Editorials

Oct 11, 2024

Author: Brooke S. Appleton

It’s October, and at the National Corn Growers Association that means we’re starting a new fiscal year, and we have a new grower at the top of the organization. This month, Kenneth Hartman Jr. began his term as NCGA president. I decided to ask four key questions of Kenneth that I thought would help you and other growers get to know our new leader. Brooke. Thank you, Kenneth, for agreeing to do this interview. I know it’s been a whirlwind week for you. Let’s start by having you tell us a little about yourself and where you’re from. Kenneth: I am a fifth-generation farmer from Waterloo, Ill., a town 25-miles south of St. Louis. I operate a corn and soybean farm along with my wife Anita, mother Joann and daughter Amanda. Along with farming, I have been deeply engaged in advocacy on behalf of growers. I have served on the NCGA board for six years in a variety of leadership roles and as a past president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association and past chairman of the Illinois Corn...

Sep 30, 2024

Author: Harold Wolle

As I conclude my term this week as NCGA president, I can’t help but reflect on the past year and the work that has been done to keep moving our industry forward. Uncertainty is a fixture in farming. We know all too well that we can’t control prices or the weather. But we focus on what we can control, and we do our best to prepare for opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.   That’s why “Shaping the Future” has been the theme of my presidency and why I spent this year working with incoming NCGA president Kenneth Hartman Jr. to hammer out a clear vision for building corn demand and protecting grower profitability.   While we are looking to the future, we are also addressing current challenges. Farmers have been hit hard economically with falling corn prices and rising input costs. And we have relayed these concerns to Congress and the Biden administration while asking them to act on our priorities. It may not feel like it with what we’re facing right now, but we do have...

Sep 10, 2024

Author: Brooke S. Appleton

Fall has almost arrived, and along with it comes marathon season. You would expect to see everyone moving at a slow steady speed as a result. Yet, the nation’s elected officials and political candidates are sprinting toward election day while official legislative work on the farm bill and other matters is largely stuck and not moving forward as urgently as needed. The competitive presidential and congressional races are making Washington hyper-partisan while injecting a great deal of uncertainty about the political landscape in 2025. No matter the outcome, we’re going to have many new leaders with many competing priorities come January. That, coupled with the incredible economic stress on farmers right now, is why we are pushing for Congress to act to pass the farm bill before year’s end. We have one last bite at this apple before the election, and we plan to take it. To that end, NCGA and our sister ag groups are coordinating a joint fly-in this month to get farmers from across...

Aug 7, 2024

Author: Brooke S. Appleton

Greetings from Washington, D.C., where our legislative priorities are frozen despite an unending heatwave and where current events make every week seem like ten years. Events on the national stage may be moving quickly with many twists and turns. But in Washington, legislation is progressing at a snail’s pace with the farm bill hanging in the balance. In keeping with tradition, the House and Senate are adjourned for the August recess, and policymakers are home in their states and districts meeting with constituents. This leaves us with fewer than 39 legislative days left this year as we work to pass a robust farm bill that includes corn grower priorities. We have a long way to go and a short time to get there. Plus, we have major events along the way, including an election that could completely shift the partisan makeup of Congress and the White House. And we must navigate an increasingly partisan environment in Washington that reflects the pending national elections. Despite...

Jul 11, 2024

Author: Harold Wolle

Corn growers nationwide are facing rising input costs and sinking corn prices. Severe weather is compounding it for some, including me. And I want you to know your associations have your back in Washington, D.C. Indeed, the National Corn Growers Association and state corn grower leaders are pushing Washington to act on priorities important to you that have long been bottlenecked.   As part of these efforts, hundreds of corn growers from across the United States will convene in Washington next week to advocate for our industry, meeting with staff and officials on Capitol Hill and across federal agencies. Among our specific asks: Support passage of a robust farm bill that addresses our priorities this year. The farm bill and USDA programs are critical to growers on every front—particularly when it comes to developing markets and managing risks.   Pledge support for the Next Generation Fuels Act and pass legislation providing consumers with year-round E15. We also need ethanol...

