This year, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) will launch an image and activism campaign to reinforce the importance of agriculture, according to NCGA President, Darrin Ihnen during a press conference at Commodity Classic. While many people are still confused about food versus fuel, an issue perpetuated by media around the world, and the debate continues around international indirect land use change, it’s time to set the record straight. Ihnen noted that a few simple facts can take care of both of these issues. This year, corn farmers harvested 13.2 billion bushels of corn, or 165.2 bushels per acre, on 7 million less acres than in 2007 when the harvest was nearly identical.
In an effort to curb misinformation and ensure effective policy is put into place, corn growers around the country have been getting involved. One great example is the outpouring of comments around indirect land use, E15 and the RFS2.
“We’re proud of the tens of thousands of farmers who commented to the EPA on that subject (E15). In fact, this is a perfect example of how we’ve seen a resurgence of activism on the part of American agriculture and we’ve held numerous discussions with our allies around the world on this,” said Ihnen.
He continued, “That’s why this year we’re launching an unprecedented image and activism campaign to do two things. First, we will aggressively reinforce the importance and positive image most Americans have with farmers and the products they grow. Second, we will create a more united and vocal army of farmers and their friends who can speak out against the myths and misinformation that we see so often.”
The Corn Farmers Coalition will focus its efforts in the beltway and the activism/grassroots campaign will focus on Americans around the country. Ihnen stressed that the campaign will be more successful the more people are involved and said in closing, “We’re excited about this challenge and invite all interested parties to join us.”
You can listen to Darrin’s full comments about the campaign below.
In partnership with BASF, the National Corn Growers Association Academic Excellence in Agriculture Scholarship Program awarded five $1,000 scholarships to undergraduate or graduate students pursuing a degree in an agriculture-related field during the 2010 Commodity Classic.
Three of the five recipients were at the Classic to be honored on Friday and they are pictured here at the BASF trade show exhibit between Nevin McDougall of BASF and NCGA Chairman Bob Dickey of Nebraska.
Left to right, they are:
John Schultz of Dyersburg, Tennessee, a sophomore at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville studying food and agricultural business; Gina Meyer of New Ulm, Minnesota, a junior at the University of Minnesota pursuing a major in animal science; Carly Cummings of Pleasantville, Iowa – Carly is a sophomore at Iowa State University majoring in agricultural business.
Charlene Barlieb of Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania who graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2009 and will be returning to Penn State this fall to pursue her graduate degree in animal sciences, and Lisa Tronchetti of Paton, Iowa
Listen to an interview with John, Gina and Carly below.
Can you define sustainability? Neither can I. But that was the first task of the panel discussion of commodity group leaders this morning at Commodity Classic. Moderated by Mark Mayfield, the panel discussed what sustainability means to them. Panelists included: Darrin Ihnen, President, NCGA, Rob Joslin, President, ASA, Karl Scronce, President, NAWG and Gerald Simonsen, Chairman, NSP.
You’ll hear the panel says what sustainability isn’t and provide some good reasons why farmers are very much involved with this issue.
You can listen to the commodity group leaders with Mark below.
South Dakota Corn Grower, Darrin Ihnen, President of the National Corn Growers Association, took the general session stage this morning with session moderator Mark Mayfield.
Mark had a list of questions for each of the commodity group leaders. With Darrin he started out talking about ethanol. Darrin talked about what the corn growers are doing in this area including pushing for higher blends in the fuel supply. All indications are that this is progressing in a positive way with the science looking good. He says they’re hoping for action by the end of this summer.
Joining the ranks of the Farm Podcasters is Cathryn Wojcicki Dixson, NCGA Communications Manager. I met Cathryn here at Commodity Classic and talked with her about her job and the new audio program she’s producing for NCGA.
The program is called “Off The Cob.”
Welcome to “Off the Cob”, an original podcast series produced by the National Corn Growers Association. This series features interviews with grower-leaders on hot topics in agriculture and will expand media options for those wishing to further their knowledge of the industry.
Cathryn works on NCGA editorial content like their publications and now the podcast series. It’s her first time for creating an audio podcast series which will be produced once a week. She says it’s one element of their social media emphasis to communicate which really ties in to their organizational grass roots culture.
