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St.
Louis a Hub of NCGA Activity as BWG, Action Teams, Corn Board Meets
(11-30-01)
Members
and grower leaders of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) converged
on St. Louis this week for their first meetings of Fiscal Year 2002.
Groups meeting in the Gateway City include the Biotech Working Group
(BWG), the four Action Teams (Customer Service and Business Development,
Grower Services, Production and Stewardship, and Public Policy) and
the Corn Board. Also meeting in St. Louis are 25 state representatives
here to attend a seminar on improving recruitment and retention techniques.
NCGA CEO and Executive
Vice President Rick Tolman said the meetings would have a new set of
agendas and a new budget to work with. "We've finished another
successful year," said Tolman, "but we're ready to move forward
and build on those successes. We're going to look at where we want to
go, both as a board and as an association."
The BWG meeting
Thursday focused on topics such as a discussion on the "Know Before
You Grow" campaign, headed by NCGA Director of Development Tom
Slunecka. Later in the afternoon, the group spoke about recent lobbying
efforts in Washington D.C., on behalf of biotech, including issues such
as Insect Resistance Management (IRM) and GMO labeling policies. Friday's
discussions will center around the containment of biotech corn, biosafety
and livestock and more information on IRM.
Tolman said changes
would be implemented with the BWG. "They will also be reporting
directly to the Corn Board now," he said. "This also shows
our dedication to making biotechnology accessible by growers and the
significance of it to NCGA."
Another new addition
to the NCGA is the forming of the Ethanol Marketing Committee (EMC).
Tolman said the EMC was created to market ethanol and show its importance
nationwide. "This can be considered the fifth Action Team,"
he said, "and will report directly to the Board. I think the creation
of the Committee reflects NCGA's strong commitment to ethanol and the
important role it plays as one of our priorities."
Much of the EMC's
discussions over the next two days will focus on the group's policies
and priorities, as well as coverage on plans to promote ethanol as a
cleaner-burning, renewable alternative to petroleum as a fuel additive.
Also taking place
in St. Louis was a meeting, sponsored by Syngenta Seeds and Syngenta
Crop Protection, focusing on showing state recruiters how they can improve
their techniques. NCGA Membership Services Manager Byron Keelin said
the seminar is a useful tool for both recruitment and retention.
"Recruiters
will leave here with the tools to inform corn growers about the benefits
of NCGA membership," said Keelin, "and with the abilities
and the talent of the participants of this meeting, I have no doubt
membership within NCGA will continue to increase."
Of the four Action
Teams meeting during the three-day conference, Tolman said much of the
work took place Thursday evening. "The NCGA officers met with the
Action Teams and Committee chairs and discussed their responsibilities
and their tasks for the coming year," he said. "The Teams
and Committees then met Friday morning to review the information and
to make sure we're all on the same page."
The Action Team
meetings will wrap up Saturday.
Last reviewed
November 30, 2001
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