IN THIS ISSUE:

• NCGA Represented at U.S. Grains Council Biotechnology Conference in Singapore
• NCGA, Allied Ag Groups Register Their Opposition to Rep. Kind's Conservation Amendment
• NCGA, ASA Join Forces to Secure Additional Farm Bill Funding
• NCGA Coalition Letter Requests Senate Support of Renewable Fuels Standard
• International Relations Committee Reviews Trade Title of Farm Bill
• NCGA Submits Comments on Water Quality Issue, TMDL Extension
• NCGA Membership Recruitment Kickoff Meeting Postponed

NCGA Represented at U.S. Grains Council Biotechnology Conference in Singapore
Vic Miller, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Customer & Business Development Action Team chairman, and NCGA member Mark Schweers represented NCGA at a U.S. Grains Council Asia-wide biotechnology conference Sept. 5-7 in Singapore.

NCGA, Allied Ag Groups Register Their Opposition to Rep. Kind's Conservation Amendment
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and several commodity group allies have joined together to oppose conservation-related amendments to the House-crafted farm bill that would reallocate money from the commodity title to the conservation title.

NCGA, ASA Join Forces to Secure Additional Farm Bill Funding
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and the American Soybean Association (ASA) have expressed their concerns to members of Congress regarding amendments the groups believe would undermine passage of H.R. 2646, the Farm Security Act.

NCGA Coalition Letter Requests Senate Support of Renewable Fuels Standard
The National Corn Growers is leading a coalition of ethanol supporters in asking all members of the Senate to support S. 1006, the Hagel-Johnson bill. This legislation would establish a renewable fuel standard in the energy bill, and as currently written, would exceed NCGA's goal of tripling the size of the U.S. ethanol industry over the next decade. The letter indicates that nearly 60 percent of our total oil use consists of imports, adding that ethanol's supporters have ranked inclusion of a renewable fuels standard for the U.S. motor fuels market as its number one priority. "When the bill is fully implemented in 2016, S. 1006 will displace more than 600,000 barrels of imported oil per day and replace them with clean burning ethanol made from grain and cellulosic biomass, and biodiesel made from oil seeds and agricultural waste." While this bill will not address all of our country's energy challenges, it can and should be a part of the solution. An identical bill was introduced in the House (H.R. 2423); House members also should be asked to support this bill. NCGA members are encouraged to ask their Senators and Congressmen to cosponsor S. 1006 and H.R. 2423.

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International Relations Committee Reviews Trade Title of Farm Bill
Late last week, the House International Relations Committee held a mark-up of the trade title of H.R. 2646, the Farm Security Act. The International Relations Committee has official jurisdiction over the trade-related programs in the farm bill and made their mark by altering some of the funding and adding new initiatives to the bill. Of specific interest to the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is an increase in funding for the Foreign Market Development (FMD) program over the House Agriculture Committee level. As reported out of the International Relations Committee, the bill would provide a six-year authorization of funding for the FMD program at $40 million per year (NCGA has been seeking $43.5 million) and for the Market Access Program at $180 million per year (NCGA has been seeking $200 million per year). The House Agriculture bill provided $35 million and $200 million, respectively. MAP and FMD are both administered by USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). These programs help promote U.S. agricultural products - including corn and value-added corn products - in key overseas markets. The U.S. Grains Council represents corn, barley and grain sorghum producers in oversees markets using grower funds supplemented by funds from these two important market development programs.

NCGA Submits Comments on Water Quality Issue, TMDL Extension
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) submitted a written statement in support of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed extension of implementation of the total maximum daily load (TMDL) rule. In a brief statement, NCGA urged the EPA to address many of the issues raised in the NCGA lawsuit against the EPA, and NCGA'sextensive comments that were filed in January 2000. Copies of this information were resubmitted to the EPA on Monday as part of the formal comment period that ended on Monday, Sept. 10, 2001. This information can be found on the NCGA intranet site.

NCGA Membership Recruitment Kickoff Meeting Postponed
Due to the tragic terrorist acts of last Tuesday, the National Corn Growers Association is postponing the Association Membership Kickoff meeting scheduled for September 19 - 20 in Minneapolis, Minn.. This postponement is due to the airlines scaling back flights due to lack of passengers flying and new security procedures. The event will be rescheduled for a later and NCGA will be working with sponsors on determining a new date and location. Information concerning the event will be published within 10 days.

NCGA THIS WEEK

• Sept. 19 NCGA CEO and Executive Vice President Rick Tolman will be in Louisville, Ky., to attend a meeting with MARC 2000
• Sept. 20 NCGA President Lee Klein will be in Washington, D.C., attending the Ag Genomics Research Reception

ST. LOUIS OFFICE

WASHINGTON D.C. OFFICE