After the winter we have had so far, everyone is anxiously awaiting spring about now. For farmers, Commodity Classic is just the place to get ready for warmer weather and planting season.
One of those details that growers have to be thinking about now is refuge requirement compliance and the National Corn Growers Association have developed a way to make that a little easier with the Insect Resistance Management Refuge Calculator. This handy tool is both easy to use and represents the latest products available to determine how to comply with varying and often complex regulations.
“The calculator is a great jump forward for helping growers stay compliant,” said NCGA president Bart Schott. “We have been working on this tool for several years and are glad that we can share this type of tool with our growers.”
Listen to an “Off the Cob” interview with Bart, and Director of Biotechnology and Economic Analysis Nathan Fields, discussing the importance of this tool for growers.
NCGA staff will be demonstrating the calculator at the organization’s Commodity Classic booth this year, along with information about other programs including the American Ethanol- NASCAR partnership, CommonGround and potential legislation for 2011. If you have not registered for Classic yet – hurry up! The deadline is Friday for on-line registration. Hope to see you there!
Some of the young people who are the future of the agriculture industry were given scholarships at the recent Commodity Classic to help them with their education.
Three of the five recipients at Classic are pictured here at the BASF trade show exhibit between Nevin McDougall of BASF and NCGA Chairman Bob Dickey from Nebraska.
Left to right, they are:
John Schultz of Dyersburg, Tennessee, a sophomore at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville studying food and agricultural business; Gina Meyer of New Ulm, Minnesota, a junior at the University of Minnesota pursuing a major in animal science; Carly Cummings of Pleasantville, Iowa – Carly is a sophomore at Iowa State University majoring in agricultural business.
The other two winners not pictured are: Charlene Barlieb of Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania who graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2009 and will be returning to Penn State this fall to pursue her graduate degree in animal sciences, and Lisa Tronchetti of Paton, Iowa.
I talked with Carly, Gina and John about their backgrounds and their career plans – and you can listen to that interview here:
It’s really fun when you have a brush with greatness and it is no more apropos than when you run into a celebrity in Anaheim during Commodity Classic. Well the celebrity I’m referring to is our very own NCGA past president Ken McCauley, who was featured in the book Power Trip. Now Ken is quite modest and didn’t really tell people that he made it into the book. From start to finish it took more than two years from the time the author Amanda Little visited his farm in White Cloud, Kansas to the time it made it to the book shelves (Fall of ’09).
Needless to say, as soon as I saw Ken I told him I’d read (and reviewed) the book and he was, well, flabbergasted after he got over being shocked. But he shouldn’t be shocked – the book is very good and Ken did an amazing job of getting out a strong American agricultural message. The book is about how tied our world is to fossil fuels. From transportation to medicines, to plastic to agriculture, fossil fuels are a part of our everyday lives, and Little helps us understand how embedded they are, and addresses the question of how we move away from them.
In an recent blog from Mark, he celebrated that fact that Food Inc. didn’t win an Oscar. Unfortunately you can’t mention that “documentary” without thinking of Michael Pollan who wrote Omnivore’s Dilemma and promotes a world of organic farming. When on Ken’s farm, Little asks him about Pollan to which he replied, “It’s not a way to maximize production.”
Ken explained that the drawback of these organic methods is that they require more labor and time, and in turn generate lower profits. Organic farmers also tend to have lower yields per acre and higher prices.
The question Little didn’t ask him: How is the world going to feed 9 billion people without production agriculture? It’s not.
Ken is very conscientious about sustainable farming since his land, puts food on his table too. Farmers understand more than most that they must take care of the land that feeds them. I just wish consumers understood that better.
Well, to better understand our addiction to oil and the need for production agriculture through the eyes of a great man, Ken McCauley, then be sure to read Power Trip.
