IN THIS ISSUE:

• NCGA Unveils Enhanced 'Know Before You Grow' Program
• NCGA President Leads Farm Bill Effort
• NCGA Pleased Value-Added Grant Program Funding Increased under Harkin Proposal
• NCGA's Ethanol Plant Workshop Attracts Sell-Out Crowd
• NCGA Encouraged by Energy Title in Farm Bill
• NCGA CEO Tolman Meets with DOE, Industry Leaders on Renewable Resources Program
• NCGA Workshop Explores Benefits of DDGS
• WTO Meeting Opened Nov. 9 in Doha, Qatar; NCGA Focus on New Agriculture Round
• NCGA Leadership in Genome Research Recognized at Conference
• NCGA Applauds Appointment of Top Corn Industry Leader To Bush Agriculture Post
• NCGA Responds to USDA Crop Production Report Showing Corn Up 1 Percent
• Time is Running Out for Corn Board Applications

NCGA Unveils Enhanced 'Know Before You Grow' Program
The NCGA has announced an expanded database available on its website <http://www.ncga.com/biotechnology/know_where/index.html>, that catalogues most of the nation's seed companies' biotech and high-value corn hybrids. The database is part of the Know Before You Grow program, which provides the nation's corn growers information about the marketing implications of planting hybrids not-yet approved for export to certain markets. (More On This Story <http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/november/110801.htm>)

NCGA President Leads Farm Bill Effort
The chairman's mark-up continued Wednesday in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, and approved a modified version of the Trade title of S. 1628, Sen. Tom Harkin's, D-Iowa, farm bill. Tim Hume, a farmer from Walsh, Colo., and president of the NCGA, is in Washington, D.C., to lead the association's effort as work on farm bill gains momentum in the Senate. (More On This Story <http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/november/110801a.htm>)

NCGA Pleased Value-Added Grant Program Funding Increased Under Harkin Proposal
The Senate Agriculture Committee met yesterday morning to continue mark-up on Sen. Tom Harkin's, D-Iowa, farm bill, focusing on the Rural Development and Research titles. Both passed without amendment or controversy.

Of special significance to the NCGA was the increased funding provided for the Value-Added Agricultural Product Market Development Grant Program. "NCGA was instrumental in creating the grant program. We are excited that more funds will be available for a broader range of activities," said NCGA President Tim Hume.

The Rural Development title provides $1.65 billion over five years. The program establishes several equity funds that would help provide cash flow to rural businesses. It also provides $100 million for broadband Internet to improve the technological infrastructure of rural United States.

The Research title provides $1.34 billion over five years. The title reauthorizes all federal research programs while increasing overall funding from present levels by $635 million. The committee, in a Sense of the Senate Resolution, recommended that federal investments in food and agriculture research should double over the next five years. The Research title establishes a new account for biosecurity and planning response as an effort to bolster anti-terrorism measures in the wake of Sept. 11.

NCGA's Ethanol Plant Workshop Attracts Sell-Out Crowd
It's not exactly a rock concert but it's a sell-out crowd in any case. On the heels of the NCGA successful "So You Want to Build an Ethanol Plant" seminar in June, the second run of the workshop set up for Nov. 15-16 in Lincoln, Neb., has drawn a capacity crowd. The conference, to be held at the Cornhusker Hotel, prepares would-be plant investors and managers for what they can expect in the field of ethanol production. (More On This Story <http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/november/110701.htm>)

NCGA Encouraged by Energy Title in Farm Bill
By unanimous vote on Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, and Nutrition approved the Energy and Forestry Titles of Sen. Tom Harkin's, D-Iowa, farm bill proposal, despite attempts by Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., to turn the titles' mandatory spending requirements into discretionary spending. The committee has resumed markup on the Trade Title. (More On This Story <http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/november/110701a.htm>)