Jul 10, 2024

Author: Brooke S. Appleton

As I recently sat in my car in 90-plus degree weather, blocked by traffic caused by the NATO meeting in Washington, my mind kept moving from song to song.   One minute, I was hearing the 1981 hit “Under Pressure” and the next I was thinking about Diamond Rio’s 1991 country tune “Meet in the Middle.”   One could argue that these songs were buzzing in my head because of the pressure of being stuck in traffic for over an hour during a heat wave. But I am convinced it had more to do with the political climate in Washington, which is highly partisan and continues to present one unprecedented event after another.   As of this writing, we have 52 legislative days left before either chamber of Congress adjourns for the year and one presidential campaign is on shaky footing after the debates while the other still reels from legal issues. Overall, the city is quickly moving into campaign overdrive with the upcoming Republican Convention. Besides the Presidential rat race and the...

Jun 6, 2024

Key Issues: Farm Bill

Author: Brooke S. Appleton

It’s summertime in the nation’s capital, and members of Congress appear to be solar-powered.   After a long impasse, there has finally been some movement to reauthorize the farm bill. The House Committee on Agriculture recently passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act by a vote of 33-21.   Getting to this point has been a long haul. Corn grower leaders testified in front of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees throughout 2022 and 2023, sharing the National Corn Growers Association’s position on the legislation. Grower advocates also took part in roundtables and listening sessions across the country.   While the farm bill was initially due for reauthorization last year, it has already been extended once as Congress debated and voted on government funding bills and sorted through House leadership issues.   But now, thanks to the hard work of House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson (R-Penn.), as well as committee members from both parties, we have...

May 17, 2024

Key Issues: Ethanol

Author: Harold Wolle, NCGA President

Up before the sun rises and into bed long after it sets, farmers are the lifeblood of America. Their commitment to nurturing, cultivating and reaping their harvests sustains the way of life for millions of individuals they will never meet.   Where our nation is today and where we are headed is deeply rooted in the agricultural industry. Specifically, corn farmers are feeding and fueling America through their economic contributions and sustainability efforts.   Strengthening the Economy   As one of the largest sectors in American agriculture, and the world’s largest producer and exporter of corn, our nation’s farmers bolster the economy and help build strong communities. Driving job creation and paying $2.6 trillion in wages, farmers plant and maintain more than 250 million acres of farmland across the country.   The U.S. Department of Agriculture supports these farmers, rural America, and consumers, through programs and policies set in the farm bill. Through the upcoming...

May 8, 2024

Key Issues: Trade

Author: Brooke S. Appleton

It’s an evening we all remember in the Washington office of the National Corn Growers Association and is now a familiar war story that is brought up often at our gatherings.   On a cold February night in 2023 as staff settled into their homes after a day at the office, our communications director sent an email around: “Please be advised, Mexico plans to ban all genetically modified white corn imports beginning tomorrow.”   The news came after a months-long campaign by NCGA to stop Mexico’s president from banning imports of genetically modified corn into his country. That evening, Pres. Andrés Manuel López Obrador decided to push back, and the Reuters Mexico City Bureau had received word from the National Palace that the ban on white corn, often used for food-grade products, was imminent.   The ban on these products from a country that is our number one customer was an ominous development, particularly for states, like Nebraska, that export large quantities of white...

Apr 17, 2024

Author: Brooke S. Appleton

Plots have thickened. Majorities have shrunk. The knives are out. It’s April in Washington but you would be forgiven for thinking it’s the Ides of March.   Much like Julius Caesar, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is fighting to survive the many political plots against him. In the speaker’s case, the daggers are metaphorical but no less threatening to the established order.   As of this writing, there are reports that momentum is growing to oust the speaker because he promised to consider legislation containing military aid for Israel and Ukraine, a move prompted by Iran’s recent missile and drone attacks on the Jewish state, a key American ally.   Speaker Johnson, like his predecessor Kevin McCarthy, has struggled to maintain control over a divided GOP House with a narrow majority. The resignations in late March of Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Ken Buck (R-Colo.) have shrunk that majority even more and made the speaker’s job many times harder.   Speaker Johnson has...