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March 16, 2001 * Volume 8 * Number 6
Corn
Growers Tell Congress: Complete the Mississippi River Navigation Study
and Expand Locks
NCGA has strongly
encouraged Congress to move immediately to complete the navigation study
by the U.S. Corps of Engineers and upgrade locks and dams on the Mississippi
and Illinois rivers. "Delays by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have
already given Brazil, Argentina and China an eight-year $57 million
head start in the race for future grain markets," said Tim Burrack,
Arlington, Iowa, farmer and a member of the NCGA Production and Stewardship
Action Team. "For over 20 years farmers have indirectly paid a fuel
tax to replace locks, and where are we? The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
has spent eight years and $57 million and they have absolutely nothing
to show for it." Burrack testified yesterday before the U.S. House of
Representatives' Mississippi River Caucus in the Cannon House Office
Building on Capitol Hill. The caucus, a bipartisan group of representatives
whose districts border the Mississippi River, meets regularly to discuss
common issues relating to the river. In his testimony, Burrack also
addressed:
- The importance
of more than 1 billion bushels of corn that moves on the upper Mississippi
and Illinois rivers each year.
- The findings
of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) review of the economic model
the Corps used to analyze the need for river improvements.
- The idea of trading
lockage permits and greater cooperation among barge lines to ease
congestion.
Burrack's full testimony
is posted on the NCGA web site: www.ncga.com.
Customer & Business
Development Action Team Gets Blown Away in Washington State While strong
winds blew outside, members of the NCGA Customer & Business Development
Action Team got blown away inside, getting an eyeful and earful on the
impressive work at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory, managed by Battelle
Memorial Institute, this week in Richmond, Wash. During the team's tours
at the research facilities, members were brought up to speed on the
polyols effort and work at Michigan state, and the fiber utilization
process, separation, catalysis and analytical portions of the project.
They also learned more about the 1,3-propanediol project and the fermentation
and catalysis work underway on that project. The team heard from seven
scientists at the facility, and toured several laboratories. Team members
noted Battelle's focus on renewable products. In addition, the action
team:
- Was updated on
all of its major projects.
- Was brought up
to speed on the latest developments in the NCGA ethanol marketing
program and received copies of the draft action plan.
- Reviewed budget
priorities
Grower Services
Action Team Beats the Heat in Phoenix
Membership, NCGA
web site development, leadership programs, NCGA staff changes, small
state task force and communications topped the agenda at this week's
meetings of the NCGA Grower Services Action Team in Phoenix. Action
by the Team included:
- Resolutions that
the team reconsider its position on the small states issue as it was
presented to the Corn Board; to defer the small states issue back
to the Small State Task Force for further development on how to bring
small states to NCGA with policymaking before offering them a seat
on Corn Congress; and that the Corn Board reconsider the Small State
Task Force recommendations after receiving the report from the action
team.
- A decision to
move forward with the leadership, GIMS database, Web development and
membership objectives that are outlined in the draft budget.
Production & Stewardship
Action Team Rolls on River Issues
Upper Mississippi
and Missouri river, as well as general transportation issues, where
hot topics at its meeting March 8-9 in Moline, Illinois. A good portion
of the meeting was devoted to touring John Deere's Moline facilities,
as well as Lock and Dam 15 on the Illinois River. Key topics discussed
included:
- The upper Mississippi
River status. - The next step is to regain momentum for authorization
or contingent authorization for actual lock construction for WRDA
2002, and to continue developing grass roots efforts.
- Consolidation
continues to be a major concern of rail's ability to move agricultural
commodities. NCGA must fully investigate the potential impact of this
merger on the corn industry and develop a position accordingly.
- NCGA successfully
blocked attempts by Sen. Daschle and the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service to implement a "spring rise" on the Missouri River. NCGA funded
the Coalition for Preservation of the Missouri River and will develop
a tangible goal for the Missouri River.
- NCGA is working
with ABSTC to monitor IRM changes with Bt re-registration and released
information from the ABSTC 2000 grower compliance survey.
The team also discussed
developments in the areas of hypoxia; the conservation title of the
Farm Bill/Harkin Conservation Bill; water quality - TMDLs and CAFO;
and the National Corn Yield Contest.
