IN THIS ISSUE:

• NCGA President Urges House Opposition to Anti-farmer Amendment to Farm Bill
• NCGA Seeks Congressional Support of H.R. 2423
• Farm Bill Set to Move Forward in House; NCGA Opposes 'Kind' Amendment
• Despite NCGA Opposition, Senate Committee Marks up Bill Undermining National Energy Security
• NCGA Talks IRM Issues with EPA
• NCGA Director Attends Waterways Conference
• NCGA Meets With Other Ag Groups to Track Traceability
• NCGA in the Media Spotlight at Farm Progress Show
• NCGA, ASA Announce Louise Mandrell to Entertain at Commodity Classic
• NCGA, RFA Host Hill Staff at Motor Sports Event Featuring Ethanol-Powered Dragsters
• NCGA Looking for Tomorrow's Leaders

NCGA President Urges House Opposition to Anti-farmer Amendment to Farm Bill

NCGA President Lee Klein has urged House members to vote against conservation amendments to the farm bill that divert funds away from commodity title programs. http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/september/092801a.htm

NCGA Seeks Congressional Support of H.R. 2423

The NCGA and other groups supporting ethanol this week sent a letter to all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives urging them to support H.R. 2423, which has an aggressive goal of replacing the 3 percent of the nation's transportation BTUs with renewable fuels by 2011 and 5 percent by 2016. http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/september/092401a.htm

Farm Bill Set to Move Forward in House; NCGA Opposes 'Kind' Amendment

A U.S. House of Representatives vote on the farm bill could occur sometime next week, the NCGA learned Wednesday. http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/september/092701.htm

Despite NCGA Opposition, Senate Committee Marks up Bill Undermining National Energy Security

Despite strong opposition by the NCGA and other ethanol supporters, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee marked up S. 950, the Federal Renewable Fuels Act of 2001. http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/september/092501b.htm

NCGA Talks IRM Issues with EPA

Representatives of the NCGA discussed issues related to Insect Resistance Management (IRM) and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn with the EPA during a recent teleconference. http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/september/092601.htm

NCGA Director Discusses River's Economic Impact at Waterways Conference

Paul Bertels, production and marketing director for the NCGA recently attended a meeting of the National Waterways Conference (NWC) in Louisville, Ky. Bertels presented the preliminary findings of the a pending study on the Determination of the Economic Impact of Increased Congestion on the Upper Mississippi River-Illinois River Waterway conducted by Dr. Michael Evans. http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/september/092501a.htm

NCGA Meets With Other Ag Groups to Track Traceability

The NCGA was one of several agricultural and industry groups involved in a video teleconference last week to discuss labeling and traceability of biotech crops. http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/september/092401.htm

NCGA in the Media Spotlight at Farm Progress Show

The NCGA was in the media spotlight this week at the Farm Progress Show in West Lafayette, Ind. NCGA Corn Board member and Biotech Working Group Chairman Fred Yoder from Plain City, Ohio, and CEO and Executive Vice President Rick Tolman made sure the NCGA message was heard. http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/september/092801.htm

NCGA, ASA Announce Louise Mandrell to Entertain at Commodity Classic

Every year, quality entertainment is a key feature of the Commodity Classic, the combined convention and trade show of the NCGA and the American Soybean Association (ASA) - and 2002 will be no exception. http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2001/september/092501.htm

NCGA, RFA Host Hill Staff at Motor Sports Event Featuring Ethanol-Powered Dragsters

The NCGA is partnering with the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) to sponsor a congressional staff reception at the IHRA President's Cup Nationals, to be held at the Maryland International Raceway Saturday, Sept. 29. The attraction: Championship drag racing featuring ethanol-powered racecars. Attendance for this year's event has doubled over last year's inaugural reception, attesting to the popularity of the Nationals. "It's a great opportunity to show Hill staff that ethanol really can get the job done as an automotive alternative fuel," said NCGA Vice President of Public Policy Bruce Knight.

NCGA Looking for Tomorrow's Leaders

The NCGA prides itself on having the best grower-leaders in the nation. It takes patience, intelligence and a lot of hard work to be a leader in a 32,000-member organization that represents over 300,000 corn growers. The general NCGA membership will be receiving e-mails Oct. 1 that will contain applications for the 2002/2003 fiscal year Corn Board. All members are encouraged to apply so their voices can be heard and to represent the nation's corn growers. The application schedule is as follows: October 1--Fiscal year 2002-2003 Corn Board applications materials will be e-mailed to state organizations December 1--application due to Kathy Baker in the St. Louis office More details will be made available later. For more information, contact NCGA Executive Assistant Kathy Baker at 314-275-9915 ext. 111 or baker@ncga.com.

NCGA THIS WEEK

• Oct. 2-3 NCGA CEO and Executive Vice President Rick Tolman will be attending the Nebraska Farm Harvest Tour
• Oct. 3 Tolman will be attending an Ag Policy Roundtable Meeting in Washington, D.C.
• Oct. 4-6 NCGA Director of Business Development Bob Sedlacek will be attending a Fiber Utilization meeting in Pasco, Wash to discuss project updates