You can listen to my interview with Cathryn below.
AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
is sponsored by: and
I talked them into posing for me this morning with our media room sponsor sign. Thank you New Holland!
The media are starting to trickle in as we get closer to the official kickoff of this year’s Commodity Classic. We’ve got a lot of room for them in about the most spacious facilities I remember us having for the event.
Cindy is out and about on a photo shoot and we’ll get our Commodity Classic photo album started later this morning. It’s going to be a fun and interesting week and we hoped you’ll check in to our live coverage as events happen here in Anaheim.
AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
is sponsored by: and
We are getting ready to head out to Anaheim next week for the 2010 Commodity Classic and I got in the mood this week by attending the Missouri Corn Growers Association annual meeting in Jefferson City where I interviewed two of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) leaders. On the left is Mike Geske, former president of the Missouri Corn Growers now serving on the 15-member National Corn Board, and on the right is NCGA president Darrin Ihnen of South Dakota. Darrin was guest speaker at the Missouri Corn Growers luncheon and he helped to get the farmers fired up to go and talk to their lawmakers at the state capitol about important issues that could ultimately threaten their livelihood.
One of those issues is a threat posed by the Humane Society of the United States. Our buddies at HSUS are working up a petition drive in Missouri directed at dog breeders – lumping them all in the unsavory category of “puppy mills” – kind of like they lump all of agriculture under “factory farming.” Mike says that is why all agriculture groups in the state are working to keep legislators informed about how food is produced and the importance of the industry to Missouri. “We feel that once they get past the dog breeders they are going to be headed for commercial agriculture,” he told me.
Darrin says the threat posed to animal agriculture in individual states by groups like HSUS ultimately impacts all of agriculture across the country. “It’s very important that we help defend them,” Darrin says. “We can’t be separated when it comes to agriculture. We need to work together.”
This is just one of many important policy issues that corn growers will discuss at Classic next week, the annual meeting that also includes soybean, wheat and sorghum producers. Others include the indirect land use issue, climate legislation, increasing the ethanol blend rate and extending the blender’s tax credit for ethanol. Watch for our coverage from Commodity Classic next week sponsored by BASF and New Holland.
Listen to or download back to back interviews with Darrin and Mike here:
According to BASF, contest winner David Hula, of Renwood Farms in Charles City, Virginia said Headline really helps him with plant health. “In the Eastern United States, we’re very concerned with storm season, so we like our plants to have better stalk strength and standability. Headline has helped us achieve better plant health through each phase of the plant’s life, and, of course, that translates into higher yield.”
One of the founding members of the U.S. Grains Council is the National Corn Growers Association. Attending the USGC International Marketing Conference is NCGA CEO Rick Tolman, seen here addressing one of the meetings.
Rick, who worked for USGC for many years, says that NCGA considers the Grains Council their international trade partner. The two organizations have a very strong working relationship. He says one of the things he’s really happy to hear discussed here at this meeting is how well exports of DDGS have been due to the efforts of the Grains Council. That’s good news for corn growers for whom the production of ethanol is so important right now. He says that the Grains Council is looking at other value added products they can promote for export too.
Organizations representing both biofuels and agriculture are pretty happy overall with EPA’s release of final rules for the implementation of the second phase of the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS2.
“We’re pleased the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognizes that corn ethanol provides a distinct advantage over conventional gasoline when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, with a reduction of more than 21 percent in some cases,” said National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Darrin Ihnen. “This means that all corn ethanol including existing grandfathered capacity and new production will qualify to meet the conventional biofuels targets in the RFS.”
American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman says that they are encouraged by the rule because it “will help keep the nation’s renewable fuel standards on a path toward greater energy independence. By raising the volume of biofuels available for our nation’s transportation fuel supply, the administration is building on the strong bipartisan efforts that began years ago to provide a home-grown solution to the energy challenges facing our nation.”
Ethanol and biodiesel organizations were also pleased with the rule, which was changed from the initial proposal to be more favorable to first generation biofuels. See all their reactions on our sister site Domestic Fuel.com including a podcast with details from administration officials and comments from major biofuels groups.
