August
9 , 2002 * Volume 9 * Number 29
IN THIS ISSUE:
- NCGA Hails
Presidential Signing of TPA
- NCGA Displeased
with NRC Report Concerning Corps Studies
- NCGA: Don't
Let Your Elected Officials Forget RFS!
- NCGA, Danforth
Plant Science Center Explore Options in Corn-Related Research
- NCGA Talks Trade,
Biotech at Grains Council Meeting
- NCGA's Corzine
Talks Biotech at Seed Conference
- NCGA Takes on
the Golden Arches on Biotech Issue
- President Bush
Appoints Tom Dorr as Undersecretary of Rural Development
- NCGA Corn Utilization
Posters Available
NCGA Hails
Presidential Signing of TPA
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At noon EDT Aug. 6, President George W. Bush signed trade promotion
authority (TPA) into law, returning the privilege of fast track trade
negotiating authority to the president after an eight-year absence.
The NCGA hails the signing as TPA allows Bush to negotiate trade agreements
on behalf of the United States. In return, Congress agrees not to amend
legislation implementing trade agreements.
"Now, after
eight years, America is back in the business of promoting open trade,
to build our prosperity and to spur economic growth," Bush said
during the signing ceremony at the White House. "Trade is an important
source of good jobs for our workers, a source of higher growth for our
economy. Trade expands choices for America's consumers and raises living
standards for our families."
"This is something
we've been working on for several years," said NCGA Director of
Public Policy Keira Franz, who attended the signing ceremony, "and
it's a great victory for us."
TPA is the trade
negotiating authority Congress has granted the previous five presidents.
Under this authority, first granted in 1974 to President Gerald Ford,
the Executive Branch is required to consult regularly with Congress
and seek advice from various advisory committees and the public as trade
agreements are negotiated.
In return, Congress
agrees not to amend legislation implementing trade agreements. This
way, trade negotiators can make agreements supported by Congress without
the possibility of agreed-upon terms being changed after the negotiations
end.
This negotiating
authority ended in 1994 and during that time, other countries have moved
forward with trade agreements while the U.S. has been stalled. With
Bush's signature, the sitting U.S. president will have trade promotion
authority until June 1, 2007.
"With TPA
being passed," Franz said, "it shows countries around the
world the United States is serious about negotiating trade pacts with
them and this will help us greatly with the World Trade Organization
(WTO) negotiations, which will be finalized in January 2005."
NCGA Displeased
with NRC Report Concerning Corps Studies
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The NCGA is displeased with a recent report released by the National
Academy of Science National Resource Council (NRC) calling for external
scientific reviews of the planning studies of potential water projects
by the Army Corps of Engineers. Among the projects targeted by the NRC
is the feasibility study to modernize the lock-and-dam system on the
Upper Mississippi River.
"This is absolutely
absurd," said NCGA Director of Production and Marketing Paul Bertels.
"This is just a thinly veiled attempt to stack the deck against
river transportation. In the two most recent examples of NRC review,
several of their panelists clearly had documented biases against river
transportation and flood plain farming."
The NRC recommended
in its report that the Secretary of the Army establish a staff to administer
to Corps' review process and decide on a case-by-case basis whether
reviews of Corps' planning studies be conducted internally or externally.
The report went on to say that all Corps' studies deemed "expensive,
very controversial, affect a large geographic area, or involve a high
degree of environmental risk warrant an external review."
Dave Sieck, a corn
grower from Glenwood, Iowa, said the NRC is based on politics, not science.
"After all the great work the Corps has done over the years, after
spending millions of dollars on these projects, for the NRC to say they
want the right to reject those projects simply because they don't agree
with them is insulting.
"The Corps
has done great things and I'm concerned that the NRC and groups like
them are trying to turn a scientific review into a political one,"
Sieck concluded.
NCGA has taken
the lead in the fight to have the antiquated lock-and-dam system updated.
