Nine farmer leaders and staff members from the National Corn Growers Association, the U.S. Grains Council and the North Dakota Barley Council traveled to Cuba last month to see first-hand opportunities for expanding U.S. coarse grain exports if trade is fully normalized with the island nation. The mission was part of an ongoing effort by the grains industry to assess …
#RFSWorks Hearing and Rally
Hundreds of ethanol supporters showed up in Kansas City, Kansas on June 25, 2015 for a public hearing on the EPA’s proposed volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and a Rally for Rural America. The hearing heard testimony from over 200 stakeholders, including corn farmers, ethanol and biodiesel producers. The rally featured comments from the governors and agriculture …
America’s Renewable Future Announces Partners
America’s Renewable Future (ARF) today announced its diverse coalition of partners that includes state and national ethanol and biofuels associations and companies committed to educating presidential candidates in both parties about the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The partners include the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA), Iowa Biodiesel Board, Iowa Ethanol Producers Association, Iowa Soybean Association, …
NCGA Chair Comments on Planting Progress
Corn farmers nationwide planted about one third of the corn acreage nationwide in one week last week according to USDA’s latest crop progress report. The phenomenal progress included an increase of 38% in Nebraska and Illinois, 41% more in Missouri, 45% in Minnesota and an additional 54% of the acreage in Iowa. In this interview, Martin Barbre, Chairman of the …
Doane Releases Planting Intentions Survey Results
Doane’s 2015 Planting Intentions Survey was released to subscribers and clients Friday, March 20th. Results from this year’s survey show a continuation of recent trends toward more soybeans and less corn acreage. Last year’s corn acreage declined significantly in 2014, down 4.8 million acres from the 2013 level, just a bit more than the 4.5 million acre decline implied by …
Biofuels Leaders Defend RFS
As the American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday renewed its call to repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), representatives of the ethanol and advanced biofuels industry and corn growers defended the law and the fuel. Participating in a telephone press conference were: Tom Buis, CEO, Growth Energy Rob Elliott, National Corn Growers Assoc. First Vice President Adam Monroe, President, Novozymes America …
Corn Growers Welcome New Congress
The National Corn Growers Association spent Tuesday on Capitol Hill this week, welcoming the 114th Congress to Washington and talking up the importance of agriculture to the American economy. Pictured here is NCGA President Chip Bowling of Maryland with Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) – photo from NCGA. NCGA executive vice president Jon Doggett talks about the visit and important issues …
PacificAg Can Help Farmers and Biorefineries
The largest and most experienced biomass harvest company in the country wants to help ethanol plants develop or expand operations into the production of cellulosic ethanol by saving time and money on supply chain development. PacificAg is already supplying biomass for plants in Iowa and Kansas, including corn stover, wheat straw and milo stover products. In this interview, PacificAg founder …
Bayer CropScience Corn & Soybean Future Forum
The 2014 Bayer CropScience Corn and Soybean Future Forum takes place in Frankfurt, Germany. The Future Forum will be an excellent networking opportunity with interesting lectures, expert discussions and an attractive side program that feature upcoming trends and technologies in corn and soybean and will provide new insights into current and upcoming challenges and possible solution approaches. Audio Bayer CropScience …
Interview with Grains Council CEO
With a record corn crop being harvested, exports are more important than ever. The United States exported more than 11 percent of the U.S. corn supply to over 100 countries in the 2013/2014 marketing year, which U.S. Grains Council president and CEO Tom Sleight says is a nice recovery from lost market share after the drought of 2012. In this …
USDA Crop Report Comments
USDA has increased its estimate of both the corn and soybean crops this month, building on already forecast record highs. Corn production is forecast at 14.4 billion bushels, up 3 percent from both the August forecast and from 2013 and yields are expected to average 171.7 bushels per acre, almost 13 bushels an acre higher than last year. Soybean production …
Interview with National Corn President
Members of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) had a busy week in the nation’s capital last week – hearing from and meeting with administration officials and lawmakers, saying goodbye to retiring industry leaders, and inspiring new young leaders. In this interview with NCGA president Martin Barbre of Illinois, he talks about their conversation with EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe, …
American Ethanol 200 Wins Big in Iowa
The American Ethanol 200 presented by Enogen took place on Friday, July 11, 2014 and ethanol had a big win. Syngenta donated $108,000 to Growth Energy as part of its $1 per acre program to help support ethanol infrastructure. Syngenta’s $1 per acre program is a three-year program where the company donates $1 for every acre of Enogen trait corn …
2014 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference
The National Corn Growers Association 2014 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference was held June 2-4 in Louisville, Kentucky. 2014 CUTC Photo Album Promoting Kentucky Bourbon – NCGA President Kicks off CUTC – Gen 1.5 – Corn Fiber to Ethanol – Edeniq Stresses Cellulosic Ethanol is Here –
New Report on Economic Impact of Renewable Fuels
The Fuels America coalition released an economic impact study by John Dunham & Associates showing that the industry supports more than 850,000 American jobs and drives $184.5 billion of economic output. Fuels America held a telephone press conference introducing the report results featuring comments from Jon Doggett, National Corn Growers Association public policy; Adam Monroe, Novozymes; Larry Ward, POET; and …