However, while overall reaction has been favorable, all organizations are expressing concern about EPA’s continued reliance on the unproven theory of indirect land use change, which penalizes domestic biofuels production on the basis that it results in more land put into production globally in areas like the Amazon rain forest. “Removing the impacts from the international indirect land use theory means that corn ethanol actually provides a 52 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, compared to gasoline,” said NCGA’s Ihnen. “The EPA is not considering similar indirect impacts of petroleum-based fuels, so why are they so stringent when it comes to green, renewable corn ethanol?”
After a detailed analysis, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has come out in opposition to the House version of the American Clean Energy and Security Act HR 2454, better known “cap and trade” legislation.
“Since the passage of this bill by the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2009, the National Corn Growers Association has maintained a neutral position on the legislation pending further review,” said NCGA President Darrin Ihnen. “Although our neutrality has often put us at odds with the majority of other mainstream agricultural groups, we believe it was critical to remain engaged with lawmakers while the economic impacts were analyzed.”
NCGA retained Informa Economics to analyze those impacts and as a result of this study, “NCGA has no choice but to oppose H.R. 2454. The results of the Informa study indicates that every corn grower in the country will experience increased costs of production resulting from H.R. 2454. In the early years of this legislation, these higher production costs will be relatively minor. However, over time these prices will significantly increase, placing an unnecessary burden on growers.”
NCGA, along with other agricultural organizations, is sending a letter to Congress supporting a “disapproval resolution” in the Senate, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), that would stop EPA from promulgating rules to regulate greenhouse gases.
Listen to a press conference about the NCGA announcement this morning.
The National Corn Growers Association has just started a new podcast series.
Welcome to “Off the Cob”, an original podcast series produced by the National Corn Growers Association. This series features interviews with grower-leaders on hot topics in agriculture and will expand media options for those wishing to further their knowledge of the industry.
The first piece looks at the history and future of the maize genome sequencing project with former Research and Business Development Action Team Chair Pam Johnson, a grower from Floyd, Iowa. Johnson shares the unique perspective that she gained on the project while working tirelessly to help NCGA find the funding necessary to complete the monumental collaborative effort.
The National Corn Yield Contest winners have been announced. It’s been a challenging growing season weather wise but yields have been great.
The National Corn Yield Contest is in its 45th year and remains NCGA’s most popular program for members. This year, NCGA has processed 6,960 entries – a 3.5 percent increase over 2008 (6,727 entries) and 41 percent increase over 2007 (4,932 entries).
“Again this year, we are excited and pleased looking at the yields achieved by our growers,” said Steve Ebke, chair of NCGA’s Production and Stewardship Action Team. “This contest highlights how, through scientific advances and grower innovation, we can meet growing demand for food, feed, fuel and fiber.”
The 24 winners in eight production categories had verified yields averaging more than 300 bushels per acre, compared to the projected national average of 162.9 bushels per acre.
While there is no overall contest winner, yields from first, second and third place farmers overall production categories ranged from 287.0744 to 346.0156 bushels per acre.
You can find all the state and national winners on the NCGA website.
I went to bed last night thinking I should write an ode to oil. It would be partially flattering as some of my favorite things come from petroleum by-products, and partially lambasting as our addition to it has caused such harm. The fuel to my passion last night? The book “Power Trip“ by Amanda Little.
Little traveled the country for two years to take us on the journey of fossil fuels including oil and coal. One area where she spent considerable time is fossil fuel’s role in our food. It’s used to fuel the farming equipment. It’s used in fertilizer. It’s used to transport the food to market (on average, our food travels 1500 miles from farm to table).
To help us better understand the relationship between petroleum and agriculture, and agriculture and fuel, Little visited the Kansas farm of a dear agricultural friend of ours – former National Corn Growers Association President, Ken McCauley, where she was treated to a lesson in precision fertilizer application technologies, and the role of corn in ethanol production.
Farmers have been getting harassed of late about their use of fertilizer, and when Little asked McCauley what would happen if he, “cut out fertilizers altogether?” he answered, “If you don’t put your fertilizer on, you’ll cut your yields by half or more…Look at poor countries–when you travel to places that don’t use fertilizer you’ll see they’re raising a third of the yield.”
