NCGA Corn Action News: Friday, February 19, 2010

Secretary Vilsack to Speak at Commodity Classic

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will deliver the keynote address to an expected crowd of more than 4,500 farmers, family members and industry representatives during General Session at the 15th annual Commodity Classic, March 5 in Anaheim, Calif.

"We are excited and pleased to welcome Secretary Vilsack to Commodity Classic," National Corn Growers Association President Darrin Ihnen said. "With many changes expected in the agriculture sector over the next year, we have no doubt our growers will value the secretary's attendance and appreciate hearing his positions on future policies affecting our industry."

Commodity Classic is the premier convention and trade show of the U.S. corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum industries. This year's trade show will host over 800 booths showcasing the latest agricultural equipment, technology, products and services. In addition to walking the trade show floor, participants will also have numerous opportunities to take part in policy discussions, view demonstrations and attend learning sessions.

For more information, please visit Commodity Classic's website: www.commodityclassic.com.

Dozens of grower leaders and state corn organization staffers from around the country met this week to learn more about membership recruitment, retention and services and share best practices with their colleagues at the NCGA Membership Symposium in Clearwater Beach, Fla.

"The symposium provides a great opportunity for our leaders and staff to get together and learn from each other, as well as recognized experts in association leadership and related areas," said NCGA Grower Services Action Team Chairman Tim Dolan, a farmer from Winthrop, Minn. "As NCGA and state grower association membership reaches record heights, we want to do all we can to support our members and our industry."

The symposium began Tuesday with a presentation on the growing importance of social media and a series of breakout sessions designed to bring participants together and share stories and recommendations for recruiting and retaining members. Wednesday, participants will leared about the new "face" of membership, effective member engagement and membership development. They also received a briefing from NCGA Corn Board member Theresa Schmalshof.

Click here for photos from the symposium.

As February draws to an end and spring looms on the horizon, National Corn Growers Association's Biotechnology Working Group Chair Rob Korff, a grower from Norborne, Mo., spoke with podcast series "Off the Cob" about the importance of proper refuge compliance.

Korff stressed that refuge compliance is about living up to obligations, taking responsibility for one's own operation and ensuring that biotechnology continues to provide growers with its many possible advantages.

To use the current version of the refuge compliance calculator, please click here.

CUTC to Explore Corn's Role in Human Health

CUTC Logo With the 2010 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference quickly approaching, the time to register is now. Over the coming weeks, chairs heading the ten technical sessions will explain what attendees can expect to learn from their sessions during the conference. This week, Dr. Sakharam Patil, chair of the Health and Nutrition Technical Session, talks about the learning opportunities that his session will offer.

The Health and Nutrition Session provides a new look at the benefits of corn as a dietary supplement. Speakers will discuss the production of astaxanthin, a carotenoid of high-value as a nutracuetical and the utilization of corn in the control of obesity and its positive effect as a dietary fiber. New data on the positive impact of DDGs on heart health when used in the human diet will also be presented by Dr. Rajat Sethi of Texas A&M University.

In addition to exploring these and other human health topics, such as obesity, the CUTC will look at corn breeding and genetics, water usage and agriculture and other timely topics. Held in Atlanta, Ga. June 7 through 9, the 2010 Corn Utilization and Technology conference is the country's premier corn technology conference. To register or learn more about this event, click here.

For the whole story, click here.

Advancing Pest Control Options

The National Corn Growers Association continues its commitment to support advancement of Divergence, Inc.'s innovative work to prevent crop damage from nematodes. These efforts benefit growers as the parasitic nematode worms are the largest unsolved pest problem in agriculture, limiting the yield of crops worldwide and causing tens of billions of dollars in crop damage annually.

"As producers, we deal with pest control issues every growing season," said Research and Business Development Action Team Chair Larry Hasheider. "NCGA is committed to working with both the industry and directly with growers to optimize our nation's corn crop. This provides us with another opportunity to help producers make the most of their operations."

Divergence is pleased to continue its productive relationship with NCGA. The collaboration, now in its eighth year, has successfully discovered technology with the potential to protect corn from the yield-reducing effects of parasitic nematode infection.