September 23, 2023

IN THIS ISSUE

• CCPC Travels to South Korea & Japan with the USMEF Heartland Team
• Pesticide Regulation: Environmentalists, Ag Industry Clash Over Local vs State Control
• NCGA to EPA: Science Shows that Ethanol is Important to Lowering Emissions
• New Web Page Highlights Superior Performance Of U.S. Corn
• Citizen Advocate Webinar: The Virtual Advocacy Toolkit & Conducting Virtual Meetings with Congress
• NCGA’s Photo Contest Re-launches
• Colorado Ag Water Summit - Registration Now Available

CCPC Travels to South Korea & Japan with the USMEF Heartland Team

Last week, CCPC Secretary Matt Mulch and CCPC Executive Director Nicholas Colglazier traveled to South Korea and Japan with the U.S. Meat Export Federation's Heartland Team to promote U.S. Pork and Beef. 

While there they had the opportunity to visit with the buyers of American Beef and Pork and the contributions corn farmers make to making it tasty, tender, and sustainable. 

While in Japan, Nick talked with Lorrie Boyer about their visit.

Pesticide Regulation: Environmentalists, Ag Industry Clash Over Local vs State Control

A panel of legislators on Tuesday spent nearly three hours discussing local versus state control of pesticides, an issue that arose during this year’s session but failed to gain traction.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis supports allowing local governments to regulate pesticides. So does the state Department of Agriculture, which is in charge of applicators who use restricted pesticides.

At the core of the issue is who gets to regulate pesticides. Currently, that regulation falls under the state’s purview.  

Read more...

NCGA to EPA: Science Shows that Ethanol is Important to Lowering Emissions

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) sent a letter this week to the Environmental Protection Agency addressing recent concerns raised by the agency’s scientific advisory board about the environmental benefits of ethanol.

In a letter sent to EPA Administrator Michael Regan on Thursday, NCGA CEO Neil Caskey noted that the research shows unequivocally that ethanol is important to addressing climate change.

“There are no shortage of studies on the environmental benefits of corn ethanol,” Caskey said. “The Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, for example, has conducted extensive research on the matter and concluded that corn ethanol has reduced GHG emissions in the U.S. by 544 million metric tons from 2005- 2019 and that the feedstock’s carbon intensity is 44 percent lower than that of petroleum gasoline.”

Read more...

New Web Page Highlights Superior Performance Of U.S. Corn

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) recently updated its corn web pages on grains.org to highlight the recent work the Council has done to demonstrate the superior performance of U.S. corn against corn from Brazil, Argentina and the Black Sea.

The corn section is now home to two categories: the feed industry and the industrial starch industry. These new tabs summarize the results of the Council’s work over the past three years to drill down and demonstrate the economic advantages of buying U.S. corn.

Read more...

Citizen Advocate Webinar: The Virtual Advocacy Toolkit & Conducting Virtual Meetings with Congress

Regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping in touch with constituents is among the most important job aspects for Members of Congress. With most Members of Congress taking steps to observe social distancing protocols, congressional offices quickly adopted the use of virtual platforms to communicate with the people they represent. This presentation will highlight and provide tips for effectively using virtual advocacy strategies for engaging lawmakers including virtual meetings, emailing staff, social media, online and telephone town hall meetings, and more.

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: September 26, 2023

Time: 1:00 PM MST

Enter NCGA’s Photo Contest

Fields-of-Corn.com, the official photo contest of the National Corn Growers Association (NGCA), relaunched on the first of September.

Open to all, NCGA invites photographers to help tell the story of farming field corn in America. Through this contest, NCGA seeks high-resolution photos to document the rich history of growing corn, captured from seed to harvest as well as the tenacious families that grow it. Entries will be accepted through the end of November and will be available to accumulate votes directly through the website, closing on December 31.

Photographers will be competing for 26 awards over eight categories. Visa gift card prizes range up to $500. Winners will be announced in January 2024.

Colorado Ag Water Summit - Registration Now Available

Join farmers, ranchers, and water managers around the state to discuss water issues impacting the agricultural community at the Colorado Ag Water Summit.

Date: November 29-30, 2023

Location: Larimer County Fairgrounds, Loveland, Co

Topics

• The Colorado River: Building a Statewide Ag Response
• Is WOTUS Dead?
• Drought Resilience Projects Around the State
• Taking Advantage of Federal Funding and Investing in Irrigation Infrastructure for The Future
• Colorado State University TAPS (Testing Ag Performance Solutions): Lessons from Year One
• Understanding Recent and Future Challenges to the Prior Appropriation System

More Information and registration is available on the website https://www.coagwater.org/summit

UPCOMING DEADLINES

• Margin Protection Insurance Plan – Sept. 30, 2023

UPCOMING EVENTS

• September 30 - CSU Ag Day
• November 29-30 - Colorado Ag Water Summit