For Farmers, August Recess May Be Now or Never Moment

An Open Letter to NCGA Members

My fellow farmers,

August may be a busy month on your farm, as I know it is on mine, but I call upon you to move one very important task to the top of your to-do list. Meet with your Members of Congress for a conversation about the issues important to corn growers. 

With Members of Congress in their home states over the August recess, it is imperative that each and every one of NCGA's more than 40,000 members takes advantage of this opportunity and personally shares their story with their representative from the House and their Senators before they head back to Washington on September 8.

I would never call upon others to do what I would not do myself. Personally, I met with my Congressman already. Along with Mark Reichert, past president of the Sangamon County Farm Bureau, I sat down with Representative Aaron Schock to tell my story about how federal government policy directly impacts my farm. Together, we discussed how important farming is not just to the men and women who work the land but also to the equipment dealers, seed salespeople, crop insurance agents and many others in our communities who depend upon the economic activity agriculture generates.

Recent surveys confirm that in-person visits from constituents remain far and away the most influential way of getting a message through to our members of the House and Senate. You can multiply this impact even further by bringing along someone else from your community, be it a banker, equipment dealer, insurance agent, or anyone else dependent upon the money farming generates to earn their livelihood, to share their story too. Whether you can schedule a personal meeting or attend a town hall, I urge a full court press on agricultural issues over the coming weeks.

As soon as Congress comes back into session, key legislation including a new farm bill and the Water Resources Development Act will come up for debate. At the same time, we anticipate continued efforts to chip away at the Renewable Fuel Standard and important access to biotechnology. It is imperative that our elected officials act to pass this legislation immediately as very few days remain on the legislative calendar before the clock runs out; Congress adjourns and the current farm bill extension expires.

If you are as concerned as I am about our farming future, do not let the opportunity pass to meet with your federal legislators this August recess. The future of American farming rests in your hands. The time to make a stand is upon us now. If we are to build the future that we all want, we must play an active role in advocating for that change.

Sincerely,

Garry Niemeyer

NCGA Chairman

Tips for scheduling a meeting with your elected official to set up a meeting:

• Begin by speaking with your Congressional office's Scheduler in DC. This contact information can be found online at www.senate.gov and www.house.gov  or through the Congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121. 
• Be prepared to offer the scheduler your availability. The greater your flexibility, the greater the odds are that you will be able to meet with the member.  If the member is unavailable to meet with you, schedule a meeting with their legislative aide responsible for agricultural issues. These staffers advise the member on issues important to all of us and wield significant influence over how the member will eventually vote on our issues.  If you are requesting a meeting in the district or state, ask to meet with the Representative's District Director or the Senator's State Director.
• If you encounter difficulty scheduling time with your representative, you may also ask the scheduler if the member will be holding any public events or town hall meetings that you might attend.
• If you unable to schedule a personal meeting, click here to find a town hall near you.

Attached are a few documents to leave behind that can supplement your personal story, including:

• National Concerns and the Nations Corn Growers
• Tale of Two Corns
•  Biotechnology fact sheet
• RFS fact sheet

Historic Win Puts American Ethanol in the Hall of Fame

Tuesday, Austin Dillon unveiled a limited-time only display at the NASCAR® Hall of Fame commemorating his historic win at the inaugural Mudsummer Classic held at the Eldora Speedway on July 25. The exhibit features a jar of dirt Dillon scooped up near the finish line with the Eldora golden shove, his winner's trophy and the No. 39 American Ethanol truck he drove to victory, becoming the first driver to win a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on dirt.

"Dillon's win in Eldora was not only a victory for the up-and-coming star, it was also a victory for American Ethanol," said National Corn Growers Association NASCAR Advisory Committee Chair Jon Holzfaster, a farmer from Paxton, Neb. "By making history in the American Ethanol truck, Dillon drew a bright spotlight to ethanol's ability to fuel victory even under the toughest of conditions. This attention is now compounded as NASCAR Hall of Fame visitors will clearly see how ethanol is not only a winner for NASCAR but for all Americans who want to drive using a high performance, lower emission fuel."

For the full story, click here.

Higher Water Quality Means Greater Profitability

The Field to Market alliance is preparing to release a water quality metric to itsFieldprint Calculator. This update includes the integration of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service Water Quality Index and can help growers better understand how their farming systems and practices affect the quality of water flowing off their fields. 

