The newest technology to help corn growers boost yield - technology as big as a new combine or small as a corn seed - was on display this week at the 2009 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Ill. Present for media interviews Tuesday were National Corn Growers Association First Vice President Darrin Ihnen and Director Bart Schott.

 

"This new technology is so important to our work as farmers," Ihnen, a corn grower from Hurley, S.D., said. "I'm very impressed by the advances being made for each new season."

Earlier this week, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency sent a draft rule to the White House that would establish strict greenhouse gas emissions permitting requirements for entities that emit 25,000 tons per year. The National Corn Growers Association is committed to working for regulations that do not harm farmers and target American agriculture.

 

The EPA's proposed regulation will cover approximately 13,000 facilities and around 85 percent of all U.S. emissions. It is likely not to include an exemption for agriculture, which was a high priority for NCGA in the Waxman-Markey bill.

When NCGA replied to Time magazine about its atrocious cover story on food and farming, we invited corn farmers to get involved and join us in this effort. Since then, a number of letters have come our way, and here's a sampling of the comments we received.

 

An Iowa farmer ...

 

"In production agriculture every day is Earth Day. We are environmentalists and conservationists by nature. We work every day to preserve the land for future generations, our own children and grand children. ... These improved production practices along with much improved seed varieties have allowed us to increase production and efficiency to a level far superior to that of previous generations."
 

Corn farmers can begin signing up for the new Conservation Stewardship Program at NRCS field offices now through Sept. 30. This is a new program under the 2008 farm bill that is offered to growers in all 50 states. Many farmers may recall the previous CSP program, the Conservation Security Program, that was only available in certain watersheds.

 

"The newly designed CSP promotes adopting conservation practices on working lands," National Corn Growers Association First Vice President Darrin Ihnen said. "It is always positive to see new programs that provide incentives to producers who seek to further improve the environment while sustaining production." 

 

The National Corn Growers Association and chemical company BASF Corporation will again award five $1,000 scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a degree in an agriculture-related field.

 

"Fighting the 'brain drain' that affects many of our rural communities, and encouraging access to agriculture education are two key goals for NCGA," said Tim Dolan, chairman of NCGA's Grower Services Action Team and a farmer from Winthrop, Minn. "This program is an important component of NCGA's commitment to education and the future of our communities."