The Senate Agriculture Committee will meet this week to consider a draft bill proposed by Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) to address labeling for genetically modified foods. Roberts calls the Biotechnology Labeling Solutions legislation draft “a framework to find a solution for a patchwork of laws.” With a labeling law in Vermont set to be implement in July, Roberts says they …
Corn Growers Focused on Expanding Trade
Remarks made by National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Chip Bowling at the U.S. Grains Council’s 13th International Marketing Conference this week emphasized the importance of trade to corn growers. “We have set an ambitious goal of building demand in the years ahead, and it’s a goal we cannot meet without looking outside our nation’s borders,” Bowling said. “Exports or …
2015 NCGA Yield Winner Speaks At #NFMS16
Attendees at the National Farm Machinery Show had the chance to hear from Randy Dowdy, a 2015 NCGA Yield Contest Winner. Dowdy farms in southern Georgia and claimed the first place prize in the irrigated category with a high yield of 486.1594 bushels/acre. During his presentation, Dowdy explained that a near 500 bu yield doesn’t happen overnight. For years, he …
NCGA Dialogues on Behalf of Members
To better serve their members the National Corn Growers Association gathers their state affiliate staff and select grower volunteers every two years to discuss challenges and opportunities for the organization. Staff and growers from Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin gathered in Santa Fe for presentations and discussions. The …
Family is Emphasis of Corn Growers Photo Contest Winner
The grand prize winner in the National Corn Growers Association’s (NCGA) 2015 Fields of Corn Photo Contest struck a special chord with the judges as it highlighted the joys of family farming and sharing a love of agriculture with future generations. This news release from the NCGA says the photo of a father and young daughter playing in a corn …
Grassroots Movement Expanding through CommonGround
CommonGround volunteer farm women from across the country met in Washington D.C. at the National Museum of American History to learn how to share their story. Presentations from various ag groups, like the Center for Food Integrity, helped give the women tools to reach urban and suburban moms online, through public speaking, and in media interviews. Attendees talked about prevalent …
Common Ground Grows Food Dialogues
Before Storm Jonas rolled in over the weekend I had the opportunity to attend the national Common Ground conference in Washington D.C. The event, sponsored by the United Soybean Board and the National Corn Growers Association, was created to help farm women learn how to better communicate with urban women about the safety and security of their food. “The ideas …
Soil Health Partnership Continues To Grow
Nick Goeser, Director of the Soil Health Partnership as well as Director of Soil Health and Sustainability for the NCGA, gives us an update on what to expect at the Soil Health Summit as well as future plans. “The Soil Health Summit is a number of different topics combined together. First we’re focusing on innovation, innovation in agriculture production. We’re …
The Nature Conservancy Supports Soil Health
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) provides technical support for the Soil Health Partnership (SHP), and it’s something that fits in well with the organization’s mission “to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.” “The Nature Conservancy has been working in agriculture for several decades,” says Larry Clemens, TNC North American Agriculture Program Director. “We’ve been wanted to scale …
Soil Health From the Ground Up #SHPsummit16
The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) is not even two years old yet, but already the group has made some great strides in learning more about soil health to share with farmers. Hans Kok is a field manager for SHP in Indiana, where the second Soil Health Summit is being held this week. “We’re setting up a network of demonstration farms …