But what about organic farming that uses no fertilizer, asks Little in response to Micheal Pollen’s claims most notably made in his book Omnivore’s Dilemma? Well, I’m only going to give you a taste of what McCauley said….you’ll just have to read the book to discover his thoughtful answer. “It’s not a way to maximize production…”
USDA reports that farmers took advantage of a dry week to get 17 percent of the corn out and 14 percent more soybeans harvested last week. The new crop progress report has the soybean harvest nearing average for this time of year at 89 percent, while corn remains about 35 percent behind normal at just 54 percent complete. North Dakota has yet to get out of the single digits in corn harvesting, but they do have 80 percent of the soybeans complete.
The late harvest was one of the major topics of discussion for National Corn Growers Association first vice president Bart Schott of North Dakota at the NAFB Trade Talk last week. Bart is still optimistic because the corn remains in good to excellent condition. “If we get a few more weeks of really nice weather, we’ll get this corn crop off in good shape,” he said. Despite the problems this year, he says the crop continues to look good and is still expected to be the second largest on record, “If there’s ever been a debate about whether we can produce enough corn feed our exports, livestock industry and ethanol industry, this will be the second year in a row that we’ve proved them wrong.”
The NCGA started a viral email with a Halloween theme and links to the two videos that address some of the top food fears. The email links to a couple of new videos from NCGA that are filled with facts about food production to counteract the “urban legends” that family farmers have been gobbled up by giant corporate monsters that are ravaging the land and poisoning us with unsafe food.
Email Mark Lambert at NCGA to get the viral email to send along to your food friends and foes. It makes a great Halloween card.
According to a new poll, we really do love farmers.
A nationwide survey conducted for the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) found broad public respect and trust for family farmers and support for corn as food, feed and fuel. Ninety-five percent of those polled find farmers to be trusted messengers on issues such as agriculture, corn products and ethanol – and ethanol itself was supported or strongly supported as a good fuel alternative by 65 percent.
That’s 95 percent said they trusted farmers. Even the corn growers were surprised by the results. “We expected to see some pretty solid results in this polling, but the final numbers were beyond what we imagined,” said NCGA President Darrin Ihnen, a farmer in Hurley, S.D. “This high level of support is gratifying, and it is also a challenge for us to work hard to maintain the trust consumers have placed in us.”
“Farming is under attack in the mainstream media because some reporters seem to have the wrong idea about modern American agriculture,” Ihnen said. “One of our goals at NCGA is to help educate the media and the public about how current technology has helped family farmers do their traditional jobs more efficiently, more effectively and more affordably.”
The survey of 1,000 U.S. voters nationwide was conducted in mid-September by David Binder Research and has a margin of error of 3.1 percent. For more information on the survey, please visit NCGA Web site www.ncga.com.
If you have not done it yet – join the “I Love Farmers” fan club started by some Cal-Poly students earlier this year. You can donate, buy cool stuff like hats and shirts, or just support them. The group is working to help young people understand the importance of knowing where our food comes from and who produced it – a very noble goal.
Yes, Virginia, there really are family farmers in the United States.
The National Corn Growers Association wants the public to know that family farmers not only exist, but are the critical factor that make the nation’s number one industry the world leaders in production of safe and wholesome products.
Polling shows that many Americans no longer understand agriculture in their own country. Most believe that family farming no longer exists and that the majority of crops are grown by faceless entities that they characterize as industrial farms.
Nothing could be further from the truth, NCGA’s many farmers would say. In fact, 95 percent of all farms in the U.S. are family operated. These operations draw upon tradition and a knowledge base built over generations. The hard work of the over two million U.S. family farms provide consumers globally with food, feed and fuel. It also helps sustain the country economically by producing over $12 billion in corn for export annually.
To bring this information to the public, NCGA has introduced “Farming for Generations” on YouTube. A variety of growers, including members of NCGA Corn Board leadership, offer an unscripted exploration of the values of rural America and the practice of agriculture.
