Office of Coal Development, allowed Royster-Clark Nitrogen, Inc. in East Dubuque to begin the development process that will ultimately supplant natural gas with coal gasification as its source of energy for fertilizer production. The shift will pay huge dividends, as well as stimulate the economic vitality of the Northwest region, greatly reducing the plant’s cost of doing business and eventually creating more than a 100 new plant jobs, more than 100 coal mining jobs, and about 1000 construction jobs in all.

KANSAS: The Kansas Corn Commission (KCC) hosted Japanese executives from the Daiei supermarket chain and meat import company Marubeni Corp. for breakfast and a day of meetings in early August. The visit was sponsored by the US Meat Export Federation. The Japanese executives met with Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky as well as officials from the KCC, Kansas Department of Commerce, Kansas Livestock Association and Kansas Beef Council.

MINNESOTA: During the three days of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) convention, held in Duluth Aug. 10 through 12, two local outlets for E85 held promotional events where they sold the renewable motor vehicle fuel for 85 cents a gallon, all day for three days. The response exceeded the expectations of seasoned renewable fuels marketing experts and has resulted in an ongoing surge in interest in the Duluth area.