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Corn Farmers Coalition Wraps Up 2011 Washington Program
 The Corn Farmers Coalition, a program from 14 state corn associations and NCGA designed to educate Washington policymakers about corn and the family farmers who grow it, concluded its 2011 effort with an "Innovation is Growing" reception Wednesday evening at the U.S. Capitol that included the viewing of a new documentary video about corn growers.
"The Corn Farmers Coalition exists to tell the story of the revolution going on in modern farming and the significant role family farmers have had in this success," NCGA President Garry Niemeyer told a group of dozens gathered at the Capitol Visitors Center. "Corn farmers from across the United States came together through their organizations to found the effort with a simple but clear mission: Tell the story of how American farmers - through innovation, technology and hard work - have become the most productive farmers the world has ever seen."
The positive fact-based messages of the Corn Farmers Coalition are directed at legislators and key staff who participate in the policy dialogue in Washington. The 2011 campaign included "station domination" at Union Station and the Capitol South Metro Station, placing prominent messages in front of many legislative and regulatory staff that use the station in their daily commute, as well as online and drive-time radio advertisements and distribution of a popular Corn Fact Book.
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NCGA Opposes Legislation to Weaken Renewable Fuel Standard
NCGA Wednesday urged members of Congress to oppose legislation introduced by Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Jim Costa (D-CA) that would significantly weaken the Renewable Fuel Standard.
"The U.S. ethanol industry is an integral part of job creation and economic opportunity throughout rural America," NCGA President Garry Niemeyer said. "This legislation would put progress made by the ethanol industry in jeopardy and we are asking members of Congress to oppose its passage."
The RFS came into effect in 2005 and was reauthorized and expanded with strong bipartisan support in 2007. Since that time, the RFS has provided America an avenue to produce a home-grown renewable fuel that provides an alternative to foreign petroleum. The RFS allowed for expansion of the America ethanol industry and created market certainty.
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NCGA Applauds White House for Sending FTAs, Asks Congress to Move Swiftly
NCGA on Monday applauded President Obama for sending the pending Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Korea, Colombia and Panama to Congress for consideration.
"NCGA strongly supports the pending FTAs with Korea, Colombia and Panama, and we are pleased to see President Obama understands the importance of expanding trade," NCGA President Garry Niemeyer said. "The United States is the largest producer and exporter of corn in the world, exporting over 50 million metric tons of corn worldwide in the 2009-10 marketing year. These pacts represent significant markets for our nation's corn and corn co-products as well as opportunities for our customers in the livestock industry."
Korea is the United States' third largest corn market and potentially an important market for distillers' grains. Colombia has traditionally been one of the top 10 export markets, but is currently importing corn from U.S. competitors because of an import duty preference. Panama is one of the fastest-growing economies in Latin America. Corn exports there have dropped 20 percent from their 2008 peak.
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NCGA Breaks Records in Membership, Contest Participation
NCGA reached a new record high number of members, 37,160, at the end of August. The previous record of 36,216 was set in August 2010. Also this year, a record number of growers entered the National Corn Yield Contest, which requires NCGA membership. An initial count indicates submission of approximately 8,422 entries, a significant increase from the prior record of 7,125 set in 2010.
"It is inspirational that so many growers want to personally support our programs and activities," said NCGA President Garry Niemeyer, a grower from Auburn, Ill. "This increased level of grower involvement demonstrates the value members believe NCGA staff and grower leaders provide our industry."
In addition to representing individual members, NCGA works as a federation of the many state-level grower associations and checkoff boards. More than 300,000 growers contribute to state and national organizations through corn checkoff funds in their states.
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CommonGround Takes Off in South Carolina
Southern farmers Marie Bolt, Caci Nance and Jennifer Wimberly successfully launched the CommonGround program in South Carolina last week as they hosted a dinner at the South Carolina State Farmer's Market. The event brought dozens of farmers, members of the media, academics and government officials to the table for dinner and a discussion about food and today's farming.
The guests received an invitation not only to a meal but also to open a dialogue. Noting that consumers are not currently getting the real story about American agriculture, the farm women explained that they planned to change through the creation of the CommonGround movement. Designed to bridge the gap between the women who grow food and the women who buy it, the volunteers invited the attendees to join the conversation and help rebuild trust in our nation's remarkable food system and the people behind it.
To further encourage exchanges on food, volunteers milled about, helping their guests select an array of South Carolina-certified specialty foods to fill their CommonGround reusable grocery bags. These items, which were graciously donated in support of the program, represented the finest options in locally-produced foods common to the area. As they discussed their choices, the attendees also found they were taking home a better understanding of how they were grown and new contacts who would be happy to share their story, the true story of modern farming, again in the future.
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New NCGA Policy Director for Energy, Transportation Issues
 Mississippi native Elizabeth Jones has joined NCGA as the new director of public policy for energy and transportation, bringing years of experience in farm organizations and federal agencies to NCGA's Washington office.
"Elizabeth is going to be a great asset to our organization in some of our highest-priority areas," NCGA Vice President of Public Policy Jon Doggett said. "NCGA is committed to ethanol policy that supports and grows the industry and a modern transportation infrastructure that gets our farmers' grain to market more efficiently. Elizabeth has already jumped in and will help move these programs forward quickly."
Jones grew up on her family's diversified crop and livestock farm in Mississippi and received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and her Masters of Arts in Public Policy and Administration from Mississippi State University. She worked in various positions at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the 1990s, including managing the Food Safety and Inspection Service's Congressional, media and constituent relations offices. After her service at USDA, Jones worked for the Mississippi governor's Washington office, the American Frozen Food Institute and her own political consulting firm. She has been a director of Congressional relations at the American Farm Bureau Federation since 2008, where she was responsible for the Farm Bureau's policy initiatives on energy and transportation.
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