National Corn Growers Association

News Stories

Feb22
NCGA Participates in Farmers’ Perspective Crop Insurance Panel
Feb. 22: As Congress continues work on the 2012 farm bill, the Crop Insurance Industry’s Annual Convention hosted a panel discussion focusing on the farmers’ perspective. NCGA Public Policy Action Team Chair Anthony Bush participated in the panel and provided his thoughts on farm policy and the new farm bill. The panel also hosted soybean, cotton, wheat and rice growers. “Ensuring an effective, affordable crop insurance program is NCGA’s No. 1 priority...
Keywords: Farm Policy
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Feb22
Our View: Panama Canal and the U.S. Inland Waterways Going in Opposite Directions
By Rick Tolman, NCGA Chief Executive Officer Feb. 22: Along with others from farm country, I recently returned from a visit to Panama, where we were treated to a tour of the Panama Canal and got to see very closely the third canal and series of locks being constructed to expand capacity. The existing canal is breathtaking with its scale and scope and what it accomplishes, particularly when one thinks of the timeframe of its construction and the technology available at...
Keywords: Trade, Transportation
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Feb22
Ethanol an Important Market Corn Growers Helped Create
Feb. 22: The ethanol story, fully told, would showcase every aspect of NCGA – the dedication of thousands of grower members, the strategic thinking, state level initiatives, policy work, research, infrastructure, sustainability, even aspects of NCGA’s biotechnology effort – and it would take a whole book. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, an ethanol supporter since the 1970s, remembers some of the earliest corn grower efforts to promote ethanol: “They...
Keywords: Ethanol
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Feb21
NCGA Pleased Korea FTA Will Take Effect March 15
Feb. 21: The U.S. Trade Representative announced today that the free trade agreement with Korea will go into effect on March 15, five months after approval by Congress. The move was greeted with praise by the National Corn Growers Association, which remains committed to the development and maintenance of fair and open global trade policies. “We are very pleased to see the USTR announce movement on the U.S.-Korea FTA,” said Chad Blindauer, Chair of NCGA’s...
Keywords: Trade
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Feb21
2011 Facts and Figures in New World of Corn
Feb. 21: U.S. corn farmers succeeded despite a challenging year in 2011, producing a near-record harvest (12.4 billion bushels) for a crop valued at approximately $76.62 billion despite harsh weather, the National Corn Growers Association reports in its newest World of Corn statistical look at the corn industry both domestic and worldwide. “The world of corn has come a long way since the single seed kernel was planted next to a fish for fertilizer,” NCGA President...
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Feb17
NCGA Grower Leader Attends Historic U.S.-China Trade Symposium
Feb. 17: At the invitation of the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, an NCGA representative this week attended a U.S.-China Trade Symposium in Iowa that focused on sustainable agriculture, food safety and food security. The symposium was part of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping’s week-long trip to the United States; also at the meeting were U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and China Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu. “Secretary Vilsack pointed out during...
Keywords: Trade
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Feb17
American Ethanol Front-and-Center at NASCAR Kickoff
Feb. 17: Trevor Bayne, the unlikely 2011 Daytona 500 winner, kicks off the 2012 NASCAR season today with the American Ethanol green flag in his hand. Bayne will drive his No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford over a section of the old Daytona Beach course to the track's former north turn. Following a news conference, Bayne will continue on to the speedway, where he'll present the American Ethanol green flag to symbolically open 2012 Speedweeks festivities. The loudest, wildest and most...
Keywords: Ethanol
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Feb16
2011 National Corn Yield Contest Guide Now Available Online!
Feb. 16: The National Corn Growers Association released its 2011 National Corn Yield Contest Guide online, providing a sneak preview of the winner profiles and sustainability information that will hit many farmers’ mailboxes in the mid February issue of Farm Journal. With a personal message from NCGA President Garry Niemeyer and informative and entertaining information, such as a look at the nation’s oldest corn club, this edition of the annual publication...
Keywords: Production
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Feb16
Research Key to New Corn Uses and Markets
Feb. 16: Feb. 28, 2008, a red-letter day for modern corn production, also marked what may be the National Corn Growers Association’s greatest research achievement to date. It was the day scientists from Washington University’s Genome Research Center announced the completion of a working draft of the corn genome – a breakthrough expected to accelerate the production of new corn hybrids, allow researchers to develop better varieties without using genetic...
Keywords: Research
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Feb15
NTIA: LightSquared’s Plans will Impact GPS
Feb. 15: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced to the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday that LightSquared’s plans to build a nationwide 4G broadband network will impact global positioning systems. NTIA said the latest round of testing showed there is “no practical way to mitigate the potential interference at this time.” The National Corn Growers Association has been monitoring this issue closely for its...
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