The new president of the National Corn Growers Association, Darrin Ihnen of Hurley, S.D., is the star of a new video on the subject of increasing sustainability in agriculture that debuted Oct. 3 on the television program This Week in Agribusiness. The short video features Darrin and other family farmers telling the story of how better management and modern technology spells good news for both consumers and the environment.
Darrin says, “The only thing as important as growing a crop and getting a fair price is doing so in a way that is socially responsible and assures opportunities for the next generation of farmers and consumers.”
Here’s another reason to be a member of the National Corn Growers Association. Now you can get your markets on your mobile phone as a new member benefit. Our friends at Commodity Update who also make AgWired Mobile possible are powering the new service. You can find out more on the NCGA website.
The National Corn Growers Association announced the launch of a new membership benefit that provides access to market updates through mobile phone messages. The program, called NCGA Markets NOW!, will keep subscribing members informed of the information that growers need when deciding when to sell their crop.
“When we came across this opportunity, we felt that it was a perfect fit. NCGA Markets NOW! provides members with the information that they need to make the best possible choices for their operation,” said Tim Dolan, Chairman of NCGA’s Grower Services Action Team. “In doing so, it furthers the association’s mission of promoting the best interests of the American corn producer.”
The NCGA Markets NOW! service is fully customizable and provides both scheduled updates and on demand services. The service works with the members existing cell phone and is available through virtually every cell phone carrier. Easy to use, other groups utilizing similar services have reported nearly universal satisfaction.
Commodity Classic took place in Anaheim, CA. You'll find all of Chuck, Cindy and Joanna's photos here.
Happy Ag Week
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
In this week's program I interview Linda Tank, CHS, Inc., who is Chair of the Agriculture Council of America, the group coordinating National Ag Day. Learn more about their activities, especially this week in Washington, DC.
This year, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) will launch an image and activism campaign to reinforce the importance of agriculture, according to NCGA President, Darrin Ihnen during a press conference at Commodity Classic. While many people are still confused about food versus fuel, an issue perpetuated by media around the world, and the debate continues around international indirect land use change, it’s time to set the record straight. Ihnen noted that a few simple facts can take care of both of these issues. This year, corn farmers harvested 13.2 billion bushels of corn, or 165.2 bushels per acre, on 7 million less acres than in 2007 when the harvest was nearly identical.
He continued, “That’s why this year we’re launching an unprecedented image and activism campaign to do two things. First, we will aggressively reinforce the importance and positive image most Americans have with farmers and the products they grow. Second, we will create a more united and vocal army of farmers and their friends who can speak out against the myths and misinformation that we see so often.”
and 
In partnership with BASF, the 
Can you define sustainability? Neither can I. But that was the first task of the panel discussion of commodity group leaders this morning at Commodity Classic. Moderated by Mark Mayfield, the panel discussed what sustainability means to them. Panelists included: Darrin Ihnen, President, NCGA, Rob Joslin, President, ASA, Karl Scronce, President, NAWG and Gerald Simonsen, Chairman, NSP.
South Dakota Corn Grower, Darrin Ihnen, President of the 
Joining the ranks of the Farm Podcasters is Cathryn Wojcicki Dixson, 
We are getting ready to head out to Anaheim next week for the 2010 
One of the founding members of the U.S. Grains Council is the National Corn Growers Association. Attending the USGC International Marketing Conference is NCGA CEO Rick Tolman, seen here addressing one of the meetings.
Organizations representing both biofuels and agriculture are pretty happy overall with 
“Since the passage of this bill by the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2009, the National Corn Growers Association has maintained a neutral position on the legislation pending further review,” said NCGA President Darrin Ihnen. “Although our neutrality has often put us at odds with the majority of other mainstream agricultural groups, we believe it was critical to remain engaged with lawmakers while the economic impacts were analyzed.”
The National Corn Growers Association has just started a new podcast series.
I went to bed last night thinking I should write an ode to oil. It would be partially flattering as some of my favorite things come from petroleum by-products, and partially lambasting as our addition to it has caused such harm. The fuel to my passion last night? The book “
The late harvest was one of the major topics of discussion for 
The 
A nationwide survey conducted for the 
Here’s another reason to be a member of the National Corn Growers Association. Now you can get your markets on your mobile phone as a new member benefit. Our friends at 
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
