IN THIS ISSUE:

• NCGA Extends Date for Release of Corn Yield Contest Winners to Dec. 20
• DOE Grant Moves Forward Research into New Markets for Corn
• NCGA Says New EU Traceability Rules Will Hurt Corn Producers
• Mexican Lawmakers Vote to Retain Tax on HFCS
• NCGA Looks to Improve Corn Market with New Partnership
• Sen. Talent Supports NCGA Stances on Ethanol, Lock-and-Dam Modernization
• United States, Chile Reach Free Trade Agreement
• NCGA Participates in Discussions on Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia
• NCGA Says Missouri River Reversal Would Jeopardize Future of Navigation
• Growers on the 'Classic Track' for Premier Trade Show

NCGA Extends Date for Release of Corn Yield Contest Winners to Dec. 20

Due to circumstances beyond its control, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has extended the date for the release of National Corn Yield Contest (NCYC) winners to Friday, Dec. 20. The original deadline was Monday, Dec. 16. Winners will be released to the media at 10 a.m. Central Standard Time on Dec. 20. For more information, contact Gary Bradley or Mimi Ricketts at NCGA, 636-733-9004.

DOE Grant Moves Forward Research into New Markets for Corn

NCGA, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and the Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will continue collaborating to explore new markets for corn with a $2.4 million research grant from the Department of Energy (DOE). The award enables the three organizations to extend their research on corn fiber utilization by two and a half years. The highly skilled project team is multidisciplinary, consisting of business managers, engineers, chemists and biochemists from NCGA, ADM and PNNL. The aim of this research is to convert corn fiber to higher value products, thereby opening new markets for corn growers. Under the agreement, the partners intend to economically derive high-value chemicals and oils from lower value corn fiber. In doing so, they plan to demonstrate a sizeable leap in technology.

The project will encompass purification and characterization of trace amounts of chemicals to designing and constructing a pilot plant capable of recovering high-value carbohydrates at a production level. The project is valued at $4.86 million, half funded by DOE and the remainder underwritten by NCGA and ADM.

The NCGA has long supported research targeting the increased utilization of corn fiber as a way to increase the overall value for corn.

NCGA Says New EU Traceability Rules Will Hurt Corn Producers

To the displeasure of NCGA, European Union environment ministers approved Dec. 9 the world's strictest traceability scheme for biotech products, which, together with a previously agreed labeling plan, will allow for targeted monitoring and possible product withdrawal in the event of environmental or health concerns. The regulation amends certain aspects of Directive 2001/18/EC, governing the import and distribution of products derived from biotechnology. Directive 2001/18/EC, adopted this past October, sets in place Europe-wide rules for traceability and labeling.

The agreement negotiated by the European Environment Council requires:

1. The establishment by the Commission of a system to identify biotech products via the assignment of a unique identifier (e.g. numeric or alphanumeric code); this unique identifier will allow the retrieval of information concerning traits, characteristics and transformation processes of individual biotech products;
2. Systems and procedures to identify the operators to whom and from whom products are made available;
3. The transmission by operators of information concerning the identity of a specific product;
4. The retention of information by operators for a period of five years;
and 5. A coordinated approach to inspections and controls.

The regulations also call for a 0.5 % threshold limit for adventitious traces of biotech genes that are unauthorized but have nevertheless been assessed as being risk-free; and a 0.9 % minimum threshold regarding the scope of application for labeling rules below which products can be exempted from labeling requirements.

Mexican Lawmakers Vote to Retain Tax on HFCS

Mexican lawmakers voted this week to retain a tax on soft drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The 20-percent tax, in place since Jan. 1, has blocked imports of HFCS that compete with Mexican sugar. The extension was included in the 2003 budget package passed by the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Mexico's congress. It still awaits ratification by the country's senate.

Each year, the Mexican soft drink industry uses approximately 475,000 tons of HFCS, worth about $240 million. A significant portion comes from the United States. In addition, more than $60 million in U.S. corn (31.5 million bushels) is used in Mexico to produce HFCS for the soft drink industry.
--Submitted by U.S. Grains Council

NCGA Looks to Improve Corn Market with New Partnership

NCGA's research and business development team took a step closer to its goal of leveraging grower resources into new uses for corn Wednesday at its kickoff meeting, commencing the second phase of its fiber utilization. The meeting was held at NCGA's offices in Chesterfield, Mo. Project partners at the meeting included representatives from the Department of Energy (DOE), Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory managed by the Battelle Memorial Institute (PNNL). Also attending was Rodney Bothast, of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (SIU-E).

The aim of the project is to convert corn fiber to higher-value products, opening new markets for corn growers. Under the agreement, the partners intend to economically derive high-value chemicals and oils from lower-value corn fiber. The purpose is to help reduce the volume of corn gluten feed from the wet-mill process of NCGA's partners.

The partnership works with the existing goals of NCGA's research program, which is to support the continued development of the biobased products industry that uses corn as a chief feedstock.

Sen. Talent Supports NCGA Stances on Ethanol, Lock-and-Dam Modernization

Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO) would like an appointment to the Senate Energy Committee so he could take an active role in pushing for the energy bill containing a Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), supporting NCGA's stance. Talent made this comment following his address at the National Grain and Feed Association Annual Country Elevator Council meeting earlier this week in St. Louis. Talent said during his keynote address passing a national energy bill containing a RFS is imperative.