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 CEO Tolman Meets with DOE, Industry Leaders on Renewable Resources Program
NCGA CEO and Executive Vice President Rick Tolman was in Washington, D.C., this week to meet with representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and key industry leaders. The purpose of the meeting, said Tolman, was to set up an industry steering committee made up of various agriculture-related industry representatives to advise DOE on the AgVision 2020 program. (More On This Story
<http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/november/110601.htm>)

NCGA Leadership in Genome Research Recognized at Conference
The leadership role the NCGA has played in gaining funding for genomics research was recognized recently at the 13th Annual Genome Sequencing and Analysis Conference in San Diego. Representing NCGA at the conference were Corn Board member Dee Vaughan of Dumas, Tex., and consultant Kellye Eversole. (More On This Story <http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/november/110501.htm>)

WTO Meeting Opened Nov. 9 in Doha, Qatar; NCGA Focus on New Agriculture Round
The World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference began Nov. 9 in Doha, Qatar. The highly anticipated meetings include important votes on new members to the WTO. The 142-member countries will vote on the accession of both China and Taiwan into the WTO. Not only do China and Taiwan represent new potential corn customers, their agreements to enter the WTO mean that they will make changes to their domestic practices, in terms of agricultural support and export subsidies for their domestic production. (More on This Story <http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/november/110901a.htm>)

NCGA Applauds Appointment of Top Corn Industry Leader To Bush Agriculture Post
The NCGA welcomed the announcement on Friday, Nov. 2, that President George W. Bush appointed Chuck Connor former president of the Corn Refiners Association, as assistant to the president for Agricultural Trade and Food Assistance. (More On This Story
<http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/november/110501b.htm>)

DID YOU KNOW??
http://www.ncga.com provides a complete guide to state web sites and contact information.
Click the drop-down listing on the front page to visit state web sites.

NCGA Responds to USDA Crop Production Report Showing Corn Up 1 Percent
In its November crop report released this morning, the USDA forecast corn production at 9.55 billion bushels, up 1 percent from October but down 4 percent from 2000.

"Good weather throughout the Cornbelt into late fall has eased corn production up slightly," said National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Director of Marketing and Production Paul Bertels, who noted production increases in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Minnesota.

"Based on conditions as of Nov. 1, yields are expected to average 138 bushels per acre, up 1.7 bushels from October," Bertels added. "If realized, this would be the fourth largest production and second highest yield on record."

Farmers in Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska found larger than expected yields as late planted fields reached maturity under ideal conditions and harvest accelerated after mid-October, Bertels said. Meanwhile, yield prospects in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin remained high despite heavy October precipitation that slowed harvest.

Time is Running Out for NCGA Corn Board Applications!
Dec. 7, 2001, is the last day to submit applications for the NCGA Corn Board. Who can apply for the Corn Board? Anyone who is a corn producer (owner, manager or operator), is a member of NCGA, and a checkoff contributor, if applicable. If you would like a set of application materials mailed or faxed to you (or to someone else), please call Kathy Baker at the St. Louis office, 636-733-9004, ext 111, or email at baker@ncga.com.

NCGA THIS WEEK

• Nov. 12-13 -- Dee Vaughan, Brent Porteus and Ron Litterer will be in Washington, D.C. for a Public Policy Action Team planning meeting. Fred Yoder will join them on Sept. 13, and will be on hand during farm bill markup.
• Nov. 14 -- Lee Klein, Tim Hume, Fred Yoder, Rick Tolman, Joint Officers meeting, NCGA, American Soybean Association, United Soybean Board and U.S. Grains Council, Kansas City, Mo.
• Nov. 14-16 -- Tim Hume, Fred Yoder, Lee Klein and Rick Tolman will be the voice of NCGA at the annual National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB) conference in Kansas City.
• Nov. 12 -16 -- Trade: TPA - possible action late next week. WTO - Convened Nov. 9 in Doha, Qatar, and concludes Nov. 13.
• Nov. 12-16 -- Farm Bill: Markup will hopefully conclude on Friday. Next week expect markup action on the conservation, commodity, nutrition and competition titles.

ST. LOUIS OFFICE

WASHINGTON D.C. OFFICE