The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and innovation facilitator NineSigma recently announced the launch of The Consider Corn Challenge, a global competition to identify new and innovative uses for field corn as a renewable feedstock for making sustainable chemicals with significant market demand. Corn production in the United States has increased from 105.5 million metric tons in 1970 to 345.5 …
Trump’s Commitment to Infrastructure Pleases Ag Groups
Farmers were among those who joined President Trump last week in Cincinnati to highlight the economic importance of the inland waterways system and the need to invest in upgrades to the locks and dams. “Roughly 60 percent of the United States grain exports travel down these waterways to the Gulf,” said Trump in his remarks. Upgrading the inland waterways infrastructure …
E15 Goes on Summer Break
It’s June 1st, which means the kids are out of school, the pools are open, and E15 pumps in two-thirds of the nation are shutting down. Today marks the official beginning of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “summer ozone control season,” and according to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), is the result of “an arbitrary, decades-old EPA regulation that protects …
USTR Moves Forward with NAFTA Renegotiation
Just days after being sworn in as United States Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer notified Congress that President Trump intends to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). “Today, President Trump fulfilled one of his key promises to the American people. For years, politicians have called for the renegotiation of this agreement, but President Trump is the first to follow …
Soil Health Institute Announces Action Plan
The Soil Health Institute (SHI) today unveiled the “Enriching Soil, Enhancing Life” Soil Health Action Plan during a National Press Club event. “This is an exciting time to be working in soil health,” said SHI president and CEO Wayne Honeycutt. “The action plan identifies critical goals and priorities. It helps identify key gaps in our knowledge and implementation…and we’ve identified …
Nebraska Governor Praises Grain Trade with Mexico
Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts asked grain industry officials from Mexico and the United States join him Tuesday for a press conference to highlight the importance of Mexico to U.S. agriculture and how the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has benefited both countries. “Bilateral trade with Mexico has helped grow agriculture in our state over the years,” said Governor Ricketts. …
Taking DC Bureaucrats to the Farm
The National Corn Growers Association recently joined with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and the American Seed Trade Association to host officials from EPA and USDA for demonstrations on planting practices, seed treatments, and equipment innovations in an effort to help them understand modern farming. The event took place on the working farm of NCGA Chairman Chip Bowling in …
Ag Groups Showcase Sustainability, Technology
The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) hosted a field day for officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs. Participants got to observe seed treatments, planting practices, equipment innovations and product demonstrations– all using the most cutting-edge technology available. …
#Plant17 Progress Underway
#Plant17 is officially underway now with the latest crop progress report issued yesterday from USDA. Corn planting at three percent nationwide as of April 9 is a point behind last year at this time but exactly on target with five-year average. Texas, where National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) president Wesley Spurlock farms, is well ahead of both last year and …
Ag Groups Applaud EPA Decision on Chlorpyrofis
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently dismissed a petition regarding the crop protection tool chlorpyrifos, a decision the National Corn Growers Association and American Farm Bureau Federation have praised. The Obama administration had considered a ban on chlorpyrifos in 2015, but the decision had not been finalized. “We are pleased with the EPA’s decision today to deny a petition against chlorpyrifos …