May 6, 2023

IN THIS ISSUE

• Citizen Advocate Webinar: The Complete Citizen-Advocate’s Toolkit
• NCGA Awards Scholarships, CO Student Selected
• CCPC Sponsors 2023 Competition For Colorado’s Best Whiskey
• The Special Research Edition of Field Journal is Now Available
• Take the CCPC Annual Survey
• NCGA President Outlines Farm Bill Priorities, Encourages Strategic Investments in Key USDA Programs
• USDA Expands Margin Protection for Corn and Soybean Farmers
• NCGA Leader Highlights Importance of Crop Insurance at Senate Ag Subcommittee Hearing on Farm Bill Priorities
• Pesticide Applicator Continuing Education
• History Colorado’s Centennial Farms & Ranches Application Now Open

Citizen Advocate Webinar: The Complete Citizen-Advocate’s Toolkit

Many citizens (and some professionals) think the only way to influence public policy is through a grassroots email campaign. However, there are more than a dozen ways to connect with elected officials – both online and offline. This straight-forward presentation will walk participants through the Complete Citizen-Advocate’s Toolkit: 15 tools available to every advocate. The presentation will include social media, town hall meetings, telephone town hall meetings, in-district meetings, and letters to the editor.

This program is based on exclusive and private surveys of congressional staff conducted by CMF and is available only to members of CMF's Partnership for a More Perfect Union.

The webinar will be conducted by Bradford Fitch, President and CEO of CMF.

Date: May 09, 2023 at 1:00 PM MST 

If you have any questions regarding this presentation, please contact Anna Lee Hirschi at ahirschi@CongressFoundation.org.

 NCGA Awards Scholarships, CO Student Selected

A committee of the National Corn Growers Association grower leaders announced the finalists for the 2023 NCGA Scholarship Programs. Twelve students will be awarded scholarships for the fall 2023 semester. NCGA is proud to support these programs in partnership with BASF Corporation.

“NCGA works to build a strong future for corn farmers in all programs. These scholarships provide an important investment in building tomorrow’s ag industry leaders and problem-solvers,” said NCGA Member and Consumer Engagement Action Team Chair Dan Nerud. “Given the number of quality applicants and the breadth of their talents, I am excited to see how these students will help shape the industry and find solutions that keep farms strong well into the next generation.”

Colorado’s own Tyler Schneider was selected as a recipient of the William C. Berg Academic Excellence Scholarship. Tyler comes from a small farm and ranch in eastern Colorado where he grew up raising corn, wheat and cattle with his parents and grandparents. Currently, he is a junior attending West Texas A&M University in Canyon Texas studying Plant, Soil, and Environmental Science.

He plans to return home after college to taking over off-farm jobs and possibly find some farm ground of his own.

CCPC Sponsors 2023 Competition For Colorado’s Best Whiskey

Craft distilleries in Colorado will once again compete for top honors at a national whiskey tasting competition sponsored by the Colorado Corn Promotion Council. The 2023 Heartland Whiskey Competition is the fourth competition sponsored by state corn marketing associations. Craft spirits is a fast-growing U.S. industry – the number of craft distillers has increased 54% since the inaugural competition in 2016 — and whiskey is its most popular product. Most distilleries that produce craft products are family-owned and rely on farmers for a reliable supply of corn to make the mash from which spirits are distilled.

Read more...

The Special Research Edition of Field Journal is Now Available!

In the latest issue of Field Journal, we took a deep dive in the research that the Colorado Corn Promotion Council has sponsored. Look for this to arrive in your mailbox soon!

Check it out here!

Take the CCPC Annual Survey

The CCPC is conducting our annual survey. It is very important to the Board of Directors and the staff that we are serving the corn producers of the state in the best way that we can - and that means we need your feedback! Please fill out the short survey, and let us know how we are doing. The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete.

USDA Expands Margin Protection for Corn and Soybean Farmers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expanding its Margin Protection insurance plan, adding more than a thousand counties to the insurance option that provides coverage against an unexpected decrease in operating margin for corn and soybean producers. This expansion, which is in direct response to growing interest among producers, will be available by June 30, 2023. Interested producers will need to purchase their coverage by Sept. 30, 2023, to be eligible for the 2024 crop year. 

See the map of expanded opportunities for corn in Colorado

NCGA Leader Highlights Importance of Crop Insurance at Senate Ag Subcommittee Hearing on Farm Bill Priorities

Corn growers are championing several priorities as Congress debates reauthorization of the farm bill with crop insurance protection being the top focus, a leader of the National Corn Growers Association said today in testimony before the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management, and Trade.

“We strongly oppose any efforts to restrict producer access to crop insurance products and oppose harmful program cuts that would negatively impact crop insurance products, their delivery, or the sound structure of the program,” said NCGA First Vice President Harold Wolle.

During the hearing, which was held to elicit producer perspectives on the farm safety net, Wolle testified that NCGA supports increasing the affordability of crop insurance coverage.

Read more...

Pesticide Applicator Continuing Education

Mountain West PEST provides live in-person workshops and live online recertification credit training via Zoom Webinars.  Live online webinars and in-person workshops have been developed and approved for core and category credits. If your category is not listed as an "upcoming" webinar/workshop, please contact MWPEST (sandra@mountainwestpest.com).

View upcoming workshops

UPCOMING DEADLINES

• Margin Protection insurance plan – Sept. 30, 2023

UPCOMING EVENTS

• May 17 - CCPC Board of Directors Meeting