Commentary by Chris Novak, Chief Executive Officer, National Corn Growers Association In less than a week’s time, colleagues in the cattle industry will head off to Nashville, Tennessee to participate in the 120th Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show. Further south, our friends in the poultry industry will head to Atlanta, Georgia for the largest annual trade show for the …
Who Will Farm the Land When Farmers Are Gone?
“They keep farming even when their eyesight is failing and their hearts are going bad.” So starts a great story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune today regarding escalating farm accidents among older farmers. “They get back on their tractors after farm accidents have put them in the hospital, sometimes with permanently disabling injuries.” And it is very true that unlike …
More to Gasoline Than Meets the Eye
Ethanol isn’t poison and gasoline is. There….I have said it. It boggles my mind how much of the public buys into the oil industry propaganda related to ethanol, most notably some of the environmental community. Why someone who considers themselves an environmentalist would listen to big oil on energy topics and what is best for consumers leaves me perplexed. Even …
Newspaper’s Credibility At Issue
In 36 years of being directly involved in agriculture and the issues that make it so…interesting, frustrating, rewarding, and painful…I have only seen one positive story written about the issues effecting the profession, especially ethanol, in the Chicago Tribune. I remain convinced to this day that it was a mistake that slipped by editors and that the cub reporter responsible …
Soda Bans Have Limited Impact
The longest of journeys begins with a first step and perhaps the national idiocy over the evils of corn sugar (HFCS) may be about to subside. In the “Well Blog” in today’s New York Times they pronounce that soda bans in schools have limited impact. I know business professionals aren’t supposed to say “Duh” but this is a blog and …
Nero, Cats and Congress…Good Grief!
A friend of mine told me he thought he heard a strange sound coming from Washington, DC today. He wasn’t quite sure what it was. Sounded vaguely like a cat being stepped on but he was suspicious it was the sound of Congress playing the fiddle while the capitol or at least reason burned. For non-history buffs this is a …
Ethanol Makes More Sense Than Ever For America
According to the Oil and Gas Journal, all U.S. oil companies combined control less than 10% of the world’s oil reserves, and the world’s ten largest oil and natural gas companies are 100% owned by foreign governments. Ponder that statistic for minute and then tell me our quest for more and better alternative sources of domestic energy is a bad …
How Many Farmers Does it Take to Be “Big Ag?”
It is interesting to note the group change.org, on their “Sustainable Food” web site takes issue with the new CommonGround campaign which seeks to give exposure to family farmers and their efforts to educate the public about food and the people who raise/grow it. It is also ironic that if three “foodies” get together to offer their advice on how …
Appreciate & Activate This Thanksgiving…and Thank a Farmer
This Thanksgiving as I sit down with family and friends to share a special meal I will do so with a strange cloud of pride and concern hanging over the festivities; pride because of the amazing productivity, innovation and hard work of America’s family farmers that make the meal - and our very existence - possible. And concern because about …
Education is Evergreen and Critical For Ag
Is it just me or are homosapiens the king of the jungle when it comes to complicating life and twisting simple things? Is there some direct connection between having opposable thumbs and not being able to accept things at face value? Ok, I am admittedly a huge skeptic about many things but one thing I have firm convictions about …