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July
15, 2005 * Volume 12 * Number 27
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 Calls Next Steps Critical as Energy Conferees are Appointed
• Grassley Speaks to NCGA Corn Congress
• NCGA Honors Rep. John Shimkus with President’s Award
• House Passage of WRDA Sends Strong Message, Notes NCGA
• CAFTA-DR Remains Hot Topic on Capitol Hill
• NCGA Corn Congress Elects Boards Member, Ratifies McCauley
as First Vice President
• As Farm Bill Forums Are Announced, Administration Plans More
Active Role, NCGA Notes
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NCGA
Calls Next Steps Critical as Energy Conferees are Appointed (7-15-05)
The
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) called appointment of House
energy bill conferees yesterday another critical step toward securing
a comprehensive energy bill that includes the use of domestic renewable
fuels for the United States. (More
On This Story)
Grassley
Speaks to NCGA Corn Congress (7-15-05)
Sen.
Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee,
spoke about energy, the Central American-Dominican Republic Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA-DR) and farm program payments at the National Corn
Growers Association’s (NCGA) Corn Congress on Thursday in Washington,
D.C. Grassley, the Senate’s only working family farmer, has been
a supporter of corn growers throughout his tenure in Congress.
(More
On This Story)
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| Rep.
John Shimkus, left, accepts the NCGA President's Award from
NCGA President Leon Corzine. |
NCGA
Honors Rep. John Shimkus with President’s Award (7-14-05)
The
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) today presented Rep.
John Shimkus (R-Ill.) with its prestigious 2005 President’s
Award for his active support and leadership on key grower issues.
(More
On This Story)
House
Passage of WRDA Sends Strong Message, Notes NCGA (7-14-05)
Overwhelming
House passage today of the Water Resources Development Act of
2005 (WRDA) illustrates the recognition of the need for upgrading
our aging inland waterways system, noted the National Corn Growers
Association (NCGA). The House today passed HR. 2864 by a vote
of 406 – 14.
(More
On This Story)
CAFTA-DR
Remains Hot Topic on Capitol Hill (7-14-05)
The
Central American – Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement
(CAFTA-DR) took center stage Wednesday at the National Corn Growers
Association (NCGA) Corn Congress in Washington, D.C., and on Capitol
Hill.
(More
On This Story)
NCGA
Corn Congress Elects Board Members, Ratifies McCauley as First
Vice President (7-14-05)
The
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) ratified Ken McCauley,
a corn grower from White Cloud, Kan., as its first vice president
and elected members to its Corn Board during its Corn Congress
in Washington, D.C., Wednesday. (More
On This Story)
As
Farm Bill Forums Are Announced, Administration Plans More Active
Role, NCGA Notes (7-12-05)
Agriculture
Secretary Mike Johanns last week held the first Farm Bill Forum
in Nashville, Tenn., where discussions centered on the direction
of future farm policy. Johanns also used the forum to announce
the Bush administration’s plans to play a more aggressive
role in drafting the 2007 farm bill than it did in the Farm Security
and Rural Investment Act of 2002. (More
On This Story)
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AROUND
THE CORN BELT
News
from State Associations
Michigan:
Where can you find the newest corn-based products, a stove
that generates heat from corn and an ethanol-powered snowmobile?
Stop by Tent A at the 2005 Ag Expo and visit the Corn Marketing
Program of Michigan (CMPM) and Michigan Corn Growers Association
(MCGA) booth for lots of great information and giveaways.
This year the CMPM and the MCGA are working with the Michigan
Soybean Promotion Committee and Michigan Soybean Association
to bring Ag Expo attendees a collaborated “biobased
products” booth with everything from soy yarn bracelets
to ethanol-blended gas card giveaways. The 25th annual Ag
Expo, held July 19-21 on the campus of Michigan State University
(MSU). The focus of the event is on Michigan’s agricultural
industry and technological advancements within the field.
Minnesota: Will
the next farm bill continue the shift from the 'amber box'
to the 'green box,' emphasizing conservation incentives and
rewards instead of payments that make up for fallen commodity
prices? Will the next farm bill allow farmers to gear their
choices to market and other economic conditions, as the 2002
Farm Bill has? Sens. Mark Dayton and Norm Coleman have been
invited, along with Reps. Gil Gutknecht and Collin Peterson,
to discuss these issues with the audience at the first forum
of 2005 FarmFest, the largest open-air agricultural education
and tradeshow in the upper Midwest. FarmFest takes place this
year Aug. 2-4, at Gilfillan Estate, seven miles southeast
of Redwood Falls.
South Dakota: The
South Dakota Corn Utilization Council will showcase South
Dakota’s dried distillers grains (DDGS) industry to
a Taiwanese trade delegation when they tour the state on July
18. The main objective of the tour is to promote the value
of feeding DDGS and the outstanding quality of South Dakota
produced DDG to potential international buyers. The team includes
representatives of the feed mill industry and traders as well
as three major livestock/poultry producers and producers’
coops. The team is looking for reliable suppliers for high
quality DDGS to fill a potential market need of 400,000 MT
per year of DDGS with 70 to 80 percent expected to come from
the United States.
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Of
Special Interest:
Next
Week:
| July
19 |
NCGA President Leon Corzine at Biotech
Media Event with Monsanto in Jerseyville, Ill. |
More calendar information
is available on the NCGA Leader Resource Center, http://www.insidencga.com
© 2005 National
Corn Growers Association
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