IN THIS ISSUE:

• Corn Wins Watershed Victory; Senate Energy Bill Passes 88 to 11
• NCGA Sees Counter-Cyclical Program Added to Farm Bill
• NCGA Sends Letter Asking Farm Bill Conferees to Accept Cuba Provisions
• NCGA Urges Members to Support Bush's Call for TPA Vote in April
• NCGA Encouraged by President's Comments on Ethanol
• Phillips Counts Commitment, Dedication as Keys to NCGA Corn Board Re-Election
  

STARTING NEXT FRIDAY (APRIL 26), CORN COMMENTARY WILL FEATURE PROFILES OF
EACH OF THE PERSPECTIVE CORN BOARD MEMBERS SEEKING ELECTION DURING THIS
SUMMER'S CORN CONGRESS. THE SCHEDULE IS AS FOLLOWS:

• APRIL 26 - KYLE PHILLIPS
• MAY 3 - RON OLSON
• MAY 10 - RICHARD PETERSON
• MAY 17 - KEN MCKAULEY
• MAY 24 - SCOTT WALL
• MAY 31 - CAL DALTON
• JUNE 7 - JAMIE JAMISON

Corn Wins Watershed Victory; Senate Energy Bill Passes 88 to 11
In what the NCGA is calling an unprecedented, historic move, the U.S. Senate late Wednesday approved S. 517, the comprehensive energy package including a renewable fuel standard (RFS) by a vote of 88 to 11. "This is the first time ever that national energy policy would require the use of renewable transportation fuel," NCGA President Tim Hume said. "This is a clear victory for farmers and renewable fuels advocates. When the time came to count votes, renewable fuels were, time and again, able to show the strong support they have in the U.S. Senate."

The NCGA, along with other agricultural, ethanol, oil and environmental organizations, are taking the credit for the bill's passage after months - and even years -- of hard work on Capitol Hill.
"For the past 20 years, the NCGA has been working side-by-side with farmers, industry and government to build the ethanol industry from the ground up," said Hume. "There can be little debate that the results add up to a bona fide success story, and today's Senate action is a new and exciting chapter in that story."

Hume noted that S. 517 RFS provisions require refiners to use 2.3 billion gallons of renewable fuels, like ethanol, in 2004 and increase that to 5 billion gallons by 2012. Key elements of S. 517 are:

• The RFS;
• Eliminating the reformulated gasoline (RFG) oxygen requirement;
• Banning MTBE in four years;
• Creating a renewable credit trading system; and
• Protecting the environmental performance of RFG.

Hume also credited U.S. corn growers and other ethanol supporters with ensuring passage of S. 517.
"Corn growers throughout the nation actively contacted their senators and urged them to pass the comprehensive energy package with RFS provisions," Hume concluded. "This demonstrates the influence farmers can have on national policy that affects them not only as farmers, but as consumers as well."

NCGA and other key ethanol industry, oil and agricultural associations, including the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API), negotiated the RFS with Senate leaders for weeks. In early March, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (S-SD) inserted the RFS into the Senate energy package in place of current language.

DID YOU KNOW??
The Leader Resource Center, located at <http://www.insidencga.com/> provides the latest information and calendars for NCGA members on the topics affecting them daily.

NCGA Sees Counter-Cyclical Program Added to Farm Bill
NCGA is pleased with discussions to provide a stronger counter-cyclical program in the next farm bill. House and Senate negotiators yesterday reached tentative agreement on a new bill that is expected to strengthen the farm safety net for producers of major commodities over the next six years, and reportedly will allow up to $360,000 total annual government payments.

The bill's centerpiece is a new counter-cyclical payment program, which NCGA has promoted as an additional necessary component in the farm bill agreement. "NCGA and its members have played a constructive role to deliver a bill with a strong counter-cyclical payment program that includes more current yield data," said NCGA President Tim Hume.

Although the numbers have to be reviewed by the Congressional Budget Office, NCGA expects marketing loan rates to be raised for most major row crops, and a counter-cyclical program that will complement the extension of fixed payments initiated under the 1996 farm bill. NCGA has received initial reports that the per-bushel rate for corn is expected to rise to $1.98, the first increase since the mid-1990s and 5% more than the current rate. After two years, the rate would be adjusted downward to $1.95 per bushel to leave more room in the budget to raise target prices for the counter-cyclical program favored by the House.

Once the negotiations come to a completion, the conferees will send a conference report to the House and Senate, where it will have to be approved. Once approved, the bill then moves to the president's desk for his signature.

NCGA Sends Letter Asking Farm Bill Conferees to Accept Cuba Provisions
The NCGA was among 27 agricultural groups who co-signed a letter to House Agriculture Committee member Rep. Cal Dooley (D-CA), supporting the Congressman's motion to instruct the House farm bill conferees to accept the Senate language regarding the Cuba financing provisions. The motion was passed by a vote of 273-143 Tuesday night.

"Currently," said NCGA President Tim Hume, "United States law prohibits our agricultural exporters wishing to sell food and agricultural commodities to Cuba from using U.S. banks or financial institutions to execute the sale. This prohibition increases the cost of the overall export transaction by adding additional banking fees.

"It also increases the complexity of the export sale," he continued, "making it more difficult to compete against foreign suppliers."

Provisions in the Senate Farm bill would eliminate the cash purchase requirement and allow for private financing.

NCGA also joined with agricultural groups to send letters to Administration officials expressing disappointment with the recent action taken by the Administration to deny visas to Cuban trade officials.
"The purpose of the Cuban travel, " said NCGA Director of Public Policy Keira Franz, "was for Cuban officials to meet with U.S. suppliers, inspect facilities, discuss sanitary and phytosanitary issues and verify U.S. procedures and standards associated with the sale of U.S. food and agricultural exports to Cuba."

