IN THIS ISSUE:

• NCGA Board, Action Team Meetings Wrap Up, Ending Productive Week
• NCGA Told RFS 'Not Impossible, But Won't Be Easy'
• NCGA Corn Board Prepares FY 03 Game Plan
• NCGA Accepting Applications for Corn Board
  

NCGA Board, Action Team Meetings Wrap Up, Ending Productive Week

The NCGA Corn Board, action team and committee meetings wrapped up Dec. 6 after a week of productive interaction between NCGA's grower leaders and staffs from St. Louis and Washington, D.C.

On Thursday, action team representatives gave reports to the board. Among the several issues covered were the pharmaceutical and industrial enzyme corn summit conducted by the Biotech Working Group last month, the formation of a mycotoxin task force by the Production and Stewardship Action Team, and the Ethanol Committee's plans to continue work on a national energy bill with a renewable fuels standard (RFS). Earlier in the week, Yoder said one of the priorities for the Corn Board was the formation of an NCGA structure review committee, chaired by immediate past chairman Lee Klein. The committee is designed to increase the efficiency of various NCGA programs.

The structure review committee members are: Klein, Garry Niemeyer, Clark Gerstacker, Ron Obermoeller, Judy Kelly, Bob Dickey, Darryl Haack, Mark Schweibert, Gary Marshall, State Executive, Rodney Weinzierl, IL, State Executive, and Rick Tolman, NCGA Staff. Yoder said he expects the committee report to be complete and submitted to the Corn Board for its March meeting.

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NCGA Told RFS 'Not Impossible, But Won't Be Easy'

The national energy bill containing a renewable fuels standard (RFS) may have died in conference during a lame-duck session of Congress last month, yet NCGA remains cautiously optimistic a bill can be passed during the next Congressional session, even though many ethanol allies are no longer in a position to directly assist in passing the bill. The Department of Energy's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs Michael Whatley spoke to the NCGA Corn Board Tuesday and discussed how the shift in Congress during the last election will affect the chances of getting an energy bill passed. "Getting the bill passed is going to be hard, but it won't be impossible," said Whatley.

NCGA Vice President of Public Policy Jon Doggett said he remains optimistic a bill containing an RFS can still be passed. "I think there's a strong desire within some of the Republicans to get an energy bill passed," he said, "and if the bill is passed, it will contain a renewable fuels standard."

NCGA Corn Board Prepares FY 03 Game Plan

Members and grower leaders of the NCGA converged on Chesterfield, Mo., this week for their first meetings of fiscal year 2003. The NCGA Corn Board will be among the groups meeting Dec. 2 and NCGA President Fred Yoder said this meeting is crucial for the Corn Board because it is the first of the fiscal year and it is at this time the board sets up the game plan for the coming year. Yoder said some of the specific issues the Corn Board will be focusing on include action team and committee structure. "I have appointed a structure committee and one of the things we're going to decide is what is working and what needs to be fixed," he said.

The Corn Board will also address state involvement with NCGA. "We're going to look at situations like our policy and priority meeting (in January)," said Yoder, "and whether the states are getting enough input and find out what their priorities are and maybe change the meeting around slightly to get a better feel for what direction the states expect NCGA to go."

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NCGA Accepting Applications for Corn Board

NCGA members are invited to be a part of NCGA leadership by submitting their applications for the Corn Board, the 15-member board that approves the key decisions made by the 32,000-member organization. Corn Board members will be elected at the July 14-15, 2003, meeting of the NCGA Corn Congress in Washington, D.C. Candidates will be introduced at Corn Congress during the 2003 Commodity Classic, Feb. 27- March 1, 2003, in Charlotte, N.C. In addition to Hume, members of the nominating committee are Gene Fynboh, Sam Creed, Jim Barton and Glen Moeller. For more information, call Kathy Baker at 636-733-9004 or e-mail at baker@ncga.com <mailto:baker@ncga.com>.

NCGA THIS WEEK

• Dec. 10 NCGA Corn Board member and Biotech Working Group Chairman Leon Corzine, CEO Rick Tolman and Director of Development Tom Slunecka will meet with representatives of Archer Daniels Midland and tour their St. Louis facility

© 2002 National Corn Growers Association

ST. LOUIS OFFICE

WASHINGTON D.C. OFFICE