The two women volunteer with the CommonGround program, a national grassroots movement designed to bridge the gap between the women who grow food and the women who buy it. CommonGround was developed by the National Corn Growers Association and the United Soybean Board in an effort to give farm women the opportunity to speak with consumers using a wide range of activities. USB and NCGA provide support and a platform for the volunteers to share their experiences.

This week, the Colorado volunteers, with the support of the Colorado Corn Growers Association, hosted a dinner launching the Colorado program at May Farms in Byers. The event brought together members of the media, academics, farmers, Future Farmers of America members, health care professionals and community leaders for a discussion about today's farming. During the dinner, guests took part in conversations about farming and food while enjoying a delicious meal and share in the company of the new CommonGround Colorado volunteers.

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NCGA Testifies Before House Ag Subcommittee on Farm Bill

This week, National Corn Growers Association Board Member Chip Bowling testified before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Commodities and Risk Management on the 2012 farm bill.  Bowling, who also serves on the Public Policy Action Team, outlined NCGA's priorities for a strong federal crop insurance program and a revenue-based, risk management tool. 

"The ability to purchase federal crop insurance and have access to a flexible revenue-based, risk management program to mitigate risks is even more critical today," Bowling, a grower from Newburg, Maryland said. "NCGA understands farmers need to be able to endure a certain amount of loss in any one year.  However, we are trying to protect farmers from depleting their emergency funds when they encounter revenue losses over multiple years."

Bowling also stated NCGA believes the Agricultural Risk Coverage program in the Senate Agriculture Committee's version of the farm bill reflects the NCGA principal that government programs should not encourage producers to take on unnecessary risk.  He went on to state the program is designed to partially offset losses not covered by crop insurance and to alleviate sharp year-to-year declines in price.

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Crop Insurance Remains Number One Priority for Ag Groups

As the House Agriculture Committee continued farm bill hearings this week, NCGA and several other agriculture groups sent a letter this week to House Ag Chairman Frank Lucas and Ranking Member Collin Peterson on the importance of crop insurance. 

"Federal crop insurance provides an effective risk management tool to farmers and ranchers when they are facing losses beyond their control," the letter stated. "It reduces taxpayer risk exposure; it makes hedging possible to help mitigate market volatility; and it provides lenders with greater certainty that loans made to producers will be repaid."

NCGA has previously stated that crop insurance remains the number one priority in the new farm bill as well as a market oriented, risk management tool to cover multi-year price declines.  Chip Bowling, a member of the Corn Board and liaison to the Public Policy Action Team, during a hearing on Wednesday before the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management.

To read the entire letter, click here.

NCGA, NASCAR Team up to Give Fans Insider Status

The National Corn Growers Association, an Official Partner of NASCAR, is excited to provide its members with exclusive access to a website designed especially for NCGA members. NASCAR FUEL FOR MEMBERS provides opportunities to win hundreds of prizes, purchase discounted race tickets and receive hundreds of dollars in savings from many top brands.
 

NCGA members can sign up simply by clicking here and registering today to become a NASCAR Insider. Those who are not yet NCGA members must first enroll by clcking here, and then register with NCGA Racing.
 
While great discounts are always available via the Fuel For Members site, in celebration of the 2012 season, NCGA is providing various NASCAR prizes for NCGA members to win just by registering.

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NCGA Urges CFTC to Allow Public Feedback on Extended Trading Hours

In a letter to the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, NCGA requested a 30-day public comment period before grain traders are allowed 22-hour-per-day electronic trading of grain and oilseed futures contracts. NCGA believes it is important for CFTC to take input and further analyze the proposals from the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and the CME Group.

"As currently formulated, both ICE's plans for new contracts with greatly expanded trading hours and the CME Group's plans to expand hours raise serious issues that potentially place the Nation's corn growers at a marketing disadvantage," wrote NCGA President Garry Niemeyer in his letter to CFTC Chair Gary Gensler. "Approval of these major market changes without a 30-day comment period is ill-timed since many growers are currently preoccupied with planting. We believe that there is no compelling reason why 22-hour trading needs to begin imminently."

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Science Demonstrates Sustainable Success of Today's Corn Varieties

Recent Purdue University research about growing efficiency in nitrogen use shows the importance of science in making modern production agriculture not only more efficient, but more sustainable in the long run, NCGA said.

"At a time when farmers need to work smarter and harder to grow their crops and maintain their farms for future farming generations, we're especially looking for ways to reduce inputs and costs," said NCGA President Garry Niemeyer, a corn grower in Illinois. "Research like this shows the importance of technology and smart agronomics in boosting yields in a sustainable way, with an eye toward conservation."

