Corn Association Staffs Come Together

This week, staff from the National Corn Growers Association and state corn associations across the country met in St. Louis to share insights gained over the past year and coordinate efforts for the next. With more than 130 attendees including state association executives, program directors and communicators, the conference also provided a forum to discuss pressing issues facing their farmer members.

"By working together, our state and national organizations magnify our effectiveness and, subsequently, our ability to create positive change for farmers," said NCGA CEO Rick Tolman. "While each state organization faces unique opportunities and challenges resulting from their particular circumstances, America's corn farmers share many common issues. Working collaboratively allows us to address these areas of commonality with the full force of our combined strengths while sharing insight and ideas that can be brought back to address unique issues in an innovative fashion."

In addition to sharing experiences and ideas about key issues, attendees participated in sessions that focused on a wide variety of areas, such as improving agricultural literacy programs, discussions on major market changes, analysis of consumer attitudes, and new technology workshops. Using the chance to fine-tune skills, update knowledge of rapidly evolving issues and tools and further discuss broader situations with important implications, state and national staff alike worked diligently to improve skill sets and hold constructive conversations that will aide them in forming and implementing programs.

Following the meeting with state staff, NCGA staff met to discuss ongoing projects and opportunities to increase communication.

Ag Organizations Applaud Countries for Tech Support

Key members of the U.S. agricultural value chain have joined together to applaud the work of the United States and like-minded governments to promote the importance of science-based regulations to facilitate trade of agricultural commodities derived from agricultural biotechnology.

In a joint statement, the United States was joined by the governments of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Paraguay to announce their intention to work collaboratively to remove global barriers to the trade of agricultural biotechnology and promote science-based, transparent and predictable regulatory approaches.

The American Seed Trade Association, American Soybean Association, Biotechnology Industry Organization, North American Export Grain Association, National Corn Growers Association, and National Grain and Feed Association said they welcome the leadership of the U.S. government, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the United States Trade Representative, and U.S. Department of State, as well as their counterparts in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Paraguay, in taking these steps toward greater collaboration to systematically address global barriers to trade of products derived from agricultural biotechnology.

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Professor Reveals Real Reasons for Oil's Attack on RFS

This week, a Capitol Hill website published a blog authored by Michigan State University Professor Bruce Dale on how the oil industry aims to protect its control on our nation's fuel supply by attacking the Renewable Fuel Standard. The post outlines how this orchestrated assault uses "misleading claims and outright falsehoods" to obscure its true goal of "undermining renewable fuels."

Directly combatting common claims made against the RFS, Dale shows how the oil industry draws attention away from the fact that the petroleum supply is "both limited and disappearing" to solidify its stranglehold on our fuel supply at the expense or our environmental and energy security. The post comes in direct response to an anti-ethanol op-ed authored by Bill Klesse, which ran the previous day.

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Compliance Deadline Near for EPA Oil Spill Prevention Rule

The National Corn Growers Association reminds farmers that the compliance date for the Environmental Protection Agency's Oil Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure rule is Friday, May 10. By that time, farmers subject to the rule must prepare and implement an SPCC plan. Farmers who already have such a plan in place must maintain that plan.

A farmer must only count containers of oil that have a storage capacity of 55 U.S. gallons or more. Milk and milk product containers and associated piping and appurtenances; home heating oil tanks at single family homes; pesticide containers used to mix and load formulations; and pesticide application equipment are exempted from the SPCC rule.

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