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Act Now! Commodity Classic Early Registration Ends Wednesday
 Early registrants save $50 off the full registration fee! Discover what trends are driving corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum issues amid the sights of Southern California ... Add your voice to high-energy discussions during Early Riser, Learning Center and WIN sessions ... Cruise the trade show floor packed with the latest and greatest industry innovations ... Don't miss the General Session hosted by Mark Mayfield and the Evening of Entertainment with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band! Click here for details! | |
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About Us
Founded in 1957, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) represents approximately 35,000 dues-paying corn growers and the interests of more than 300,000 farmers who contribute through corn checkoff programs in their states. NCGA and its 48 affiliated state associations and checkoff organizations work together to help protect and advance corn growers' interests.
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NCGA is a proud promotional sponsor of America's Heartland, a weekly television program on RFD-TV and many public television stations. Click on the image above for more information.
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Farmers Deliver Record Corn Crop
U.S. corn farmers brought in a record amount of corn in 2009, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported this morning, despite a harvest season that left thousands of acres of corn around the country still unharvested. USDA estimated a crop of 13.2 billion bushels, with a record yield of 165.2 bushels per acre.
U.S. corn growers produced this record crop utilizing fewer acres. In 2009, USDA estimates 86.6 million acres were used for corn production, compared with the 93.5 million acres used to produce the previous record crop in 2007.
In its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, the USDA Tuesday estimated a total corn supply of 14.8 billion bushels, with 5.6 billion bushels being used for feed, 4.2 billion for ethanol and coproducts, and 1.3 billion for other domestic uses. The U.S. will export 2.1 billion bushels of corn, with a carry-out of 1.8 billion bushels in free stocks at the end of the marketing year. Average farm price is estimated at $3.70 per bushel, the second year of a drop in average corn prices.
Also, USDA reports that corn stocks were up 9 percent over December 2008. Corn stored in all positions on Dec. 1, 2009 totaled 10.9 billion bushels. Of the total stocks, 7.45 billion bushels are stored on farms, up 15 percent from a year earlier. Off-farm stocks, at 3.49 billion bushels, are down 3 percent from 2008. 2009 Annual Report Now Online
The annual report for NCGA's 2009 fiscal year is now available online. A printed copy of the report, which highlights the association's achievements over the previous year and features current financial information, will be sent to all active members.
"As I reflect on 2009, I take great pride in being a member of NCGA, said Chairman Bob Dickey, a farmer from Laurel, Neb., who served as president last year. "I am proud of the NCGA staff, its board and member-leaders who work tirelessly on behalf of all members to ensure that future generations of farmers will benefit from intelligent public policy decisions."
The annual report, titled "Stepping Up," outlines the work of members and staff on various policy issues and summarizes key financial statistics for the organization, which had total revenues of nearly $9.6 million and expenditures of $8.9 million in the 2009 fiscal year.
Click here to view the annual report.
Corn Leaders Talk Policy ...
NCGA's Priority and Policy Conference took place this week in St. Louis, and included a robust discussion of proposed organizational policy changes by state grower leaders. Leaders of the U.S. Grains Council are also attending this week's events, which include a joint collaboration meeting of the NCGA and USGC boards of directors.
Proposed additions or changes to NCGA policy are debated at this week's meeting and then voted on as non-binding recommendations for the Corn Congress, which includes 127 state delegates who will next meet in early March, at Commodity Classic.
While all present at the Priority and Policy Conference can provide ideas, those who actually vote on the recommendations at this meeting are members of the NCGA Resolutions Committee - presidents of the state checkoff organizations and grower associations, members of the NCGA Corn Board, and chairs of NCGA's action teams and committees. State and national staff and other state grower leaders are also in attendance.
Click here for an audio interview
with NCGA President Darrin Ihnen about the Priority and Policy Conference.
... And Priorities for Coming Year
The Priority and Policy Conference also featured vigorous discussion of priorities for the national organization, as proposed by state leaders for NCGA in 2011. The list of recommended priorities focuses on communications, environmental regulations, ethanol market expansion, the Farm Bill, grassroots activism, livestock and poultry, and transportation.
"This is a great opportunity for states to discuss their own priorities for national while gaining insight into why other states place value in different areas," said NCGA President Darrin Ihnen, a grower from Hurley, S.D. "
The priorities as discussed here will also be considered by the Corn Congress. The Corn Board will consider recommendations from both bodies when finalizing the NCGA priorities for 2011. The priorities are of vital importance to the organization as they help guide organizational business plans and staff actions over the course of the year."
Click here for audio reports with NCGA's action team and committee chairs, talking about their priorities for 2010.
NCGA Supports Atrazine
NCGA and several other agricultural organizations sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson Friday, outlining their concerns on the potential ban of atrazine, a commonly used herbicide that is also the most studied compound on the market today.
"Our growers have actively participated in the process and supported the safety and scientific approval of atrazine by the EPA over the last 15 years and three White House administrations," the joint letter states. "We strongly believe the scientific weight of evidence, based on EPA's own analysis for decades, shows atrazine to be both safe and effective and that is the best kind of tool farmers can have."
An EPA Scientific Advisory Panel will meet the week of February 2 to review human health effects from atrazine. The panel was convened in the wake of the Agency's announcement of a comprehensive review of health and ecological risks associated with the commonly used herbicide atrazine.
Click here for the letter. |
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This Week's NCGA Blog Highlights
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A Look at the Week Ahead... |
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January 18-22
- On Monday, Jan. 18, the National Corn Growers Association offices will be closed in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
- On Tuesday, Jan. 19, CEO Rick Tolman addresses the Alabama Soybean and Corn Association Annual Meeting on NCGA activities in 2009, activities to come in 2010, and the current image of corn.
- On Tuesday, Jan. 19, NCGA's Climate Change Task Force meets in Oak RIdge, Tenn. The conference runs through Thursday.
- Wednesday, Jan. 20, the U.S. Senate comes back into session.
- On Friday, Jan. 22, Jamey Cline participates in a meeting with Monsanto concerning corn stover applications.
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