NCGA News












December 23, 2004 * Volume 11* Number 49

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:

• NCGA: Ethanol Uses Expand to Fuel Cells
• NCGA Congratulates Chambliss on Appointments as Senate Ag Committee Chair
• Is Commodity Classic on Your Holiday Wish List?
• Government Prepares to Implement VEETC Provisions, NCGA Notes
• NCGA Corn Board Application Deadline Nearing
• Support for E-10 Continues to Expand to New Consumer Markets

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NCGA: Ethanol Uses Expand to Fuel Cells
The carbohydrate economy meets the hydrogen economy through an ongoing research project on ethanol fuel cells, the NCGA notes.
Through funding from the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, the Minnesota Corn Research and Promotion Council and the University of Minnesota’s Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment, engineers at the university have invented the first reactor capable of efficiently producing hydrogen from ethanol. (More On This Story)

NCGA President Leon Corzine, left, met recently with Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) on Capitol Hill.


NCGA Congratulates Chambliss on Appointment as Senate Ag Committee Chair

The NCGA congratulated Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) today on his recent appointment as the next chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. With the 109th Congress set to convene in January, NCGA looks forward to working with Chambliss and the committee on critical issues that affect the nation’s corn producers. (More On This Story)

 

Is Commodity Classic on Your Holiday Wish List?

Still wondering what to get that hard-to-buy-for corn or soybean grower on your Christmas list? How about tickets to the nation’s premier agricultural event? A trip to the 2005 Commodity Classic, Feb. 24-26 in Austin, Texas, makes an ideal holiday gift and will surely please the producer on your list. (More On This Story)

 

Government Prepares to Implement VEETC Provisions, NCGA Notes

The Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) signed into law by the president in October is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2005, according to the NCGA. (More On This Story)

 

NCGA Corn Board Application Deadline Nearing

The NCGA will continue to accept applications to serve on the Corn Board through Jan. 14, 2005.(More On This Story)

 

Support for E-10 Continues to Expand to New Consumer Markets

Support for ethanol-blended fuels continues to spread to new consumer markets beyond the Corn Belt, as drivers across the nation increasingly recognize the environmental and economic benefits offered by domestically produced, clean-burning renewable fuels, according to the NCGA. (More On This Story)


 

AROUND THE CORN BELT
News from State Associations

ILLINOIS: The Illinois Corn Growers Association and Illinois Soybean Checkoff Board are sponsoring workshops designed to help growers make decisions about participating in specialty crop contracts. Workshop dates and locations are: Jan.18, Starved Rock Banquet Center, LaSalle-Peru; Jan. 19, American Legion Hall, Lincoln; and Jan. 20, Holiday Inn (I-55 & Rt. 108), Carlinville. Registration for each workshop opens at 8:30 a.m. The programs begin at 9:00 a.m.

 

MISSOURI: On Dec. 16, the new Mobil On the Run at 1710 North Bishop in Rolla, Missouri not only celebrated the grand opening of their new facility, but they also celebrated the opening of the city's first E85 fueling pump and tank. The new E85 tank and pump is a collaboration of efforts between the Mobil On the Run, the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition and the Missouri Corn Growers Association

 

IOWA: Naturally Iowa, LLC, is pioneering the use of corn-based polylactic acid (PLA) in milk bottles with the assistance of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB). “We milk the cows … and grow the bottles” is the company’s theme as it works toward having PLA-bottled milk on shelves in southwestern Iowa by late 2004 or early 2005. The longer-range target is to begin marketing Naturally Iowa (NI) products in the Ames, Des Moines, and Omaha areas within another six months.

 

SOUTH DAKOTA: The joint annual meeting of the South Dakota Corn Growers Association and the South Dakota Soybean Association will be a premier event at the Sioux Falls Convention Center on Jan. 8, 2005. A high-powered lineup of speakers and entertainment will be on tap for the event which is expected to draw up to 600 producers, industry leaders and others.

 

NORTH DAKOTA: The North Dakota Corn Utilization Council says it will consider possible changes in how the levy is collected, hoping to head off a legislative overhaul. The council met Tuesday to discuss a move by the North Dakota Stockmen's Association to seek changes in the checkoff, said Jocie Iszler, executive director of the corn group. Council members met earlier this month with the Stockmen's Feeder Council, which promotes cattle feeding operations.


 

Of Special Interest:

To View Your Local Weather Forecast, (Click Here)

Next Week:

Dec. 31 NCGA’s Offices in Washington, D.C. and St. Louis will be closed for New Year holiday.

More calendar information is available on the NCGA Leader Resource Center, http://www.insidencga.com

© 2004 National Corn Growers Association



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