"The time, landscape and community in which farmers grow their crops, along with their management decisions and skills regarding inputs and production practices, all play a part in the profitability of a farming operation," said Keith Alverson, NCGA's board representative to Field to Market. "No farmer wants to leave dollars on the field, and the water quality metric in the Fieldprint Calculator will help determine if we are boosting yields enough to cover things like extra fertilizer costs or soil loss. While profitability is import, longevity is a greater priority."

For the full story, click here.

NCGA Agri-Industry Council Meets in Santa Fe

NCGA officers and senior staff gathered with representatives of 14 leading agribusinesses for the biannual NCGA Agri-Industry Council meeting to discuss vital issues facing agriculture, share information on their companies and sectors, hear from recognized speakers and learn from NCGA about its current initiatives.  The Agri-Industry Council was established in 2007 to facilitate dialogue between agribusinesses and NCGA to collectively address issues of mutual concern.

"U.S. agri-business works hard to improve farming by providing growers with innovative technology and ever-improving seed varieties," said NCGA President Pam Johnson. "Through meetings such as this one, we bring key leaders from across the value chain together so that we move forward with a better understanding of the big picture and can coordinate to build a brighter future."

For the full story, click here.

First Look in the Fields Lowers Yields Slightly But Keeps Farmers on Pace for a Record Corn Crop

Despite slight decreases in the forecasts for overall production and national yield, U.S. farmers are still on track to produce a record corn crop, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates released earlier this week. The projected harvest of 13.8 billion bushels of corn fell 187 million bushels from the forecast a month prior as the first survey-based yield forecast fell to 154.4 bushels per acre. If this forecasts is realized, U.S. corn farmers would far exceed the production record set in 2009 of 13.09 billion bushels.

"Despite planting delays and somewhat cool, wet conditions across much of the Corn Belt, farmers have worked diligently to grow the best crop possible," said National Corn Growers Association First Vice President Martin Barbre, a farmer from Carmi, Ill. "We are pleased to see that this work is coming to fruition in many of the fields surveyed by the USDA in order to produce this forecast. Farmers merge cutting-edge technology and ever-improving practices to create a dynamic industry capable of operating at a level unthinkable only a few decades prior. As harvest slowly approaches, we hope that conditions hold strong and look forward to getting the crop out of the field and into the bins."

For the full story, click here.

The National Corn Growers Association is now in its third season of Field Notes, a series that takes readers behind the farm gate to follow the year in the life of American farm families. While these growers come from diverse geographic areas and run unique operations, they share a common love for U.S. agriculture and the basic values that underpin life in farming communities.

Today, Field Notes checks in with Indiana farmer Brian Scott and Maryland farmer Jennie Schmidt to see if crop condition and yield reports released this week match up with what they see in their fields. In both cases, these farmers agree with forecasts indicating a bountiful crop in good condition this fall.

Scott notes that, despite a long stretch of days in the mid-70s, the corn he sees near his farm, which lies north of Indianapolis reflects USDA crop condition reports. In the most recently released, the report forecasts 29 percent of the Indiana crop to be in excellent condition and 48 percent to be in good.

"We may have planted late, but we have had timely rains," Scott explained. "It's never been really hot. In fact, it has been cool enough that I am wearing a jacket this August morning. Everything looks really good. Pollination went well, and it doesn't seem we had any stress on the crop at that critical time. From what I can see, the corn looks great everywhere."

To listen to the full interview with Scott and find out about his test field for the NCGA National Corn Yield Contest, click here.

Schmidt also sees a strong corn crop when looking at her fields, with conditions similar to the national average of 18 percent in excellent condition and 46 percent in good. Notably, as the USDA only lists the forecast for the 18 states producing the most corn, it does not provide information specific to Maryland.

Additionally, she believes that yields on her farm may well surpass the national average, currently forecast to be 154.4 bushels per acre, so long as she is able to harvest before a hurricane besets the Mid Atlantic coast.

"The crop looks to be in great condition in proportions in line with the national average crop condition," said Schmidt. "I think that we are going to have a high yield this year. Our county average yield is in the 150 to 160 bushels per acre range. We typically average about 180 bushels per acre of corn in a typical year on our own farm. I expect that to be the case for us. It could well by higher."

To listen to the full interview with Schmidt and find out what she sees when looking at the acreage planted to corn in Maryland this year, click here.

Stay tuned over the coming weeks as Field Notes follows the growers who have opened their farms, families and communities up this year and meet the true faces of modern American agriculture.