NCGA Corn Board Addresses Top Issues During Washington, D.C., Visit (3-17-06)

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Corn Board met this week in Washington, D.C., to address a number of issues important to the nation’s corn producers. Corn Board members attended the National Agriculture Week kickoff luncheon, held normal business meetings, attended a joint NCGA--U.S. Grains Council (USGC) Trade School and visited congressional offices to discuss NCGA’s top priorities with lawmakers and their staffs.

“We were really happy to be in Washington, D.C., this week. We not only visited congressional offices talking about our key issues, but we were able to attend the National Ag Day luncheon and help spread the message about the benefits of agriculture,” said Ken McCauley, NCGA first vice president. “Agriculture’s importance has been one of our key messages. Our nation is not only depending on agriculture for a safe and abundant food supply, but now the nation relies on agriculture for energy, such as ethanol. Agriculture’s future has never been brighter.”

National Agriculture Week, which began with a luncheon, featured keynote addresses by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Mike Johanns and Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.

Chambliss addressed attendees on the opportunities and challenges American agriculture has and will continue to face. He touched on upcoming 2007 farm bill discussions, which the Senate Agriculture Committee will be holding throughout the countryside beginning in the summer.

NCGA Chairman Leon Corzine, who also attended the luncheon, noted that NCGA will be heavily involved in all the 2007 farm bill discussions and was happy to hear about the upcoming Senate forums. "Our hope is we have the opportunity to make adjustments and in the end have an even better farm bill for our future.”

In addition, NCGA Corn Board members attended a day-long educational seminar on trade. The “Trade School” session, the second in a series of three, provided core information on the ins and outs of trade policy, the language of trade policy, who makes it and where, the structure of trade agreements, how they interact with our domestic programs and how to aid in shaping future trade agreements to best serve corn growers.

Corzine said, “By understanding these fundamentals, we will have the necessary preparation for any further discussion regarding trade and the upcoming 2007 farm bill discussions.”