Ag Industry News and Events - Page 32

Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) will soon begin to help shape the U.S.’ ability to complete international trade negotiations. On Monday, June 29th, President Obama signed the bill into law. TPA is legislation that gives the President authority to submit trade agreements to Congress for an up-or-down vote without amendments.

Several hundred concerned individuals gathered in Kansas City, Kansas today to Rally for Rural America.  Farmers, American ethanol industry representatives, and a number of agriculture organizations spent the afternoon to support the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). This rally was organized in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) public hearing on their proposed rule to significantly cut America’s use of cleaner burning renewable fuels.

Farmers, agribusiness and the renewable fuels industry will gather on June 25th in Kansas City at the Rally for Rural America in support of a strong and robust Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

Elections for the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) will be held on July 21, 2015. Iowa corn growers elect peers to serve on the ICPB to oversee the investment of funds generated by the Iowa corn checkoff.  The Board’s primary activities include domestic and foreign market development, research into new and value-added corn uses, and education about the corn industry. 

The Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) and the Iowa Land Improvement Contractors Association (LICA) hosted several state and federal legislators at a water quality and ag field day on Friday, May 29 at the LICA farm located northeast of Des Moines near Melbourne.

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its 2014, 2015, and 2016 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). RVOs are set annually by EPA to dictate the amount of renewable fuel that is blended into the motor fuel supply.  The 2014 and 2015 RVOs have been significantly delayed in their release.

Today, Iowa Corn Grower Association (ICGA) President Jerry Mohr issued the following statement in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) release of the final rule defining a Water of the United States under the Clean Water Act.

Since 1978, Iowa corn growers have elected their peers to serve on the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) to oversee the investment of funds generated by the Iowa corn checkoff.  As established by Iowa Code, a portion of the board seats are up for election each year.

Recent lawsuits against seed companies have caused confusion about the role of the Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA).  ICGA is not involved in any way with the litigation currently being pursued related to the release of biotechnology events. The plaintiffs in these lawsuits are individual farmers acting on their own behalf and are in no way representative of the position of Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) or National Corn Growers Association (NCGA).  Farmers contemplating joining these lawsuits should seek independent legal counsel to answer questions.

The Des Moines Water Works has elected to pursue expensive and unproductive litigation against farmers and their drainage districts more than 100 miles from Des Moines. Iowa corn farmers are very disappointed in this shift away from a collaborative, results-oriented model that has been the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) gold standard for improving water quality. This litigation will cause scarce resources to be reallocated away from current projects without any guarantee of improving our waters.