The letters concluded by saying: "We ask your help in keeping this small but viable market open for export sales of U.S. food and agricultural commodities. This recent action by the Administration puts all future Cuban food and agricultural purchases at risk at a time when American farmers and ranchers are under extreme economic stress from low prices and decreasing world market share.

"We hope that the administration will look favorably upon future purchasing and technical visits from Cuban officials."

NCGA Urges Members to Support Bush's Call for TPA Vote in April
The NCGA continues to promote passage of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and urges its membership to contact their elected officials, asking their support on this important issue. Monday Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) hosted a TPA Rally attended by several farm-state senators, as well as U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Al Johnson.

It is essential that the Senate give the president the authority he needs to negotiate trade, said NCGA Vice Chairman of the Public Policy Action Team and corn grower from Greene, Iowa, Ron Litterer. "One in three U.S. farm acres is planted for export, and 25 percent of gross farm income comes from exports," he said. "For corn growers, TPA is not an option. It is a must for improving our export opportunities."
TPA would give the president the power to negotiate trade agreements, and ultimately, open new markets for the nation's corn growers. President George W. Bush recently asked Senate leadership to act and grant him TPA, saying "while we have been marking time, our competitors have been working, and they've been signing agreements. While we have been delaying, they've been trading."

President Bush is pressing Congress to have the TPA (formerly known as "fast track") bill on his desk in the next few days with a Senate vote to occur hopefully this week. In his State Department speech April 4, President Bush said: "For two decades, trade promotion authority was a bipartisan commitment. It wasn't a political issue. It was a commitment, because it represented our national interest in expanding foreign markets. Those years saw many successes, and during the '90s, about one-quarter of our economic growth came as a result of exports."
Currently, the United States is party to only three trade agreements, far fewer than most developed nations, the president said, partly because Congress has been so slow to act. The Administration is turning up the heat on TPA because certain deferrals of the Andean Trade Preference Act, which suspends duties on goods from South America in an effort to discourage narcotics production, will expire May 16. Separate bills giving Bush trade promotion authority and renewing Andean trade preferences have passed the Senate Finance Committee.

DID YOU KNOW??
http://www.ncga.com/ offers up-to-date Ag News, Weather and Market information. Customize weather information to your local area. Check it out!

NCGA Encouraged by President's Comments on Ethanol
The NCGA was pleased to hear President George W. Bush's pro-ethanol comments during a Republican fund-raising stop in South Dakota Wednesday.

"I said, when I was running for president, that I supported ethanol...and I meant it," he said. "I support it now, because not only do I know it's important for the ag sector of our economy, it's an important part of making sure we become less reliant on foreign sources of energy."
"This is great," said NCGA Ethanol Committee Chairman and York, Neb., corn grower Boyd Smith. "To have the president come out and voice his support for ethanol, value-added and renewables gives us credibility and will convince people that the renewable fuels standard (RFS) is something this country needs."

"Pretty soon they're going to get an energy bill to my desk," Bush continued, "and I look forward to signing it. On the one hand, it's going to encourage more conservation. On the other hand, hopefully, it will spur not only the development of renewables, but more oil and gas at home. And the two are not mutually exclusive.

"The less reliant we are on foreign sources of crude oil, the better off we are in America."

Phillips Counts Commitment, Dedication as Keys to NCGA Corn Board Re-Election
According to a time-tested cliché, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is fortunate, in that there are no weak links, especially in this year's crop of Corn Board candidates.

Kyle Phillips of Knoxville, Iowa, a current member of the Corn Board, is seeking re-election during this summer's Corn Congress. As an incumbent, Phillips said he has proven the dedication is there to be an effective Board member.
"Being on the Corn Board takes a lot of time and commitment," he said, "and having served on the Board, I think I've shown I have the commitment to be effective."

Phillips farms 2,200 acres of corn and soybeans with his wife, Sue, and his father Raymond. They raise some specialty grains, and have invested in an ethanol plant. He also serves on the Iowa Corn Promotion Board and is currently serving as Research Committee Chairman.
The Knoxville, Iowa, grower has worn many hats during his tenure with NCGA, having served on the Corn Board for the past three years, as well as serving as Chairman of the Finance Committee, and most recently as liaison for the Customer & Business Development Action Team.
"I feel I have the abilities and the motivation needed to build a better future for corn producers," said Phillips, "and I would like to demonstrate my abilities by continuing my service on the Corn Board.

I believe that a Corn Board member should have high moral character," he continued, "as well as dedication, making a constant effort to gain information, and think about how to improve the farm industry."

Phillips said he believes NCGA is an effective organization that can continue to grow and improve, and welcomes the opportunity to continue to be a part of this dynamic organization.

"I joined NCGA because it is a reputable organization that stands up for farmers' rights," he said. "I would like to continue to make NCGA a positive force for the nation's corn growers."

NCGA THIS WEEK

• April 29 NCGA President Tim Hume, CEO Rick Tolman and Strategic Marketing Communications Manager Gary Bradley will be in Washington, D.C., for the National Association of Farm Broadcasters " Washington Watch."
• April 30 Hume, Tolman and Bradley will attend the NAFB Washington Watch breakfast, where Hume will speak to an audience including Reps. Larry Combest (R-TX) and Charles Stenholm (D-TX)
• May 1-3 Tolman and NCGA Corn Board member Dee Vaughan will be in Mexico City, Mexico, attending the North American Conference on Agriculture