NCGA
Leaders Explore Trade Issues at U.S. Grains Council Meeting (8-4-04)
National Corn
Growers Association (NCGA) leaders discussed trade policy, biotechnology,
advancements in value-added technology and other issues important
to the corn industry last week at the U.S. Grains Council (USGC)
annual Board of Delegates Meeting in Montreal.
NCGA President
Dee Vaughan, who attended the event along with Chairman Fred Yoder,
First Vice President Leon Corzine and CEO Rick Tolman, said the
meeting provided a forum for valuable discussion on a number of
critical issues, as well as insight from leading government officials
and industry experts.
“The meeting
afforded us another opportunity to come together with leaders in
the grain industry and explore issues that will affect corn growers
and other grain producers in the near future,” Vaughan said.
“The best way to pursue our goal of developing existing markets
and opening new markets for U.S. farmers is to collaborate with
the top decision-makers in the industry. This was a very productive
meeting and we look forward to continuing our strong relationship
with the council.”
The council
meeting featured a slate of guest speakers including Howard Migie,
director-general of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; Kirk Miller,
general sales manager of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Foreign Agricultural Service; Robert Thompson, of the International
Policy Council; and Dan Pearson, commissioner for the U.S. International
Trade Commission.
Aside from the
council’s normal business, the NCGA-USGC Joint Trade Policy
A-Team met to discuss progress on a number of critical trade initiatives,
including the World Trade Organization (WTO) draft text calling
for the elimination of export subsidies.
The council’s
board of delegates also elected a new slate of officers. Paul Williams
of Davenport, Wash., was elected chairman. Also elected were Davis
Anderson of Ontario, Canada, as vice chairman; Vic Miller of Oelwein,
Iowa, as treasurer; Joint Trade Policy A-Team Chair Doug Boisen
of Minden, Neb., as secretary; Terry Wolf of Homer, Ill., as past
chairman; and Ken Hobbie of Washington, D.C., as president and CEO.
For more information
or to view photos of the meeting, go to the U.S. Grains Council
Web site at www.grains.org.