NCGA to Participate in Web Seminar on U.S. Transportation Capabilities (3-14-06)

Adding their voice to the expanding discussion on U.S. transportation capabilities, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) will be participating in the Web seminar “Commodities: From Origin to Destination,” Wednesday, March 15, at 1 p.m. (EST). NCGA Corn Board member Bob Dickey will discuss why transportation, namely the transportation infrastructure on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, is vitally important to the corn industry, agriculture and consumers.

“This is a great opportunity for NCGA to reach an audience that may not know our issues and how important modernizing the locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers is to our industry,” said Dickey. “The Web seminar is a great tool to promote improved transportation infrastructure and highlight the Mississippi River. We are hopeful this will help to educate the public on the importance of modernizing and proper maintenance of all modes of transportation, not just the highways and rail transportation.”

The Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors, an organization that works to bring national attention to the need to significantly expand U.S. freight transportation capabilities and to work toward solutions to this growing national challenge, is hosting the Web seminar in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration. 
 
The overall purpose of the seminar is to help those in the transportation industry understand the process of freight movement and the importance of strong transportation infrastructure. Dickey will present a power point presentation via the Web, discussing the process of getting corn from the fields to the shelves, here and around the world, and the problems facing the industry.

In addition to Dickey, Shannon Menard of the Coalition for America’s Gateways & Trade Corridors and Pete Beaulieu with the Puget Sound Regional Council will give presentations.

“I encourage everyone to log onto the Web site and participate in the Web seminar,” Dickey said. “It is very important to learn about other organizations involved in transportation issues and what their concerns are. The general public really needs to learn how the products they use everyday, such as food, steel, concrete and cars, get from their origin to their destination.”

The seminar takes place from 1 to 2:30 p.m. with a question-and-answer session following the presentations. You can participate in the Web seminar by logging onto the Federal Highway Administration Web site.

All presentations are downloadable and will be viewable indefinitely on the Web site.