President Obama announced his picks for Secretary of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency administrator on Monday. The President nominated MIT professor Ernest Moniz as energy secretary and EPA official Gina McCarthy as administrator for the agency. While Moniz is a virtual unknown, McCarthy has served as EPA’s assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation and her appointment is …
Commodity Classic Media Man
I don’t know what the final, final totals are but before it ended the 2013 Commodity Classic broke records that include 6,180 attendees, 3,024 of which are growers and 1,024 first time attendees. The high number of first time attendees was especially pleasing to Ken Colombini, Communications Director for the National Corn Growers Association. I sat down with him during …
Commodity Classic Presidents Speak Out
A highlight of the general session of Commodity Classic is the visit with the Presidents. Here are our four commodity group presidents. Moderator Mark Mayfield is seated on the left. To the right of him are Terry Swanson, National Sorghum Producers; Erik Younggren, National Association of Wheat Growers; Pam Johnson, National Corn Growers Association and Danny Murphy, American Soybean Association. …
BASF Sponsors Corn Yield Contest
The National Corn Growers Association and National Corn Yield Contest State Award Winners Breakfast was help this morning during the 2013 Commodity Classic. The breakfast recognizes corn growers for their outstanding accomplishments during the past year. It also allows state winners to compare notes and pick up some tips of the trade. Check out the National Winners and State Winners. …
Corn Yield Contest Sets New Record
Farmers participating in the National Corn Growers Association 2012 National Corn Yield Contest set a new record by submitting 75 entries that surpassed the 300 bushels-per-acre mark. Bucking trends and overcoming severe drought conditions, these entrants showed the incredible achievements that are possible in farming using advanced practices and state-of-the-art technology. Despite higher average yields nationally among all farmers in …
Masters & Mavericks Discuss Future at AG CONNECT
One of the highlights of the recent AG CONNECT Expo was the Masters and Mavericks Producer Panel Discussion that took center stage at the show. Chuck caught up with a couple of guys taking part in that panel: master Rick Tolman, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association, and “maverick” Indiana farmer Kip Tom (who likes to say he’s a …
Nobody is Happy with Farm Bill Extension
*UPDATED with audio* Congress spent the New Year’s holiday working and actually managed to pass a “fiscal cliff” bill that even addressed agriculture – but no one seems to be very grateful for all of our lawmakers’ hard work and sacrifice except the lawmakers themselves. The nine month extension of the current farm bill, which actually expired months ago, is …
2012 National Corn Yield Contest Winners
Advanced production techniques, informed growing practices and improved seed varieties helped corn growers achieve high yields in the National Corn Growers Association 2012 National Corn Yield Contest. Despite a severe drought that plagued most of the Corn Belt, entrants continued to far surpass the national average corn yield, even doubling it in some circumstances. The National Corn Yield Contest is …
Christmas Wishes From Corn Growers
Here’s a holiday greeting from the National Corn Growers Association. We wish you the merriest Christmas and the happiest New Year.
EPA Denies Ethanol Waiver Request
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied a petition by the governors of poultry producing states that would have waived the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and its requirement for ethanol in the nation’s fuel supply. In its decision to deny the request, EPA said Friday that the RFS itself is not causing economic harm and that suspending the standard would …