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Friday, April 6, 2012

Stand Up for Corn Sugar

 

Join NCGA and our allies in our work encouraging food marketers to stop advertising their products as not containing high fructose corn syrup. Click here to send a letter to your local newspaper sharing information about corn sugar, and talking about how it's a naturally good sweetener choice.

 
TOP OF THE NEWS

Prepare for a Safe, Successful Planting Season

 

With planting across much of the Midwest set to begin within the next week, the National Corn Growers Association reminds farmers to take time to review proper safety procedures. 

 

"Part of maintaining and increasing opportunities for corn farmers includes helping ensure that everyone in our community remembers the importance of safety, especially during the extremely active planting and harvest seasons," said NCGA President Garry Niemeyer. "While a good part of planting safety is based in common sense, it is imperative to ensuring that farmers have a successful, secure season."

 

First, farmers should remember to check safety equipment and ensure it is in proper working order.  Devices such as fire extinguishers should be thoroughly inspected prior to any active period, such as planting or harvest.  By maintaining safety equipment, farmers can best make certain that, should an emergency occur, they are fully prepared.

 

For the whole story, click here.

 

NCGA Set New Membership Record in March

 

NCGA reached a new record number of members, 37,231, at the end of March.  The previous record of 37,160 was set in August 2011.

 

"It is inspiring to see the level of support for our programs and activities that this new membership record suggests," said NCGA President Garry Niemeyer, who farms near Auburn, Ill. "This increased level of involvement makes obvious the value members believe NCGA staff and grower leaders provide to them and to the industry as a whole."

 

NCGA membership offers many benefits, including leadership opportunities, academic scholarships and discounts.  Members play an active role in organizational leadership by shaping the direction of activities and influencing public policy that affects all farmers.  Additionally, membership provides valuable discounts with companies such as Office Depot, Dell, Cabela's, Ford and Enterprise, and special access to official NASCAR information, including discounted tickets and merchandise.

 

For the whole story, click here.

 

NCGA: Anti-HFCS Marketing 'Scam' Needs to End

 

In recent letters to food marketers, the National Corn Growers Association called on them to stop marketing products as not containing high fructose corn syrup, implying there is something especially unhealthy or unnatural about corn sugar.

 

"Such innuendos are not scientifically supportable and they are offensive to the hundreds of thousands of U.S. consumers that grow corn as well as the many others in rural communities," NCGA CEO Rick Tolman wrote in letters to the chief marketing officers at Welch Foods and Dean Foods, producers respectively of Welch's Natural Spreads and TruMoo Chocolate Milk, just two examples of anti-HFCS marketing.  "Your focus on health and nutrition are commendable and supportable. Those points can all be well made without the reference to HFCS."

 

While the March 21 letters did lead to a dialog with Dean Foods, their response to-date has been unsatisfactory, Tolman noted in a follow-up letter.

 

For the whole story, click here.

 

E15 Takes Another Step Forward on the Way to Fuel Savings

 

At a time when gas prices are on the rise, the approval today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of E15 blended fuel, with 15 percent ethanol, is a good milestone of progress for the industry and a boon to the U.S. economy, according to NCGA. Today, EPA approved the first applications for registering ethanol for use in making E15; however, there are other steps that must be taken at the federal, state and local levels before it will be seen in gas stations.

 

"We've been working for a long time to make E15 a real choice for drivers, and we're happy to see this step forward," said NCGA President Garry Niemeyer. "We hope that within a matter of months we can get this important blend into vehicles to help decrease our nation's reliance on foreign oil and help bring gas prices down."

 

Click here for information from the EPA on E15 and an explanation of the thorough registration process. Even before the EPA began its testing process for E15 blend compatibility in cars and light trucks, NCGA collected links to numerous studies pointing out how the fuel blend has already been tested. Click here for that information.

 

For the whole story, click here.