In the case of the new Purdue study, researchers there reviewed 72 years of public-sector research data and found that today's hybrid corn varieties more efficiently use nitrogen to create more grain. The amount of grain produced per pound of nitrogen accumulated in corn plants is substantially greater than it was for corn hybrids of earlier decades, they noted.

For the whole story, click here.

NCGA Applauds Colombia FTA Taking Effect

As the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement took effect earlier this week, NCGA applauded the implementation of the agreement and expressed appreciation the work of U.S. trade negotiators and Congress to get the FTA across the finish line.

"NCGA is excited to see an additional FTA go into effect," said NCGA President Garry Niemeyer.  "Colombia is traditionally one of the top ten export markets for U.S. corn, but we have seen a decline in recent years as Colombia imported corn from our biggest competitors.  We believe implementation of the FTA will help level the playing field."

In marketing year 2011-12, the United States exported 154 million bushels of corn to Colombia.  Under the FTA, U.S. corn producers would gain immediate access to the Colombian market for 2.1 million metric tons of corn at zero percent duty.

NCGA Celebrates USDA's 150th Anniversary

NCGA celebrates and congratulates the United States Department of Agriculture on its 150th Anniversary.  President Abraham Lincoln signed into law an Act of Congress establishing the department on this day in 1862. 

"When President Lincoln established the USDA, I doubt he could have envisioned what agriculture has become today," said President Niemeyer.  "We have evolved from a time when corn planting used mule-drawn plows to an era of technically sophisticated tractors, multi-row planters and GPS systems.  Over the past 150 years, the USDA has helped advance American agriculture, spur economic growth, conserve natural resources and build stronger communities."

Nicknamed "The People's Department" by President Lincoln, the USDA has become an outstanding example of innovation and technology.  Created during a time when nearly half of all Americans lived on farms, the USDA today touches the lives of every American through their work on food technology, natural resource conservation and economic development, even though less than 2 percent of our population resides on farms.

For the whole story, click here.

With USFRA, Farmers and Ranchers Impact America's Food Conversations

The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance recently held its spring meetings in St. Louis, where significant growth in support of the organization was reported and the greater role farmers and ranchers are playing in our nation's conversations about food was discussed. The National Corn Growers Association is a founder of USFRA, and NCGA Chairman Bart Schott, a North Dakota Corn Grower, serves as USFRA vice chairman.

"In its first 18 months, USFRA has made a significant impact on the conversation America is having about how its food is produced," said USFRA Chairman Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. "Through our Food Dialogues, U.S. farmers and ranchers are actively engaging in this conversation by telling their personal stories of continuous improvement in the operations."

With nearly 80 affiliate and industry partner organizations supporting USFRA to-date, Stallman said these meetings allowed representatives from a majority of those organizations to convene and collaborate on activities in which USFRA will be engaging. Seventy individuals discussed USFRA's movement and the need to continue effective dialogue with top influencers and consumers.

For the whole story, click here.

University Study Tracks Fuel Savings with Ethanol

America's growing use of domestically produced ethanol reduced wholesale gasoline prices by an average of $1.09 per gallon in 2011, according to updated research conducted by economics professors at the University of Wisconsin and Iowa State University.  The 2011 results, which are up from an average impact of $0.89 per gallon in 2010, were released today by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development. To our nation's corn growers, this is just further demonstration of this valuable domestic fuel.

"I hope that every time drivers pull into a gas station, they think about how worse things could be without ethanol," said NCGA President Niemeyer. "Our farmers are completing planting what appears to be a record-breaking corn crop, and they have worked hard, in good seasons and challenging ones, to meet all needs for food, feed, fiber - and fuel.  It's gratifying to realize that our work is also helping consumers nationwide by keeping fuel prices down."

The new analysis provides an update to a 2009 peer-reviewed paper published in Energy Policy by professors Dermot Hayes and Xiaodong Du. It also found gasoline prices have been reduced by an average of $0.29 per gallon, or 17 percent, from 2000-2011, thanks to  the growing use of ethanol.

For the whole story, click here.

All States Above Average on Planting Progress

In its weekly crop progress report released Monday afternoon, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that 87 percent of the nation's corn is now planted. Based on the prospective plantings report of 95.9 million acres total, this means that 83.4 million acres planted, NCGA said, with all states currently ahead of their five-year average for planting.

"It's been a great spring for planting, and our farmers are excited about the potential of the 2012 crop," said President Niemeyer, a corn grower near Auburn, Ill. "We're especially happy to see the breadth of this planting progress against the entire corn-growing region and what this means for a successful harvest in the fall."

With regard to the states surpassing their 2007-2011 average, North Dakota and Indiana are the farthest ahead of trend, at 42 and 40 points ahead, respectively.     Wisconsin and Michigan are the closet to their five-year trends, up 4 and 6 points, respectively.

For the whole story, click here.