IN THIS ISSUE:

• NCGA to Host ‘Trade School’ in July
• NCGA President: EU Acceptance of Biotech a Slow Process
• House Names Energy Bill Conferees, NCGA Urges Quick Passage
• NCGA Concerned About Upcoming Army Corps of Engineers Report
• NCGA Pleased With Release of Loan Rates, Concerned With Possible Market Distortion
• NCGA, Trade Coalition Convey U.S. Ag Support of WTO Negotiations in Geneva
  

NCGA to Host 'Trade School' in July

Challenged by the importance of international trade as it relates to agriculture? Can you separate the myths from the facts surrounding international trade? Attend the NCGA “Trade School” and learn why it’s important to take an active role in trade policy.

“Trade School” is a two-part educational “school” on trade policy. Session one, slated for July 9 and 10 in Washington, D.C., covers trade agreements, what they are, what U.S. commitments under the agreements are and how the United States compares to other countries on trade agreements, domestic support and market access. The session will also focus on the Doha Development Round and the areas of the negotiations impacting agriculture. The trade legislation portion of the session makes all of these trade issues come together - Trade Promotion Authority, Cuba Sanctions, Food Aid, and the Farm Bill.

“U.S. agriculture is dependent upon foreign markets and it is crucial that NCGA and its members take an active role in trade policy,” said NCGA Director of Public Policy Keira Franz. “Negotiations in the WTO as well as other free trade agreements impact agriculture, the farm bill and the ability of the United States to access foreign markets.”

Session two is scheduled for December 12 and 13 and will explore other forces affecting trade - biotechnology, the Biosafety Protocol, CODEX alimentarius, labeling and traceability proposals from the European Union, as well as the Foreign Market Development program and the Market Access Program.Registration for session one is $300. For more information on “Trade School” and to register, please contact Keira Franz at 202-628-7001.

NCGA President: EU Acceptance of Biotech a Slow Process

NCGA President Tim Hume said progress is being made in regard to biotech acceptance in Europe, but it is a slow process. This was his message as he and other representatives of NCGA and the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) report on a recent trip to the European Union (EU) to discuss biotechnology with European agriculture ministers and producers.

"We found many ag groups support biotech and sound science," Hume continued, "and while they believe it to be safe, they are having a hard time convincing consumers of that fact and the consumer is obviously their priority."

Hume said the French Corn Growers Association is vocal about their support of biotech. "They are one of the few European groups outside of industry that are supportive of this technology," he said. "We have been developing a relationship with our corn-producing counterparts in France for a few years and are honored to be a key presenter in September during the World Corn Congress in France." Hume, NCGA President-elect Fred Yoder, and Grains Council representatives are tentatively scheduled to attend.

Jerry Ploehn, a member of NCGA's Biotech Working Group and a grower from Alpha, Minn., said globalization is one reason for consumer distrust of biotech. "Many Europeans don't like the idea of Americans pushing American food on them," he said. "Plus, some of them feel corn isn't an environmentally friendly crop, saying it takes too much water and too much pesticide to grow."
Another issue discussed during the visit was that the EU does not import biotech crops, yet they use biotechnology to produce wine, cheese, and bread. "Whenever we brought that up," said Hume, "they were very dismissive, saying they had been doing that for years and were convinced it was safe. When we suggested labeling for those items, we usually received no response."

On the subject of labeling, the Environment Committee of the European Parliament voted last week narrowly in favor of more extensive labeling of any foods and animal feeds containing genetically modified organisms. It also voted to lower the threshold at which mandatory labeling would be required, setting it at 0.5% per ingredient instead of 1% per ingredient, and to forbid the sale of any products containing traces of biotech ingredients not authorized in the 15-nation EU, even if they are widely authorized and grown outside the EU.

NCGA Corn Board member Dee Vaughan said while this could be a setback, Parliament will have two more votes before voting on the final position. "We were told Parliament would begin debate in July," said the Dumas, Texas, corn grower. "It will be hard to overcome this because Europeans believe what the environmentalists say about biotech. Again, it goes back to the lack of trust they have in their government agencies. They hear environmentalist groups say 'this is dangerous' and consumers believe that. The problem is, no group is taking the lead in advocating biotechnology."

DID YOU KNOW??

The NCGA Farm Bill Calculator will be available for download June 17 at http://www.ncga.com NCGA’s calculator was put together with the help of growers all over the country to supply you with a better understanding of the benefits provided to you by the Farm Bill!

House Names Energy Bill Conferees, NCGA Urges Quick Passage

The House of Representatives on Wednesday named 28 Republican and 21 Democratic lawmakers to help negotiate with the Senate on merging the two chambers' differing energy bills.

With the conferees set, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is urging rapid passage of the bill. “There is a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we are going to do whatever it takes to report an energy bill out of conference and signed by the president,” said John McClelland, NCGA director of energy and analysis.

The House version would spend $33 billion, divided among oil, natural gas and coal. The Senate bill would spend $14 billion on tax breaks on fossil fuels, renewable energy and conservation. Both bills have incentives to boost production of renewables, but each has different views on ethanol subsidies.

House Republicans named to the energy conference include Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-TX), and from the energy and commerce committee: Billy Tauzin (R-LA), Mike Bilirakis (R-FL), Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Fred Upton (R-MI), Richard Burr (R-NC), Paul Gilmor (R-OH), and Joe Barton (R-TX).

