IN THIS ISSUE:

• NCGA Urges Growers to Take Advantage of EPA Bt Registration Extension
• NCGA Urges Corn Growers: Tell Congress to Pass TPA
• EPA Report Sides With NCGA on Monarch Butterflies
• NCGA Applauds Formation of Coalition to Protect the Missouri River
• NCGA Representatives Meet with DOE Officials
• NCGA Concerned That Shrinking Budget Surplus Casts Uncertainty on Farm Bill
• NCGA Livestock Mgr. Attends MCR&PC Meeting
• Bioenergy Program Seeks FY '02 Participants During September 4-28
• Congressional Leaders Cite Tight Fall Legislative Calendar
• Strong Messages Reaps Big Increase In Membership

NCGA Urges Growers to Take Advantage of EPA Bt Re-registration Extension
The EPA published a formal announcement of an extension of the comment period on the registration of Bacillus thruingiensis (Bt) corn and cotton plant-incorporated protectants on its website Sunday. The new due date is Monday, Sept. 10. More info...

NCGA Urges Corn Growers: Tell Congress to Pass TPA
No sector of the U.S. economy is more dependent on trade than agriculture -- and corn growers are no exception to that rule. One of every five rows of U.S. corn is exported, and exports of other value-added products such as meat, dairy, poultry, corn gluten feed, corn syrup and biodegradable plastics add to the importance of foreign markets for U.S. corn producers. That's why NCGA strongly supports Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). More info...

EPA Report Sides With NCGA on Monarch Butterflies
EPA has released a report stating Bacillus thruingiensis (Bt) corn poses little risk to monarch butterflies, putting to rest controversy stemming from a two-year-old Cornell University study that asserted the Bt pollen was harmful to monarchs. More info...

NCGA Applauds Formation of Coalition to Protect the Missouri River
Leaders of 20 major Midwest agriculture, business, utility, industrial and navigation entities, including the NCGA, recently announced the formation of the Coalition to Protect the Missouri River (CPR). CPR is a coalition created to represent the diverse interests of organizations who support responsible management of Missouri River resources. CPR opposes any major changes in the management of the Missouri River that adversely affects congressionally authorized uses. More info...

DID YOU KNOW??
http://www.ncga.com offers up-to-date Ag News, Weather and Market information. Customize weather information to your local area. Check it out!

NCGA Representatives Meet with DOE Officials
Officials from the NCGA met with Deputy Assistant Secretary for Industrial Technologies at the Department of Energy Denise Swink and Technical Lead for Agriculture and Biobased Products Mark Paster Tuesday at the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. More info...

NCGA Concerned That Shrinking Budget Surplus Casts Uncertainty on Farm Bill
With Congress back in Washington this week, speculation is running rampant over the ramifications that the declining budget surplus will have on the farm bill and other high-profile legislative initiatives. More info...

NCGA Livestock Mgr. Attends MCR&PC Meeting
NCGA Livestock Programs and Information Manager Tracy Snider met with the Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council last week to discuss the current status and potential of the livestock industry and what that means to the nation's corn growers. More info...

Bioenergy Program Seeks FY '02 Participants During September 4-28
USDA's Bioenergy program, which aims to increase industrial consumption of agricultural commodities by promoting the use of these commodities in bioenergy production, announced that signup for the program will run from Sept. 4-28, 2001, for FY 2002 payments. The USDA program will make up to $150 million in payments to commercial bioenergy producers who increase their bioenergy production from eligible commodities between Oct. 1, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2002. Payments will be determined based on bioenergy production increases from eligible commodities compared with the same period one year earlier. This program is for ethanol and biodiesel producers, and a few of the eligible commodities are corn, soybeans, barley, and grain sorghum.

Congressional Leaders Cite Tight Fall Legislative Calendar
In interviews this week, Hill leaders kept expectations low when they said time constraints will not likely allow Congress to accomplish much in the next several weeks. Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) said earlier this week that only 12 days in September are available for votes, due in part to Congress' post-Labor Day start and Jewish holidays. When asked what the Senate would address beyond the appropriations bills, Daschle cited energy, minimum wage increase, prescription drugs, mental health parity and hate crimes. Referring to this legislative agenda as a "wish list," Daschle later said he could not guarantee all these issues would be addressed, and its possible they might not get addressed until next spring. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) pointed to "a short legislative span in September" when he said a vote on trade promotion authority (TPA) is not likely to be scheduled until October.

Strong Messages Reaps Big Increase In Membership
The hard work of growers in August has led to a big increase in NCGA membership. "10 states had an increase of 10 or more members for August," said Byron Keelin, manager, membership services for NCGA. "This led to an increase of 328 new members from July. More info...

NCGA THIS WEEK

• Sept. 10-11 -- NCGA offices closed for all-staff meeting in St. Louis
• Sept. 13 - NCGA Biotech Working Group Chairman Fred Yoder will attend Husker Harvest Days in Grand Island, Nebraska.

ST. LOUIS OFFICE

WASHINGTON D.C. OFFICE