The locks are no longer large enough to support modern barges, which
are up to twice as long as they were when the locks and dams were originally
built more than 60 years ago.
NCGA: Don't
Let Your Elected Officials Forget RFS!
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Congress has adjourned for the traditional August recess. Many representatives
and senators will be spending some, if not all, of their time at home
where they will be campaigning for the fall election. Now is the time
for National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) members to take political
action and continue to keep the pressure on their elected officials
to pass a national energy bill that includes a renewable fuels standard
(RFS).
"With Congress
in recess, our officials are at home, and that's when NCGA members and
corn growers should contact them, letting them know how important the
RFS is to us," said Boyd Smith, a grower from York, Neb., and chairman
of the NCGA Ethanol Committee. "Considering most of the ethanol
plants in the United States are farmer-owned, these issues have even
more of an impact on us. It will raise the value of the crop for corn
growers and it benefits the farmers who own interests in their local
plants."
Passing RFS is
more important than ever, as USDA last week confirmed what NCGA has
been saying all along - that ethanol is efficient to produce and should
play a positive role in reducing U.S. dependence on imported oil.
"It is necessary
for NCGA members to energize their fellow corn growers and members of
their state corn grower organizations to deliver one simple message
to their members of Congress this August," said NCGA Director of
Energy Analysis John McClelland, "and that message is: we want
an energy bill that includes the renewable fuel standard to pass before
the November election.
"Members of
Congress should know that they cannot come home without passing the
energy bill," he continued. "No other issue is more important
to corn growers than the RFS and it is an important part of the comprehensive
energy legislation pending before Congress."
Growers can contact
their elected officials by clicking on the Action Alert at the NCGA
website, www.ncga.com <http://www.ncga.com>.
NCGA, Danforth
Plant Science Center Explore Options in Corn-Related Research
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Ask a child what he thinks of when he hears the word corn and he will
probably tell you about barbeques with hot, buttery corn on the cob
or watching his favorite movie with a bag of popcorn. Ask an average
farmer what he thinks of when he hears the word corn and he may say
livestock feed. At NCGA, corn brings visions of test tubes and scientists.
Well, to the NCGA
Research and Business Development team, anyway.
NCGA Vice President
of Research and Business Development Dr. Richard Glass has made it a
goal to increase the value of corn and in doing so, make the crop more
profitable for the nation's corn growers. He is doing this by exploring
research options with outside agencies, such as the Donald Danforth
Plant Science Center.
Glass, along with
NCGA CEO Rick Tolman, Director of Business Development Rene Shunk, Research
and Business Development Manager Nathan Danielson and Livestock Programs
and Information Manager Tracy Snider, visited Danforth Aug. 5 to discuss
possible partnerships with the St. Louis-based research center.
Danforth President
Dr. Roger Beachy recognizes the strength of working with a group such
as NCGA. "Innovation comes from collaboration; joining forces with
colleagues who will help you answer your questions is the key to accomplishing
goals," he said.
During the discussion
with Beachy and other representatives from Danforth, Tolman discussed
NCGA's six "Big Rocks," (biotechnology, transportation, trade,
research, farm policy, and ethanol), focusing on biotech and research.
"We don't necessarily have blanket support or opposition to biotech,"
he said, "but we want to keep it as an option and as an important
tool for corn growers."
In regard to research,
Tolman said one NCGA goal is to help growers move away from commodity
agriculture. "We want to create more value-enhanced opportunities
for our growers and a way to do this is by lobbying for more grants
in the field of research."
Beachy touched
on Danforth's four priorities which are researching plants for the benefit
of human health, pest and disease resistance in plants, plant nutrition
and responses to stress, and novel materials. Novel materials include
the oils produced by different plants, many of which are beneficial
for human health.
Glass said he could
see the mutual benefits of a partnership with the Danforth Center. "They
(the scientists at Danforth) can provide us with the ideas and talent
needed to carry out our plans for enhancing the value of corn,"
he said. "NCGA can provide political clout and legitimacy, as well
as using existing relationships with other organizations."
