NCGA CEO Rick Tolman, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, NCGA President Gerald Tumbleson and NCGA Vice President of Public Policy Jon Doggett met today in Washington, D.C., to discuss a variety of farm issues important to corn growers. The private meeting covered the future of agriculture, the farm bill and trade issues.

NCGA Leaders Discuss key Corn Grower Issues with Secretary Johanns (11-2-05)

National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) met today with Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns today in Washington, D.C., to discuss a wide range of topics relating to America’s corn growers. Attending the meeting were NCGA President Gerald Tumbleson, CEO Rick Tolman and Vice President of Public Policy Jon Doggett.

The private meeting was an opportunity for NCGA to present to the secretary the organization’s views on the future of agriculture, the farm bill and trade.

“It was a great opportunity to continue to share our ideas and thoughts from the grassroots at this important time,” said Tumbleson. “The Doha round is ongoing, and we’re laying the foundation for 2007 farm bill. It was also a great time to share with the secretary what’s important to our growers.”

Tumbleson and Tolman said a key part of the discussion was the future of agriculture, with an emphasis on Growing America’s Future and Taking Ownership of Grain Belt Agriculture and how NCGA and its members plan to implement the objectives of those key programs. The importance of value-added production for corn growers was a key focus of that discussion.

The three also talked about themes Johanns is hearing from recent farm bill listening sessions.

“Secretary Johanns has visited or will visit 48 of the 50 states, and agriculture is different in each of the states,” Tolman said. “He’s getting several different views from each state on what they want to see in the 2007 farm bill. It’s important that our organization keep an open mind as we head toward 2007.”

Johanns said one theme he is hearing from farmers is the significance of how farm programs are spurring rural development, creating opportunities to generate revenue for rural economies.

Johanns also mentioned he values the relationship NCGA has with USDA and his office monitors closely what our organization says.