NCGA Affirms Its Farm Policy Principles

At its recent Corn Congress policy meeting and in a board meeting held this week in Washington, the National Corn Growers Association upheld its call for a new, substantive five-year farm bill that includes a strong federal crop insurance program and a market-oriented risk-management program.

"As our country continues to rack up record budget deficits, NCGA appreciates the need for more efficient programs that help farmers better manage risk and cost taxpayers less money," said NCGA President Pam Johnson. "In the midst of an unprecedented level of national debt, corn growers believe it is time to make fundamental changes to long-established farm programs. We support reforms that will provide growers only when assistance is most needed."

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NCGA Praises Governors of Illinois, Iowa for Voicing Support for RFS

This week, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad called on House and Senate leadership to maintain support of the Renewable Fuel Standard in a letter sent to House Speaker John Boehner Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. NCGA praises the governors for their action and urges Congressional leadership to take the many points outlined in their letter into consideration.

"NCGA commends the governors for taking action in support of the RFS and the rural economies that benefit from the jobs that it creates," said NCGA President Johnson. "As their letter states, uncertainty created by proposed RFS modifications has weakened the market for biofuels and discouraged investment. America benefits from having home-grown, affordable biofuels that build our economies while decreasing pollution. The RFS remains in our nation's best economic and energy security interest."

To see the full letter as sent to the House, click here.

To see the full letter as sent to the Senate, click here.

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Maize Genetics and Genomics Database Reports Progress

As the Maize Genetics and Genomics Database project moves forward, Off the Cob caught up with MaizeGDB Curator Dr. Jack Gardiner for an update on the progress made over the last quarter. In the interview, Gardiner built upon how the increasing affordability of genome sequencing is allowing the scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service-supported database to share the incredible amount of data being created in Ames, Iowa.

"The cost of DNA sequencing a maize genome has literally dropped from $30 million to sequence the first corn genome sequence to about $2,000 to $5,000 to sequence a corn genome today," he began. "With two and a half billion DNA bases covering the ten chromosomes of maize, its genome is roughly about the size of the human genome, two and a half times the size of the soybean genome and about five times the size of the rice genome. With the amount of DNA sequencing happening now, we are developing an appreciation for all of the small DNA sequence changes between two corn varieties which we call single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs."

To listen to the full interview, click here.

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NCGA Joins Coalition to Stress Importance of Crop Insurance 

NCGA joined more than 40 commodity groups, lending organizations, input suppliers and other agricultural industry stakeholders in sending a letter today supporting meaningful and affordable crop insurance to members of the House of Representatives and Senate Agriculture Committees.

Stressing that federal crop insurance is the cornerstone of many farmers' risk management portfolios, the letter expresses the signatories' opposition to any changes to crop insurance that would discourage producer participation or undermine private sector delivery.

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NCGA, Ag Coalition Expresses Support for EU Trade Negotiations, Concern for Ag Interests

NCGA joined more than 60 organizations representing farm groups, food manufacturers and other industry stakeholders to send a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk applauding the decision to launch negotiations with the European Union on a transatlantic free trade agreement. The groups noted that while they support the progress toward an agreement, U.S. agricultural and food industries have a variety of concerns that need to be addressed during negotiations.

The groups commended Kirk for his insistence that the agreement be comprehensive and ambitious. However, the letter stresses that negotiations must tackle market access and resolve significant barriers to trade in a single undertaking, citing the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a model.

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NCGA Becomes Generic Event Marketability and Access Agreement Signatory 

The National Corn Growers Association is pleased to announce that it has become a signatory to the Accord: Generic Event Marketability and Access Agreement. Along with NCGA, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the American Soybean Association also became signatories to the GEMMA portion of the Accord, which was created by Biotechnology Industry Organization and the American Seed Trade Association.

"Having the Farm Bureau, ASA and NCGA as signatories to the GEMAA is a major step forward for the Accord," said BIO Executive Vice President Cathleen Enright. "All three organizations have been key players in the development of the GEMAA and we welcome their commitment to the Accord process."

For the whole story, click here.