NCGA Talks
Trade, Biotech at Grains Council Meeting
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The NCGA was well-represented at the U.S. Grains Council annual board
of directors meeting July 29-31 in San Francisco. The two groups discussed
biotechnology, trade policy, and value-enhanced grains and how these
issues affect the nation's corn growers.
"We would
like to thank Grains Council for inviting us," said NCGA President
Tim Hume. "It's a wonderful opportunity for us to have discussion
and exchange ideas concerning the issues that affect us both."
In addition to
Hume, Representing the nation's corn growers were Chairman Lee Klein,
President-Elect Fred Yoder, Corn Board member and incoming President-Elect
Dee Vaughan, CEO Rick Tolman and Director of Public Policy Keira Franz.
"It went real
well," said Hume, a grower from Walsh, Colo. "We received
some valuable information on bulk and value-added exports and discussed
the House passage of TPA and the importance of its passage by Senate,
which happened (Aug. 1). We also discussed our policies on negotiating
with the World Trade Organization in regards to eliminating export subsidies.
In addition to trade, the groups discussed value-added grains and their
ability to provide growers with a higher-value product. For example,
corn with a higher starch content provides higher intrinsic value when
it comes to export.
Hume gave a well-received
presentation focusing on NCGA's stance on biotechnology and world trade.
"I discussed what NCGA has done in promoting the benefits of biotech,
such as insect resistance management and our 'Know Before You Grow'
program," he said. "Grains Council has been a tremendous ally
for us on both of these issues, especially with their expertise on the
international front.
NCGA's Corzine
Talks Biotech at Seed Conference
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Leon Corzine, chairman of the NCGA's Biotech Working Group, recently
represented the corn grower association at the Central States Seed Conference
in Omaha, Neb. Corzine was on a panel addressing what farmers need from
the seed industry in the future, and gave a presentation on NCGA issues,
specifically biotechnology and how it is perceived in the European Union.
"My panel
discussion centered on the need for grower information from the seed
industry," he said, "and I provided them with information
on insect resistance management (IRM), our 'Know Before You Grow' program
and the changing face of agriculture."
"Thousands
of farmers across the Midwest are now owners in ethanol plants, and
in different types of processing facilities," he continued. "And
what's the next step? U.S. farmers will want to invest in the processing
of output traits. This is the direction American agriculture is taking
and indicates what farmers are going to expect of biotechnology."
In his presentation,
Corzine discussed NCGA's biotech fact-finding missions to the EU situation.
"The EU is an important player and their policies affect our other
trading partners," he said. "The European Parliament dealt
a blow to us when they voted to enact stricter traceability and labeling
laws concerning biotechnology-derived food and feed products in Europe.
Fortunately, this isn't the final say since the European Council of
Ministers will review this at a later date."
Corzine said the
presentation was well-received. "I think it went over well,"
he said. "It's always good to be able to spread NCGA's message
and show our fellow growers that we're playing an active role in the
regulation of agricultural biotech."
NCGA Takes
on the Golden Arches on Biotech Issue
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NCGA Biotech Working Group Chairman Leon Corzine, representing NCGA
during a July meeting between the Agriculture Commodity Coalition (ACC)
and McDonald's, positively positioned biotechnology to the fast-food
giant at its corporate headquarters in Oak Brook, Ill.
The meeting was
set up in response to McDonald's decision last year to source non-biotech
products in Europe.
Corzine, a corn
grower from Assumption, Ill., said McDonald's officials liked some aspects
of biotechnology, and suggested further fact finding and discussion
on animal agriculture developments related to biotech.
Although there were
some disagreements over biotechnology between the two groups, in the
end, Corzine said the meeting was beneficial. "They (McDonald's)
learned that American agriculture is not passive on these issues."
