January 14, 2023

IN THIS ISSUE

• CSU Corn Performance Trial Results Available
• New Year Brings Continued Negotiations with Mexico Over Biotech Corn Imports
• NCGA Expresses Disappointment in EPA WOTUS Rule
• NRCS in CO Announces NEW Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Agricultural Land Easement (ACEP-ALE) Application Signup Cut-off Date
• NCGA Accepting Scholarship Applications, Offering Opportunity
• History Colorado’s Centennial Farms & Ranches Application Now Open

CSU Corn Performance Trial Results Available

The Colorado State University Crops Testing Program has the corn-hybrid performance trial results posted online for corn producers to access and use to make planting decisions for 2023. The full fall 2022 single-location results tables are available on our corn page here at www.csucrops.com/corn. 

Producers looking to increase yield and decrease risk will want to plant the best possible corn hybrids for top yields next summer. Corn farmers will have first-hand information on current and new hybrids, their resistance to drought and tolerance to pests/diseases.

New Year Brings Continued Negotiations with Mexico Over Biotech Corn Imports

As we enter 2023, we are reminded that we are now one year out from the effective date of the decree banning most corn imports from the U.S. into Mexico.

The National Corn Growers Association, along with state corn partners, ended 2022 sounding the alarm about this issue and we’re seeing results, though there is still work to do.

The current predicament emerged last year when President Andrés Manuel López Obrador promised to enact a decree that would ban all imports of biotech corn into Mexico, effective January 31, 2024.

Since 90% of U.S. corn is biotech corn and because Mexico is one of our top trading partners, the president’s promise threatened to upend a major economic partnership for our nation’s farmers. A study by World Perspectives showed that it also would adversely affect the Mexican economy and lead to issues of food insecurity.

Read more...

NCGA Expresses Disappointment in EPA WOTUS Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers released a final rule on December 30 that determines what constitutes Waters of the United States, or WOTUS, under the Clean Water Act.

The rule was released as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to decide a case, Sackett vs. EPA, which will provide more clarity on the issue. 

“We are disappointed that EPA moved ahead with its final rule when the Supreme Court will soon render a decision on this matter,” said National Corn Growers Association President Tom Haag. “The Court’s ruling could negate major elements of this WOTUS rule and will create even more uncertainty for farmers.”

Read more...

NRCS in CO Announces NEW Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Agricultural Land Easement (ACEP-ALE) Application Signup Cut-off Date

Colorado Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State Conservationist, Clint Evans, announced the 2023 application cut-off dates for eligible entities to participate in the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Agricultural Land Easement (ACEP-ALE) in Colorado. There is one signup offered for complete and eligible applications to compete for available funding. Application packages are due on Friday, February 17, 2023, by 4:00 PM Mountain Standard Time (MST) for funding.  Ranking pools offered for parcel applications are General, Grasslands of Special Significance (GSS), GSS Gunnison Sage Grouse, GSS Greater Sage Grouse, and General Urban Agriculture.

For more information about ACEP-ALE, please contact Laura Trimboli at 970-403-6379 or laura.trimboli@usda.gov. You can also visit your local NRCS at your nearest USDA Service Center or visit the Colorado NRCS ACEP website.

NCGA Accepting Scholarship Applications, Offering Opportunity

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) works every day to build a brighter future for farmers. To support the education of today’s youth as they grow into the ag leaders of tomorrow, NCGA invites eligible students to apply for the 2023 Scholarship Programs. NCGA is proud to support three scholarship programs for three distinct audiences:

• Technical School/Community College Scholarship Program
• 5 - $1,000 scholarships for students pursuing a degree at a technical school or community college
•  NCGA William C. Berg Academic Excellence Scholarship Program
• NCGA and BASF Corporation will provide 5 - $1,500 scholarships for undergraduate students pursuing degrees in any field.
•  Graduate Student Scholarship Program
• 2 - $2,500 scholarship for a graduate student whose area of study will benefit the corn sector.

“Scholarships provide an opportunity to help further innovative, bright young minds that will energize the agricultural industry well into the future,” said Membership and Consumer Engagement Action Team Chair Lowell Neitzel. “As a farmer, I see NCGA’s investment in scholarships as truly an investment in the future for each and every one of our farm families.” 

To apply, students or a parent/guardian must be a member of the NCGA. Past scholarship winners and employees and the families of employees of any division of BASF or their subsidiaries or the NCGA are not eligible for the scholarship.

Applications are currently open, and the scholarship application deadline is Tuesday, January 31, 2023. 

More detailed information about the 2023 Scholarship Programs can be found on NCGA.com/scholarships.

History Colorado’s Centennial Farms & Ranches Application Now Open

The 2023 applications for Colorado's Centennial Farms & Ranches program have been opened. Centennial Farms & Ranches program, a joint initiative of History Colorado and the Colorado Department of Agriculture, honors the contributions of the state’s ranching and farming families who have withstood the pressures of growth, changes in farming methods, drought, and economic conditions to preserve important pieces of our state's commercial and cultural history.

In 2022, the Centennial Farms & Ranches program was expanded to recognize four categories of honorees associated with the agricultural history of the State of Colorado:

• Centennial Farms or Ranches – farms or ranches that have belonged to the same family for at least 100 years, and are currently working farms or ranches
• Centennial Families – families with agricultural experience in Colorado that spans 100 or more years (eg. 1923-present), not necessarily as landowners
• Centennial Farmers or Ranchers – individuals 100 years of age or older who have spent a majority of their life in agricultural pursuits within the State of Colorado, even if they were not landowners
• Centennial AgriBusiness – organizations or businesses that have been in operation for 100 or more years and primarily serve the agricultural community in Colorado (examples: seed companies, farm implement manufacturers, Farm Bureaus, etc.)

The expansion of the Centennial Farms and Ranches program allows for a more equitable celebration of the diverse farming and ranching families who sustain the Centennial State. Broadening this program provides a chance to celebrate the contribution and accomplishments of Coloradans who did not historically have the opportunity to own property–whether for economic, political, or discriminatory reasons.

To earn recognition within the Centennial Farms and Ranches Programs, applicants must submit an application and provide verification of eligibility. A complete list of eligibility requirements can be found in the 2023 Centennial Farms & Ranches Application.

Awardees will be honored for their perseverance and resilience through the changing times at the Colorado State Fair, held every August in Pueblo, CO.

The deadline for applications is May 1, 2023. To apply or learn more, please visit h-co.org/CentennialFarms or call (303) 866-3392.

UPCOMING EVENTS

January 16

• CCAC Office closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 24-26

• Colorado Farm Show - Schedule Here