State, National Corn Association Staff Collaborate to Maximize Opportunities for Growers

Charlie Arnot speaking to state and national staff on building trust between farmers and consumers.

This week, staff from the National Corn Growers Association and 20 state corn associations met in St. Louis to delve into hot topics that will affect farmers in the coming years.  Exploring issues including the future of ethanol, water quality regulations and potential livestock legislation, participants collaborated on ways to maximize the effectiveness of their efforts. 

State staff joined the already ongoing national staff meeting on Tuesday afternoon for the three-day conference.  Featuring presentations from industry experts such as Center for Food Integrity CEO Charlie Arnot and in-depth association program coverage, the meeting also provided opportunities to share experiences and examine issues from fresh perspectives.

Arnot provided insight into how to best communicate with consumers.  With new programs oriented toward a consumer audience, such as CommonGround and the NASCAR American Ethanol partnership, this speech looked at how to best create the trust between consumers and farmers that will help the industry educate broad public audiences about the reality of modern agriculture.  Specifically, Arnot recommended that growers look at the values they share with consumers instead of bombarding an unwilling audience with dry facts.

Panels of state staff spoke with the group on the issues which their states dealt with intensively over the past year.   Here, topics included defending state livestock industries from activist attacks, promoting blender pumps and sports marketing. 

National staff also took advantage of this opportunity to update state staff on major programs and upcoming issues.  Topics covered included NASCAR, the 2012 Farm Bill and the future of the ethanol industry.  The structure of the meeting allowed state staff to discuss the direction of the campaigns and provide direct feedback.

This annual meeting also included breakout sessions for executives, communicators, grower services staff and executive administrators.  Through these sessions, each particular group was able to discuss the particular issues that will impact their area of expertise the most directly over the coming few years and to look at ways to improve their skill sets.

NASCAR driver and American Ethanol spokesman Kenny Wallace enthusiastically spoke with staff about promoting the many benefits of ethanol.

Field Notes Opens the Farm Gate

The National Corn Growers Association revisits Field Notes, a series that follows a handful of corn farmers from across the country from winter planting preparations through harvest.  While these growers come from diverse geographic areas and run unique operations, they share a common love for U.S. agriculture and the basic values that underpin life in farming communities.

Planting Season Becomes a Waiting Game for Field Notes Growers

As a cool, wet spring draws on throughout the Corn Belt, Tom Martin continues to work on his equipment and wait for the weather present decent planting conditions. While the temperature will hit the minimum for planting next week with 60 degree weather in the forecast, continuous predictions of wet weather have farmers like Martin, who normally would begin planting in early April, wondering when they will start planting the 2011 corn crop.

Martin took a moment to explain what influences his decision on how much of each crop to plant in a given year.

"I base my decision, in part, upon income potential based upon prices and input costs," said Martin. "I also firmly believe that I still benefit from a level of crop rotation. How I have planted the land previously factors into my decision as I want to farm in a way that preserves my land."

To listen to the full interview, click here.