NCGA to Hold Corn Congress; Growers to Advocate Key Issues on Capitol Hill (7-7-06)

Every year, more than 125 NCGA delegates and members from across the country converge on Washington, D.C., to participate in the annual two-day Corn Congress where they take part in association business, set agendas for next year and meet with national decision-makers to discuss critical corn industry issues. This year’s Corn Congress will be July 12-13.

Gerald Tumbleson, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) president, noted this Corn Congress is lined up to be a successful one. “I know our grassroots will be able to harness the continued enthusiasm from the successes corn growers had in 2005 to make the 2006 Corn Congress even better,” he said.

In addition to association business, growers will descend on Capitol Hill Wednesday and Thursday to speak with their senators and representatives about the importance of bringing the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) to the floor for a vote in addition to many other important legislative issues.

“Growers will take to the Hill to continue raising awareness of the long-term value that corn growers and agriculture bring to the nation. Having a significant amount of growers come to Capitol Hill to participate in discussions with key legislators is also a crucial component of our grassroots’ efforts,” said Tumbleson. “We will have more than 125 growers on the Hill at various times during the week. You just can’t overemphasize how important that is.”

Tumbleson noted this year growers will once again focus on WRDA, but this time it will be directed at the Senate and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).

“Our growers will be blanketing the Senate, calling on their senators to continue to push Frist to bring WRDA to the floor now,” Tumbleson said. “We are at a critical point, and we will not let up until we see this bill come to the Senate floor. It is an ideal time for growers to let Congress know that if WRDA is not passed this year, it could be years before Congress tackles the issue again and that will have a significantly negative impact on growers.”

Also on the agenda, delegates will ratify Ron Litterer of Iowa as NCGA’s next first vice president, elect new members to the NCGA Corn Board and present Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.) with the annual NCGA President’s Award for his support of corn grower issues.

Growers nominated for the five Corn Board positions are Cal Dalton, Guy Davenport, Bob Dickey, Ken Hartman, Gene Sandager, Bart Schott, Mark Schwiebert and Bob Timmons.

“The slate of candidates speak to the strength of organization,” said Leon Corzine, NCGA chairman and Nominating Committee chairman. “It’s a good field of candidates, and NCGA appreciates the caliber of people offering to contribute their time and efforts to NCGA.”

Prior to the opening of Corn Congress, NCGA’s action teams and committees will meet to discuss ongoing initiatives and future projects.