The ACC's main
objectives for the meeting were to demonstrate strong support for biotechnology
among producers who supply food and feed ingredients to McDonald's,
as well as open and candid dialogue on how the farming community can
work with McDonald's to strengthen confidence in food biotechnology.
In addition to
Corzine, the ACC was represented by the chief executive officers of
the American Soybean Association, the National Association of Wheat
Growers, the National Chicken Council, Tyson Foods and the National
Milk Producer's Federation.
Corzine challenged
McDonald's on the reliability and accuracy of its testing efforts to
truly source non-biotech products in Europe. "They did not like
that much and said everything they do is credible and verifiable,"
Corzine said. "We said we could provide what they want and what
we need on a level playing field, and we reminded them of the extra
scrutiny U.S. source goods come under.
"We pointed
out the safety aspects of biotech and why farmers like the technology,"
he continued. "I also spent some time explaining how with less
insect damage and less chemical residue we can provide a higher quality
product in a more environmentally friendly way."
President
Bush Appoints Tom Dorr as Undersecretary of Rural Development
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President George W. Bush announced the recess appointment of Tom Dorr
as Undersecretary of Rural Development Aug. 7. Dorr, a former NCGA board
member and a grower from Marcus, Iowa, was also appointed by Bush to
the Board of Directors of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). The
recess appointment allows Dorr to assume the post through 2003 without
a Senate vote.
NCGA Public Policy
Action Team Vice Chairman and Iowa Corn Growers Association Past President
Ron Litterer said Iowa corn growers were supportive of Dorr's nomination
going to a vote and are pleased to see action has been taken.
"The Bush
Administration is right to put someone in place who understands the
priorities of corn growers," said the Greene, Iowa, corn grower.
"With all the farmer-owned ethanol plants in the Midwest, Undersecretary
Dorr will be helpful in creating more projects of that nature and that's
much needed."
Dorr's nomination
was sent to Congress by Bush in April, 2001, but Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
did not hold a hearing on the nomination until this past March. On Aug.
1, the Senate Agriculture Committee sent the nomination to the Senate
Floor without a recommendation.
NCGA Director of
Public Policy Hayden Milberg said Dorr's appointment would benefit the
nation's corn growers. "Undersecretary Dorr will add vision and
creativity to help rural America. NCGA looks forward to working with
him and building a farm economy that will eventually increase grower-owned
equity in the processing stream and attract additional capital investment
to local communities."
NCGA Corn
Utilization Posters Available
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NCGA's Corn Utilization posters are available to members free of charge
for a limited time. Each full-color poster shows the many uses of corn
and can be proudly displayed in the office or home. Posters are limited
to one per member and must be ordered by Sept. 15. If more than one
poster is needed, a nominal fee will be charged. For more information,
contact Beth Musgrove at 636-733-9004 ext. 104 or musgrove@ncga.com<mailto:musgrove@ncga.com>.
NCGA THIS WEEK
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- Aug. 12 NCGA
Director of Production and Marketing Paul Bertels, Director of Public
Policy Hayden Milberg, and Director of Communications Mimi Ricketts
will be participating in a barge tour of the Mississippi River beginning
in Clarksville, Mo, and wrapping up in Alton, Ill.
- Aug. 13 NCGA
Chairman Lee Kline will be participating in the Farm Bill implementation
meeting in Kearny, Neb.
- Aug. 13 NCGA
Corn Board member Dee Vaughan will be attending a Presidential trade
conference meeting in Waco, Texas
- Aug. 14 Vaughan
and NCGA Director of Development Tom Slunecka will be attending a
Farm Bill implementation meeting in Sioux Falls, S.D.
- Aug. 15 NCGA
President-Elect Fred Yoder and CEO Rick Tolman will be in Jackson
County, Minn., attending the Corn Cob Open
- Aug. 15-16 Kline
and NCGA Vice President of Marketing Brian Stockman will be in Chicago,
Ill., attending a Monsanto Advisory meeting
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