In addition, House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois named ranking Republicans from 10 other committees: armed services, agriculture, budget, education and workforce, financial services, judiciary, resources, science, transportation, and ways and means.

The House minority conferees will be led by Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), joined by five other energy and commerce panel Democrats: Henry Waxman (D-CA), Bobby Rush (D-IL), Edward Markey (D-MA), Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Bart Gordon (D-TN).

House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-MO), also named ranking Democrats from the armed services, agriculture, budget, education and workforce, financial services, judiciary, resources, science, transportation, and ways and means.

On the Senate side, 17 senators were named more than a month ago to join the conference committee.
Next, House Energy and Commerce Chairman Tauzin and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman's, (D-NM), will decide who should chair the negotiations, and both are vying for the honor. Then, the process begins to reconcile the House and Senate bills before a final version is sent to President Bush for signing into law.

NCGA Concerned About Upcoming Army Corps of Engineers Report

In recent months, “spring-rise” has become a bad word in the minds of Midwest farmers and the possibility of controlled flooding does not sit well. Within the next few weeks, the Army Corps of Engineers is expected to release the Preferred Alternative of the Missouri River Master Manual Review and the NCGA is apprehensive.

“We’re concerned,” said NCGA Director of Production and Marketing Paul Bertels. “If the Corps decides to leave well enough alone, we’ll be alright. Any major change to the flow of the Missouri River is not going to a positive issue for us.”

NCGA opposes any change resulting in spring rise because increasing water releases would flood or decrease drainage on thousands of acres in the Missouri River bottoms. To offset spring flows, cutting water releases from July through September is proposed. Summer drawdown would impact the profitability of barge navigation as water releases would fall below levels needed to maintain navigation, Bertels said.
“Summer drawdown has the possibility of ending navigation on the Missouri River, not just during harvest, but year round because corn growers would lose the benefits of competitive transportation rates for their inputs and production,” he said. In their analysis, the Corps estimates barge competition reduces rail rates in the Missouri basin by up to $200 million annually, Bertels added.

This spring’s flooding, which resulted in several deaths, illustrates why spring-rise is a bad idea, he said. “You can’t call that water back,” he said. “It may look like a good idea on paper, but if you set up a spring-rise situation, then add 12 inches of rainwater to that in a week’s time, like what we had this spring in the Midwest, you’re setting yourself up for a disaster.”

NCGA Pleased With Release of Loan Rates, Concerned With Possible Market Distortion

NCGA is pleased overall with county loan rates released by the USDA June 7 as part of the 2002 Farm Bill. Loan rates had not been adjusted since the early 1990s. According to the report, loan rates will increase in 2,852 counties, they will remain the same in three counties, and they will decrease in 29 counties.

President-Elect Fred Yoder said while NCGA would have rather have seen loan rates remain relatively unchanged, he can understand the USDA's actions. "There's an advantage to both sides," he said. "If you look at the big picture, it makes sense to raise all the rates to get everyone more evened out. But we still feel higher rates can distort the market. However, the spike in rates will put everyone on a more level playing field and this is a good time to do it.

"We just want to ensure everyone is treated fairly," said the Plain City, Ohio, grower. "Twenty-nine counties saw their loan rates decreased and we would like to see them receive assistance."
NCGA will be releasing the loan rates as part of their Farm Bill Calculator. The calculator will be available online at www.ncga.com <http://www.ncga.com>.

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, Trade Coalition Convey U.S. Ag Support of WTO Negotiations in Geneva

NCGA Director of Public Policy Keira Franz was part of an AgTrade Coalition that met with ambassadors to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and agricultural representatives from various countries in Geneva, Switzerland.

Franz said the objective of the meetings, held last week, was to convey that U.S. agriculture is supportive of the ongoing WTO negotiations on agriculture. The AgTrade coalition is an ad-hoc group of agricultural organizations supporting trade. Approximately 14 organizations were represented on this trip, including NCGA’s corn market development partners, the U.S. Grains Council.

“The agricultural negotiations for the Doha Development Round are proceeding on an ambitious time frame and we wanted to covey that that U.S. agriculture is supportive of the successful conclusion of this round,” Franz said. In November, the WTO launched the Doha Round with the goal of concluding the negotiations by Jan. 1, 2005. The agriculture negotiations are centered on three main topics: export competition, market access and trade distorting domestic support.

The Geneva meetings were primarily focused on export competition, however the AgTrade group also fielded questions about the new farm bill and the prospects of Trade Promotion Authority becoming law. “Our messages were clear: the 2002 Farm Bill will comply with our WTO obligations and there are specific provisions that are included in the bill to ensure compliance and final passage of TPA is a top priority,” Franz said.

NCGA THIS WEEK

• June 17 NCGA Director of Energy Analysis John McClelland will be in Montreal attending a meeting of the Renewable Fuels Association
• June 18 NCGA Livestock Programs and Information Manager Tracy Snider will be in Monroe, Wis., attending a meeting of the Wisconsin Corn Board
• June 18 NCGA Vice President of Marketing Brian Stockman will attend a meeting of the Michigan Corn Board in Lansing, Mich.
• June 19-21 The NCGA Corn Board will conduct their meeting at Loew’s L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C.
• June 21 NCGA Production and Marketing Director Paul Bertels will be in Minneapolis, Minn., attending a board meeting of MARC 2000
  

ST. LOUIS OFFICE

WASHINGTON D.C. OFFICE