NCGA Takes Part in USFRA Food Dialogues

Past and present NCGA grower leaders took part in the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance's third Food Dialogues town hall event, held this week in New York City. NCGA was a founding affiliate of USFRA, with leadership actively involved in the broad movement to restore consumer confidence in today's agriculture.

The Food Dialogues event in New York included panels on two hot issues in farming - antibiotic use in raising livestock and the role of biotechnology in today's agriculture. 

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NAGC Incorporated, Looking for Partners

The National Corn Growers Association and Los Alamos National Laboratory announce the incorporation of the National Agricultural Genotyping Center. A non-profit initiative for the purpose of agricultural development, the NAGC will leverage the benefits of high-throughput genotyping with the support of two of the nation's most prominent organizations in the fields of science and agriculture. With incorporation complete, the NAGC now seeks partners looking to become a part of this project.

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House Approves Russia MFN Legislation

Today, the House of Representatives approved legislation granting Russia Most Favored Nation status.  The National Corn Growers Association previously urged Congress to lift the Jackson-Vanik restrictions thereby allowing farmers to take advantage of a more open and level playing field with Russia.  The Senate Finance Committee passed the legislation in July. Full Senate consideration is expected after Thanksgiving.

"America's farmers will be able to take advantage of lowered trade barriers that result from repealing Jackson-Vanik," NCGA Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team Chair Jim Zimmerman said.  "The Senate must act soon so other WTO members cannot take advantage of a more level trade playing field before our farmers."

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NCGA Chairman Keeps Focus on Rivers

As an organization that spearheaded passage of the Water Resources Development Act in 2007, NCGA has long been an advocate of improving and updating the locks and dams along the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. NCGA is now supporting a bipartisan congressional effort to help fund projects on the river, the American Waterworks Act.

NCGA Chairman Garry Niemeyer, who was recently appointed to the board of directors of the Waterways Council, noted that the importance of the inland waterways to moving corn and other products to markets cannot be overstated. 

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Maize Genetics Database Moves Forward

Off the Cob caught up with Maize Genetics and Genomics Database Curator Jack Gardiner to find out how the project has progressed over the past three months.  The MGGD, which is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, is a tool being developed with assistance from NCGA. When complete, it will help scientists efficiently apply the knowledge gained from the Maize Genome Sequencing project to develop varieties that perform for farmers in the field.

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Shipping Issues on Mississippi Could Worsen

The Army Corps of Engineers announced earlier this week that it will proceed with plans to reduce the flow from an upper Missouri River reservoir. This action will be taken despite growing concern that this action will worsen low-water problems on the Mississippi River.

In a recent interview with National Public Radio, NCGA Vice President of Research and Development Paul Bertels addressed the situation saying, "we oppose the curtailing of water discharges from the Missouri River until the corps has fixed the issues presented by rock pinnacles in the Mississippi River, thus decreasing the negative impact of lower water levels for traffic using the waterway."

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