NCGA Lauds Brown-Thune-Durbin-Lugar Proposal to Strengthen Farm Safety Net
The National Corn Growers Association Friday applauded the bipartisan work of Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), John Thune (R-SD), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Dick Lugar (R-IN) to introduce legislation that will create the Aggregate Risk and Revenue Management (ARRM) Program. The bill is designed to simplify, consolidate and streamline existing commodity programs that were authorized as part of the 2008 farm bill.
"We greatly appreciate the senators' work to introduce legislation that will provide a more effective and responsive safety net for America's farmers," NCGA President Bart Schott said. "This legislation addresses several concerns raised by farmers regarding the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) Program, including overly complicated procedures and delayed payments when losses are experienced. We also understand everyone must do their part to help our nation with its difficult financial situation and we are pleased to see a bill introduced that takes responsible steps to help meet this challenge."
The proposed legislation will eliminate the direct and counter-cyclical payment programs. Unlike the ACRE Program, ARRM will be an annual election program with calculations to be based on planted acres. Program guarantees will also be based on a five-year Olympic average revenue from a Crop Reporting District instead of on a state-by-state basis. According to the Congressional Budget Office, ARRM also would result in substantial budget savings.
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NCGA President Bart Schott, right, participates in a Food Dialogues panel Thursday in New York City. |
USFRA "Food Dialogues" Launches with Survey on Americans and Their Food
Findings of two national surveys about food and how it is grown and raised were released Thursday during "The Food Dialogues," a town hall-style discussion presented by the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance. The surveys focused separately on the opinions, attitudes and questions consumers and farmers/ranchers have about the current and future state of how food is grown and raised in the United States. Results reveal that lack of access to information, as well as no interest or passion for the topic, have divided consumer opinion on the direction of agriculture.
NCGA is a founding affiliate of the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance and NCGA President Bart Schott, a USFRA board member, represented the organization at the New York City panel discussion.
"What brought me to New York is the idea that we farmers and ranchers in the small towns like mine across America's heartland need to learn more about Americans' concerns and choices when it comes to eating the food we help produce," Schott said. "In addition, we'd like to tell them about what we do, especially the great progress underway in American agriculture today to help ensure healthy food for all."
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NCGA Testifies on Importance of Improving Locks and Dams
Steve Ebke, chair of NCGA's Production and Stewardship Action Team and a farmer from Nebraska, testified Wednesday before the House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. The hearing focused on the economic importance and financing challenges of the nation's inland waterways system.
"The U.S. agricultural sector is the largest user of the freight transportation network, accounting for nearly one-third of all freight transportation services utilized across the country," Ebke said. "With the primary agricultural production in the interior of the country, far from the ports that link to international trade, transportation is critical to the competitiveness of U.S. agriculture in world markets."
Ebke also noted that each year more than one billion bushels of grain, about 60 percent of all grain exports, are shipped for export via the Mississippi River, but many locks are too small for today's larger tows. As an example, many lock chambers on the Upper Mississippi are 600 feet in length. However, the average length of a modern tow (15 barges pushed by a towboat) is 1,200 feet. Therefore, a modern tow would essentially have to be split in half and transit the lock one section at a time, resulting in costly delays.
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More than 1 Million NASCAR Miles Verify Performance of Ethanol
Since the February Daytona 500, Americans with questions about ethanol's performance characteristics have been getting answers at NASCAR races nationwide. Every driver in all three NASCAR racing series has been running on a 15 percent ethanol blend. This week, NASCAR confirmed what millions of viewers have seen by officially announcing mid-level ethanol blends have now demonstrated their high-performance for more than one million driving miles.
"Ethanol is an agricultural success story. It is an American success story. Now, it is a NASCAR success story too," said Michigan Corn Growers Association President and NCGA Ethanol Committee Member Jeff Sandborn, as he joined with NASCAR to announce the study findings Wednesday in Washington. "Jobs, less air pollution and reduced dependence on oil imports are all good reasons to use more ethanol. But first and foremost, consumers must be comfortable that it will perform well in their car. I can't imagine a better way to build that consumer confidence than having it track-tested by NASCAR."
The 'white paper,' "One Million Competition Miles on Sunoco Green E15" report, contains concrete data verifying E15's qualities as a fuel and substantiating these conclusions. With more than 1.3 million miles accumulated in practice, qualifying and racing laps in NASCAR racing vehicles, the report relies on a broad set of meticulously collected data. With everyone involved in this sport, from crew chiefs to fans, watching engine performance and mileage, no issue with E15 has emerged.
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NCGA: Reduce Deficit While Strengthening Risk Management
NCGA President Bart Schott released the following statement Monday in response to President Obama's Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction Plan:
"NCGA strongly supports the effort to get our federal budget under control and the need for shared sacrifice in order to achieve an equitable, balanced approach. We appreciate the recognition in President Obama's plan of how important reliable effective risk management tools are to farmers and rural communities. While NCGA agrees the fiscal challenges before us require even greater efficiency in the delivery of farm safety net programs, we are deeply concerned by proposals that would directly undermine a farmer's ability to purchase adequate insurance coverage at a time of heightened volatility in commodity markets.
"In addition, NCGA recently unveiled the Agriculture Disaster Assistance Program (ADAP), a plan that transfers a significant portion of direct payments for deficit reduction, with the remaining funds put toward an improved risk management program that better complements federal crop insurance. As the Administration and members of Congress begin to prepare for the next farm bill, we also ask that decisions and writing of the legislation be made within the committees of jurisdiction."
NCGA DC Office Welcomes New Manager
NCGA welcomed Natalie Cook, the organization's new office manager for the Washington office, on Monday. In this position, Cook serves as the assistant to NCGA Vice President of Public Policy Jon Doggett. She also will have responsibilities in organizing the CornPAC, special meetings held in Washington, and coordination of other events.
"Natalie brings not only a strong background in legislative issues and organization to the position but also a deep-rooted passion for agriculture," Doggett said. "Her strengths will complement those of the staffers already on our team. We look forward to utilizing her solid skill set and unique perspective to further our efforts on behalf of corn farmers across the country."
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