EPA Plans to Ease
Ethanol Blending Costs
EPA Administrator
Christie Whitman yesterday told the Speaker of the House and members
of the Illinois and Wisconsin Congressional delegations that EPA is
very close to reaching a decision that should help reduce costs for
blending ethanol into gasoline. "I am very concerned about the potential
for price increases caused by many different factors such as increased
demand and pipeline disruptions. And we don't want to see this happen
again," Whitman said. In response NCGA called Whitman's statement "a
nice first step by the EPA to provide more flexibility to blenders and
refiners." "This allows them to make cheaper blend stocks that are needed
for ethanol," said Bruce Knight, NCGA vice president of public policy.
"This is good news, but it would have been better news had it been nationwide,
rather than just Chicago and Milwaukee."
NCGA Backs Legislation
to Renew Rural America
NCGA participated
in a press conference on March 15, where two bills were introduced to
help renew rural America. Sponsored by Rep. John Thune (R-SD) with co-sponsors
Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)] and Dennis Rehberg (R-MT), the "Value-Added
Development Act for American Agriculture" would provide grants over
three years to create "Agriculture Innovation Centers," which then would
provide technical and marketing expertise to growers so they could form
producer-owned value-added enterprises, such as ethanol plants. And
the "Farmers' Value-Added Agricultural Investment Tax Credit Act" would
enable growers to become vertical integrators so that they can reach
up the agricultural marketing chain and capture the profits generated
by the processing of the commodities they grow. Darrin Ihnen, VP of
the South Dakota Corn Growers Association, said, "Both of these acts
will provide American farmers the tools they desperately need to successfully
become vertical integrators and transform themselves from price takers
to price makers." Corn growers are encouraged to contact their congressional
representative to co-sponsor these two bills.
NCGA Supports Harkin's
"Conservation Security Act"
NCGA is working
closely with Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), who will shortly introduce a draft
of his "Conservation Security Act." The bill, as proposed, would foster
productive farm operations based on conservation principles. In a letter
to Harkin, NCGA President Lee Klein said, "It is vital that programs
developed to assist in utilization of new conservation practices. .
.be flexible to allow unique differences in conservation needs across
the United States and capture conservation measures on land in production."
Reiterating NCGA's commitment to good stewardship practices, Klein urged
that conversation measures should be locally driven, voluntary and based
on incentives, and that they advance the continued productivity of the
land. "National programs need to recognize local variances in production
practices, climate, soil type, and much more in order to be successful,"
he concluded.
NCGA's Legislative
Action Center: Your One-Stop Resources for Bill Tracking
As the 107th Congress
gets up to speed, corn growers can see the bills NCGA staff are tracking
by logging onto the association's web site www.ncga.com
and then clicking on the "Legislative Action Center"
link, located on the bottom right-hand portion of the home page. From
there, follow the prompts to "Issues and Legislation," then to "Current
Legislation." You will find all the bills grouped in categories such
as "Ethanol" and "Biotechnology," among others. Our Legislative Action
Center will tell you the bill's number, name, number of sponsors and
our position (support, oppose, neutral). While you are there, take a
minute and send a note to your congressional representative supporting
the inclusion of a renewable provision in any energy bill.
Corn Growers Dominate
Leadership Positions at NEVC
The interests of
corn growers are well represented at the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition.
The group re-elected Harold Smedley (Colorado Corn Growers Association)
as chairman, and Gary Marshall (Missouri Corn Growers Association) as
Vice Chairman. NEVC works on issues such as E85. NCGA Board member Jim
Czub of Schaghticoke, NY, represented NCGA at the NEVC.
Biotech Story Raises
Questions, but Avoids Hysteria
On March 13, CBS
broadcast a "60 Minutes II" piece, "What Have They Done to Our Food?"
The program interviewed representatives of consumer groups, scientists
(pro and con), an FDA official and a Monsanto senior executive. The
verdict: it could have been a lot worse, and in fact, it was fairly
balanced. The Monsanto official said biotech crops reduce the volume
of pesticides used. And the FDA official said, "We are convinced that
the [biotech] foods out there are safe for consumers." StarLink was
discussed, and this provided an opportunity for critics to blame the
federal government for failing to update food safety laws given the
strides biotech has made. Warren Formo of Minnesota was also interviewed
for the piece. An exclusive interview with Kentucky corn growers discussing
their experiences with StarLink can be found here.
You will need software such as "RealPlayer 7" to view the web-based
video clip.
Watch for Weekly
Corn Commentary
Corn Commentary
is now published weekly by the NCGA. If you are on the NCGA distribution
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