|
NCGA's
New Year's Resolutions (12-28-01)
People
have bad habits. Whether it's eating a bit too much at the buffet or
not being as active as you'd like (or not being active at all, as it
were) there are always things we can improve on and the beginning of
the new year is usually a good time to start with a clean slate.
The National Corn
Growers Association (NCGA) is no different. While 2001 was filled with
many successes for the 32,000-member organization, you can't rest on
your laurels. The folks at NCGA recognize this and have made the following
resolutions for 2002:
1. To continue to
work diligently to ensure a well-balanced Farm Bill is in place as soon
as possible. NCGA is confident the elected officials of more than 300,000
corn growers will do what they can to get this important piece of legislation
passed in a timely manner.
2. To continue to
promote energy security with ethanol and ethanol production. Ethanol
has been proven to be a safer, cleaner-burning alternative to petroleum-based
fuels and ethanol production has provided hundreds of jobs in the past
year and, with more ethanol plants coming online, more jobs are opening.
3. To become an
even better steward of biotechnology, keeping it accessible to those
who need its benefits, and to manage it appropriately through Insect
Resistance Management programs that include refuge acreages.
4. To continue to
leverage checkoff funds for use in research and business development
projects that will directly benefit the nation's corn growers by increasing
the amount of corn used. Projects such as the new PLA plant in Blair,
Neb., and other industrial and consumer uses will not only provide more
jobs, but will give corn growers new markets.
5. To support America's
war on terrorism.
6. To continue to
work with legislators and the general public to update the lock and
dam system on the Upper Mississippi River, bringing it into the 21st
century. This antiquated system is directly affecting the ability of
corn growers to ship corn to international markets and must be updated.
7. To continue to
explain that on the Missouri River a spring-rise isn't a matter of statistical
acreage that will be affected, it's a matter of people and families
and their occupations. Land will be flooded and real people will be
displaced.
8. To continue to
support Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) so the U.S. can again become
a reliable partner in international trade.
9. Finally, NCGA
resolves to continue to be the voice of corn growers and farmers across
the nation in all matters affecting them.
Last reviewed
December 28, 2001
|