This year, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) will launch an image and activism campaign to reinforce the importance of agriculture, according to NCGA President, Darrin Ihnen during a press conference at Commodity Classic. While many people are still confused about food versus fuel, an issue perpetuated by media around the world, and the debate continues around international indirect land use change, it’s time to set the record straight. Ihnen noted that a few simple facts can take care of both of these issues. This year, corn farmers harvested 13.2 billion bushels of corn, or 165.2 bushels per acre, on 7 million less acres than in 2007 when the harvest was nearly identical.
In an effort to curb misinformation and ensure effective policy is put into place, corn growers around the country have been getting involved. One great example is the outpouring of comments around indirect land use, E15 and the RFS2.
“We’re proud of the tens of thousands of farmers who commented to the EPA on that subject (E15). In fact, this is a perfect example of how we’ve seen a resurgence of activism on the part of American agriculture and we’ve held numerous discussions with our allies around the world on this,” said Ihnen.
He continued, “That’s why this year we’re launching an unprecedented image and activism campaign to do two things. First, we will aggressively reinforce the importance and positive image most Americans have with farmers and the products they grow. Second, we will create a more united and vocal army of farmers and their friends who can speak out against the myths and misinformation that we see so often.”
The Corn Farmers Coalition will focus its efforts in the beltway and the activism/grassroots campaign will focus on Americans around the country. Ihnen stressed that the campaign will be more successful the more people are involved and said in closing, “We’re excited about this challenge and invite all interested parties to join us.”
Trade and rural revitalization were the key topics that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack addressed in his the keynote speech at the 2010 Commodity Classic on Friday – but at the press conference it was anything goes.
During his speech, Vilsack talked about the importance of biotechnology and biofuels, especially stressing the economic impact projected for 2022 if we meet the Renewable Fuel Standard. “190,000 people will be employed in the biofuels industry and if you leverage all the indirect jobs it will be closer to 807,000 jobs,” Vilsack said. In addition, $95 billion will be invested in the expansion of the biofuels industry over the next 12 years. “Most importantly, it will prevent us from having to import $350 billion of foreign oil,” he added.
The speech was fine, but the Secretary’s press conference was much more interesting. In fact, it was the longest and most candid press conference I have seen with him yet. Questions ranged from Toyota versus US beef, to calling USDA the Department of Food, to whether E15 will be approved.
Last week, the EPA announced a delay in the decision on increasing the blend level to E15 until the end of the summer. Vilsack commented that the purpose of the delay is due to ongoing testing by the Department of Energy to determine what engines can use the higher blend without ill effects. It has already been established that newer vehicles, and all flex-fuel vehicles can use the higher blend safely, “Which suggests to me that we’re going to see an increase in the blend rate,” said Vilsack. He then noted that it will be important to use rural development resources to make sure the distribution systems create the opportunities for people to use higher blends.
Listen to Vilsack’s comments about E15 here:
Download his comments with this link: Vilsack comments on E15
South Dakota Corn Grower, Darrin Ihnen, President of the National Corn Growers Association, took the general session stage this morning at Commodity Classic with session moderator Mark Mayfield.
Mark had a list of questions for each of the commodity group leaders and Darrin got to go first. With Darrin he started out talking about ethanol. Darrin talked about what the corn growers are doing in this area including pushing for higher blends in the fuel supply. All indications are that this is progressing in a positive way with the science looking good. He says they’re hoping for action by the end of this summer.
One of those details that growers have to be thinking about now is refuge requirement compliance and the National Corn Growers Association have developed a way to make that a little easier with the Insect Resistance Management Refuge Calculator. This handy tool is both easy to use and represents the latest products available to determine how to comply with varying and often complex regulations.
In partnership with BASF, the National Corn Growers Association 
During his speech, Vilsack talked about the importance of biotechnology and biofuels, especially stressing the economic impact projected for 2022 if we meet the Renewable Fuel Standard. “190,000 people will be employed in the biofuels industry and if you leverage all the indirect jobs it will be closer to 807,000 jobs,” Vilsack said. In addition, $95 billion will be invested in the expansion of the biofuels industry over the next 12 years. “Most importantly, it will prevent us from having to import $350 billion of foreign oil,” he added.
South Dakota Corn Grower, Darrin Ihnen, President of the 