 

NCGA Helps Maintain Strong Biotech Acceptance in the Philippines

 

This week, NCGA is participating in the New Development in GM Crop Farming meeting held in Manila, Philippines celebrating the tenth anniversary of the country's adoption of this important form of technology. Considered the most progressive country in terms of biotech adoption, officials from the government of the Philippines, major technology companies and other stakeholders, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are meeting to look at ways to maintain the foothold for biotech adoption in the Asian Pacific region gained here a decade ago.

 

"Our Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team constantly works to promote the adoption of biotech regulations in foreign markets very similar to those in place here," said NCGA Director of Biotechnology and Economic Analysis Nathan Fields, who serves as one of the staff leads for that team.  "Our grower leaders have set a strong path for our work in overseas markets, clearly placing a high priority on the promotion of regulations based in sound science.  This is because they understand, like anyone looking at this situation objectively, that scientific inquiry has demonstrated time-and-again the safety and effectiveness of these products."

 

Throughout the meeting, government officials have proudly highlighted the science-based acceptance of biotechnology underpinning their regulatory system.  Locally, work on biotech varieties of golden rice, papaya and eggplant is underway. 

 

For the whole story, click here.

  

CUTC Website Updated to Offer More Information, Easy Navigation

 

CUTC LogoNCGA invites anyone interested in the 2012 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference to visit the refreshed website for the biennial event to find more information on the poster session, session topics and many other areas of interest.  Redesigned for easier navigation, www.corntechconf.org offers the quickest, simplest way to keep abreast of developments as the conference approaches.

 

With a theme of "Back to the Grind," CUTC will feature the cutting-edge technologies and new uses that continually improve and dynamically change the corn industry. By visiting the website today, potential attendees can explore this theme and make reservations at a discounted rate.

 

"The updated website makes learning about CUTC and registering even easier," said NCGA Research and Business Development Action Team Chair DeVonna Zeug.  "With new sessions on mycotoxin, exciting advances in technology and all of the newly added information, CUTC presents a broad range of topics to explore, so register today! It is simple, fast and, until Friday, offered at significant savings."

 

For the whole story, click here.

 

Lights, Camera, Contest! NCGA Prepares for New Ethanol Education Competition

 

Young ethanol enthusiasts and aspiring actors alike should start shoring up scripts and collecting cameras to create entries for a new video contest created by NCGA's Ethanol Committee today.  This opportunity will ask high school and college students to create a video that, in two minutes or less, showcases five facts about ethanol for submission between contest opening in early May and the final deadline, which will be late in the fall of 2012.

 

"We are extremely excited to launch this new project which will help connect our youth to corn-based ethanol, the fuel of the future," said NCGA Ethanol Committee Chairman Chad Willis. "The innovative format of the submissions makes them ideal for placement on websites such as YouTube or for sharing through social mediums, including Facebook and Twitter.  In marketing, they always say that it is crucial to reach your audience where they already are.  In showcasing the benefits of this homegrown, sustainable fuel through new media, we are helping educate the next generation of a fuel option that can carry them forward."

 

Winning videos will be posted on the NCGA YouTube site, promoted at state events, showcased at county fairs,  aired during national meetings and, hopefully, will even  'go viral' for the general public to view.   While generating ideas, potential contestants might want to consider these factors: ethanol's environmental attributes, its renewability, how it decreases reliance on foreign oil, and the role ethanol plays in enhancing local economies.

 

For the whole story, click here.

Corn Commentary New
Again this week, the bloggers at Corn Commentary have been tirelessly monitoring and analyzing the news affecting corn farmers to provide their special blend of keen insight, careful reasoning and sincere admiration for agriculture stirred with sartorial spice and garnished with a dash of wit. From Easter baskets to breakfast milk glasses, corn makes daily life regular and holidays special too.  As farmers spring into the fields, pick up the freshest updates by clicking here.
About Us

Founded in 1957, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) represents more than 36,000 dues-paying corn growers and the interests of more than 300,000 farmers who contribute through corn checkoff programs in their states. NCGA and its 48 affiliated state associations and checkoff organizations work together to help protect and advance corn growers' interests.
 
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