Ethanol, Locks and Dams Top Corn Grower Agenda

Corn growers set their agenda for the year at last week’s Commodity Classic, with ethanol and locks and dams at the top of the list.

Rob Elliott, president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association, says ethanol is important to keep corn demand strong. Some of the priorities in that area include higher blend levels, increasing infrastructure and getting more FFVs on the road.

Regarding the locks and dams issue, Elliott says Midwest corn growers continue to work on getting Congress to fund improving the infrastructure on the inland waterways. “The lock and dams were built in the ’30s. They are aging and decaying and we’ve seen what a lock failure can do with Hurricanes Rita and Katrina,” said Elliott. “WRDA has passed, the authorization to do the improvements has happened, the missing link is the money to do the work.”

Elliott says they were disappointed that the funding was not included in the stimulus bill, “but we’ll spend time in the next couple months prior to the next appropriations bill and maybe get some money squeezed out to get things started.”

Corn growers will be going to Washington DC in the next few weeks to talk with their lawmakers about these issues and others that will be important not just for themselves, but for future farming generations – like Rob’s little granddaughter Delaney pictured here with him.

Listen to an interview with Rob here, conducted by Domestic Fuel reporter Joanna Schroeder:

If you’d like to see photos from this year’s Commodity Classic please feel free to visit our: 2009 Commodity Classic Photo Album