Corn

November 09, 2009 -- DES MOINES – Today, Iowa Governor Chet Culver issued a proclamation suspending the hours of service requirement for truck drivers delivering propane. The suspension of the rule will help bring propane into the state quicker, helping to ensure an adequate supply of fuel for farmers drying their crops after this year’s harvest.

“Iowa’s farmers are the best in the world,” said Governor Culver. “This proclamation will assist corn and soybean growers get these important commodities to market as quickly as possible.”    » read more »

New Biofuel Product Likely Would Contaminate Food Supply, UCS Says

WASHINGTON (June 4, 2009) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture today reopened the public comment period for its proposal to permit, for the first time, widespread cultivation of a food crop engineered for biofuel production. In the first round, USDA received more than 13,000 comments, the vast majority of which opposed the crop's commercialization.

The opposition included major trade groups and food companies that fear the enzyme could end up in breakfast cereals and snack foods and hamper their ability to export them. In response, USDA revised its risk assessment for the corn and is now seeking additional public input between today and July 6.    » read more »

UCS Says New Biofuel Product Likely to Contaminate Food Supply

February 13, 2009 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently closed the public comment period for its proposal to permit—for the first time—widespread cultivation of a food crop engineered for biofuel production. If authorized, the new ethanol corn would also be the first genetically engineered industrial crop destined to be planted on millions of acres annually. Grown at such an enormous scale, the ethanol corn would inevitably contaminate corn intended for the food and feed supply, exposing people to new engineered proteins that may pose an allergy risk.    » read more »

May 7, 2008 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today submitted written testimony to the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee urging Congress and the President to lift an import tariff on ethanol and temporarily waive the federal Renewable Fuel Standards to ease the vise-like pressures of spiraling gasoline and food prices.

“Connecticut families and businesses are getting bruised by the soaring cost of everyday necessities like gas and groceries,” Governor Rell said. “One major factor in this unhappy duet is the price of corn – demand for the crop as a source of ethanol is competing fiercely with demand for corn as food, additives in products such as soft drinks and animal feed.    » read more »

Requests Federal RFS Mandate Waiver

Apr. 25, 2008 -- AUSTIN – Seeking immediate relief from skyrocketing food costs, Texas Governor Rick Perry today asked the federal government for a 50 percent waiver from the federal renewable fuel standard (RFS) mandate for ethanol produced from grain.

Combine harvester: Photo by lapstrake (CC)    » read more »

March 11, 2008 -- [WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today hosted a meeting with representatives from the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA) to discuss the Farm Bill and the Energy Bill.

“Illinois farm land is among the most productive in the world. I am looking forward to passing a Farm Bill that will maximize its potential and ensure we have the infrastructure to bring our agricultural products to market,” said Durbin.    » read more »

January 24, 2008 -- LANSING - Michigan corn producers will have an opportunity to vote on whether to continue the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan in a referendum conducted by the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) beginning Monday, January 28, 2008, through Friday, February 8, 2008.

Ballots will be mailed by MDA to corn producers on Friday, January 25, 2008. Eligible producers with questions, or those not receiving a ballot, should contact MDA toll-free at 800-292-3939.    » read more »

October 30, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today hosted a meeting with representatives from the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA) – including ICGA President Steve Ruh of Sugar Grove – to discuss the 2007 Farm Bill, the Energy Bill and the Water Resources Development Act.

“Illinois farm land is among the most productive in the world. It is important that we work to pass a Farm Bill and ensure we have infrastructure to bring our agricultural products to market,” said Durbin.    » read more »

August 27, 2007 -- Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo filed comments today asking the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. to reject a proposed consent decree that would approve Monsanto Company’s acquisition of Delta & Pine Land Company.

General Stumbo noted in the filing that this acquisition will “eliminate competition in agriculture biotechnology and seeds, stifle innovation and product choice, and result in higher prices to U.S. farmers and consumers.”    » read more »

June 29, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, today issued the following statement on the acreage report released this morning by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The survey estimates that 92.9 million acres of corn have been planted nationally this spring.    » read more »