"I think we absolutely have got to pass an energy bill and the more we can do for ethanol and other alternative sources for energy, the better," he said.

"I would like to be on the Energy Committee because we're going to have to re-write this bill and start over," he added. "I think if we keep it in committee and work together, we can produce a bi-partisan bill and it has to have support for ethanol. Talent, who defeated Jean Carnahan (D-MO) in a close race in the recent mid-term election, also discussed the need for lock-and-dam modernization on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, saying he was a strong supporter of the issue and NCGA's position. "Your infrastructure, whether it's locks and dams, highways, ports...they're like the skeletons of a body," he said. "If they're not strong, the rest of the economy is going to have problems.

"We have an opportunity for the next decade or so," continued Talent, "to re-capitalize our infrastructure and to re-build it. I'm a big supporter of this. We've got locks and dams on the (Upper) Mississippi so old, if they were people the would be getting social security and it's causing problems. It's raising costs and I want to see us fix it."

United States, Chile Reach Free Trade Agreement

The United States and Chile reached agreement Dec. 11 on a historic and comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA).

"This FTA is another step toward . . . harmonizing market access abroad for U.S. agricultural producers and exporters," said Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman. "The agreement will give America's farmers and ranchers and the businesses they support improved and, in many cases, new access to a market of 15 million consumers."

Under the agreement, U.S. farmers will gain duty-free treatment within four years for feed grains and their products, meat and meat products, soybeans and soybean meal, durum wheat, potatoes and processed food products.

Chile imports approximately 1.4 million metric tons of coarse grains per year. Under the Trade Act of 2002, the Bush administration must notify Congress at least 90 days before signing the agreement. The administration will continue to consult with the Congress on the agreement during the waiting period and expects to notify Congress early next year of its intent to sign the U.S.-Chile FTA.
--Submitted by U.S. Grains Council

NCGA Participates in Discussions on Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia

NCGA this week joined industry partners and government entities in a discussion surrounding oxygen depletion of the hypoxic zone, also known as hypoxia, in the northern Gulf of Mexico. At the ninth meeting of the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force in Washington, D.C., participants heard and commented on ideas to address restoration, point source and non-point source pollution, monitoring, and research needs. The size of the hypoxic zone off of the Gulf is comparable to the State of Massachusetts.
Other causes are attributed to physical changes in the basin, such as channelization, the loss of wetland, and the interaction between freshwater from the river and saltwater from the Gulf. After several years of study and discussion, the Watershed Nutrient Task Force, comprised of state and federal government agencies, developed an action plan to address hypoxia.

Program elements include: *encourage non-point source pollutant reduction under the Clean Water Act and Farm Bill; *implement the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to assist grain and livestock producers in *reducing excessive nutrients' movement to water sources;
*promote restoration and enhancement of natural systems for nitrogen retention by implementing the Conservation Reserve Program and Agricultural Extension Education Programs; *implement watershed-based approaches to water quality management; *promote public-private partnerships to restore buffers; *promote cost-effective flood control alternatives; *provide voluntary incentives for nitrogen reduction from point and non-point sources.

NCGA Says Missouri River Reversal Would Jeopardize Future of Navigation

A letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (RFS) to the Army Corps of Engineers seeking a spring rise and summer draw-down to protect endangered species has led to concern and questioning by NCGA around future river navigation. The letter, written Nov. 15 and released last week, seems to reverse a prior agreement between the two entities to maintain river levels for 2003 at the current river operational plan because of drought conditions. Instead, FWS wants the Corps to institute a spring rise and summer draw down to protect endangered species.

For 12 years, the Corps has been reviewing its Master Manual, which governs the operations of the Missouri River. In November 2000, FWS released a biological opinion on the Corps's management of the river, citing current operations would cause further habitat loss, nest failure, forage reduction and inhibit the reproductive success of the endangered pallid sturgeon, endangered least tern and the threatened piping plover. At that time, the FWS recommended the Corps institute a spring rise and summer draw down help these species.

Growers on the 'Classic Track' for Premier Trade Show

Commodity Classic, at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C., February 27-March 1, 2003, will include a 700-booth trade show that provides corn and soybean growers with access to the latest agriculture technology and products. Commodity Classic is the eighth annual convention and trade show of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and American Soybean Association (ASA). In addition, Commodity Classic offers a wide variety of educational seminars and learning sessions that provide producers with the latest industry information on topics such as trade, biotechnology, marketing, renewable fuels and the future of agriculture. A complete listing of the trade show exhibitors and educational seminars, as well as other event details, can be found on the official Commodity Classic web site at: www.commodityclassic.com <http://www.commodityclassic.com>. For more information or to register, call 636-928-3700.

NCGA THIS WEEK

• Dec. 16-18 NCGA President-Elect Dee Vaughan will be in Washington, D.C., attending the U.S. Grains Council Structure Task Force meeting
• Dec. 19 NCGA CEO Rick Tolman will visit with a delegation of Afghans at the American Soybean Association offices in St. Louis
• Dec. 20 NCGA holiday party; St. Louis office will close at 2 p.m.
  

© 2002 National Corn Growers Association

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