Catching Up With NCGA’s 1st VP

It was great to see National Corn Growers Association First Vice President Pam Johnson in her home state of Iowa last week at the 2012 Farm Progress Show. She had the opportunity to do lots of interviews with the media there for the show and talk about – what else? – the drought and the need for a new farm bill.

Pam raises corn and soybeans with her husband and two sons on their farm in Floyd, which is located a little east of Mason City and not too far from the northern state line. Like many other farmers, the Johnson’s have had a hot and dry summer. “We’ve got some corn that doesn’t have an ear on it, some that might not be so bad, but just guessing I’d say we’re maybe going to have 60% of a crop that we normally have,” she said, adding that the soybeans might fair a little better with some recent rain and cooler temperatures, but the bottom line is that they really don’t know yet.

Pam took part in the Farm Bill Now Coalition press conference at Farm Progress Show and was handing out Farm Bill Now buttons around the show. She also talked about the NCGA’s position regarding the request for a waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard, noting that they strongly support the RFS and respect the waiver process. “If the EPA with their due diligence finds that the RFS has caused severe economic harm, then a partial, temporary waiver is in order,” Pam said, but otherwise, a waiver should not be granted. “Let’s take a big picture, long-term view, and figure out what’s best for our farmers and for our country.”

Due to the uncertainty of this year’s crop, NCGA has already requested an additional 30 days for comments regarding the waiver. “We think it’s a little too early to call this crop. I can’t even really tell what it’s like on my own farm,” Pam said. “We know what this crop is not, we don’t know what this crop is.”

Listen to my interview with Pam here: NCGA 1st VP Pam Johnson

2012 Farm Progress Show Photo Album