NCGA Corn Action News: Friday, March 19, 2010

As part of National Agriculture Week, farmer leaders of the National Corn Growers Association and the American Soybean Association visited with elected officials in Washington, D.C. to promote issues currently facing Congress that are important to their industry. Specifically, the groups discussed agricultural trade with Cuba, funding for infrastructure improvements on the Upper Mississippi River system and the advancement of biofuels.

"It is important to have a united voice on issues affecting the agriculture industry, particularly during National Agriculture Week," NCGA President Darrin Ihnen, a grower from Hurley, S.D. said. "Corn and soybean growers share many of the same priorities and advocating together makes our grassroots efforts twice as strong."

Both ASA and NCGA strongly support H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, and believe the Cuba embargo works against American farmers. Introduced by House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Rep. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) in February, this legislation would expand one-way trade with Cuba, eliminate the need to go through third-party banks to conduct agricultural trade, eliminate the payment in advance rule and lift current travel restrictions.

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Renewing VEETC Could Save 112,000 Jobs

Extension of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) would save 112,000 jobs according to a new report. If the credit is allowed to expire at the end of 2010, it is estimated that U.S. ethanol production capacity, regardless of feed stock, would decrease by 38 percent thus eliminating nearly 30 percent of the 400,000 jobs the ethanol production industry supports today. Notably, the projected job lost would impact rural communities most heavily.

"The extension of VEETC is a top priority at NCGA because we understand how crucial this issue is to grower profitability," said NCGA President Darrin Ihnen, a grower from Hurley, S.D. "Allowing the VEETC to expire would not only harm farm profitability though. By allowing this credit to expire, our government is moving away from furthering a viable source of domestic fuel."

Tax incentives for ethanol routinely pay for themselves. In 2009, the outlay from the Federal Treasury for VEETC and the Small Producer Tax Credit totaled $5 billion. By comparison, the Federal Treasury saw $8.4 billion in increased revenues from the ethanol industry. This signifies a net positive return of $3.4 billion. This figure does not take into account additional positive returns in the form of increased state and local taxes, increases in household income and savings resulting from decreased oil imports.

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Video Highlights Importance of Activism

Opening Screen With regulators, food elitists and animal-rights extremists consistently attacking agriculture, it is important that growers work together to respond to challenges threatening their livelihoods, according to a new video, "Add Volume to Your Voice," released by the National Corn Growers Association today.

The video is available through YouTube by clicking here.

Polling shows that many Americans no longer understand agriculture in their own country. Most believe that family farming no longer exists and some children do not even realize where their food comes from or how it is grown. Yet, the majority of Americans strongly believe that family farmers are trustworthy messengers. This provides growers an opportunity to educate the public and influence policies that affect their operations.

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CUTC Registrants Could Win Apple iPad

iPad Organizers of the National Corn Growers Association's 2010 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference announced that the first 100 paid attendees to register for the conference will be entered into a drawing for an Apple iPad. NCGA President Darrin Ihnen will draw the winner during the conference's Opening Ceremony on the evening of June 7.

The iPad which will be awarded to the winner will have a 16 gigabyte capacity and both WiFi and 3G capabilities. This revolutionary one and a half pound multi-touch screen device with over ten hours of battery life. The iPad will be able to play audio and video, surf the web, email, store photos, serve as a wireless reader and run a variety of applications currently under development. The iPad will also run Apple's iWork productivity applications including Keynote, Numbers and Pages. These programs allow users to create multimedia presentations, a variety of spreadsheets and professional quality documents.

Additionally, early registration will continue until March 31. By registering early attendees not only increase their chances of being entered into the drawing, they also receive a discounted conference fee.

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