A newsletter from the
National Corn Growers Association
Corn Grower update
New Renewable Fuels Standard, Presidential Veto
Override Mark Busy First Quarter
A
mong many accomplishments,
the National Corn Growers
Association (NCGA) began its
fiscal year and ended its calendar year
with record corn production, two major
legislative victories and the introduction
of a new first vice president for the Corn
Board. Corn producers had many reasons
to celebrate and be thankful as the holidays
came and went.
The first quarter, which ended December
2007, proved to be an especially eventful
three months for the NCGA as it worked
to complete major legislation, scoring two
wins with ethanol and water development
bills and building on our organization’s
reputation as a responsible innovator when
it comes to farm policy. And trade and farm
policy issues were also front-and-center,
even though Congress and the president
could not agree on the new farm bill.
While Washington was getting an energy
bill through Congress and the White
House that included our vision of a
renewable fuels standard, NCGA and state
grower leaders and staff were continually
confronting ethanol critics who distorted
or ignored research. From the Wall Street
Journal to National Geographic magazine,
NCGA was countering false claim after
false claim in a positive and informative
manner.
In the meantime, U.S. corn growers were
pleased to see the fruits of a record
harvest. We already were expecting high
numbers given the number of acres planted
earlier in 2007, but the production of
13.1 billion bushels (and an average yield
of 151.1 bushels per acre) was above and
beyond expectations. Perhaps this explains
why we also saw a record number of
entrants to NCGA’s National Corn Yield
Contest – nearly 5,000 growers.
First Quarter 2008 Volume VII, Issue 1
One of the
causes of this
higher production
is a growth in
biotechnology,
and NCGA in
December updated
its “Know Before
You Grow” program
to help farmers
make their seed
purchase decisions,
and kicked off
a “Respect the
Refuge” campaign
Leadership Busy at
to promote the planting of non-Bt corn Broadcasters Conference
and protect the use of biotech in the fields.
NCGA Chairman Ken
With the beginning of a new fiscal year, the McCauley, left, and President
annual Corn Board officer change took Ron Litterer meet the press
at the National Association of
place. Ken McCauley of Kansas became Farm Broadcasting’s annual
chairman of the NCGA Corn Board, Ron conference, held in November
Litterer of Iowa became president and in Kansas City.
Bob Dickey of Nebraska became first vice
president. The officers traveled intensely
during the first quarter, and all three
spent a good deal of time in meetings In this issue
in Washington, D.C., working to ensure
passage of our priority legislation. Clark First Quarter Accomplishments
Gerstacker of Michigan and Bart Schott of
• Biotech
North Dakota took seats as Corn Board
members. • Ethanol and Energy
• Farm and Rural
In late October, as the nation’s corn Development
farmers harvested the largest crop in • Research and Business
history, the National Corn Growers Development
Association and its state affiliates launched • Production and
a campaign to educate consumers about Stewardship
growers’ dedication for producing the • Trade
safest, most abundant food and feed supply • Membership
on Earth, while also supplying the demands • NCGA Funding Update
for cleaner-burning, renewable ethanol. A
campaign Web site highlighted interesting
facts about farming, complete with an
interactive timeline.
Continued on page 8
 Biotechnology
The NCGA Biotechnology Working Group
kicked off a communications campaign called
“Respect the Refuge” in December to stress
the importance of setting aside refuge acres
when planting certain biotech corn hybrids.
The refuge program is a key responsibility
for corn growers using Bt corn, a hybrid
that contains a gene from the soil bacterium
Bacillus thuringiensis, which produce proteins
that can kill the European Corn Borer or
Corn Rootworms. Growers use Bt corn as an
alternative to spraying insecticides for control
of these pests. In addition to being mandated
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
planting a refuge of non-Bt corn on a farm is
crucial to ensure that European corn borer or
Corn Rootworms do not develop resistance
to the Bt proteins. These refuge acres ensure
that rare resistant insects have a population of
susceptible insects to mate with thus diluting
any resistance in their offspring.
The "Respect the Refuge" campaign has two
major elements. The first was a postcard
distribution to NCGA membership that
highlighted the top reasons for refuge
compliance. In addition, NCGA worked
with others in the Bt corn industry to place
billboards in several states promoting the
importance of a refuge. Interstate and highway
drivers in certain parts of Iowa, Illinois,
Minnesota, South Dakota, Missouri, Tennessee
and Mississippi will be seeing them this winter.
Leading scientists agree the resistance threat
is real and planting a proper refuge will help
ensure the longevity of the current products
available. Loss of the technology to insect
resistance could cost U.S. farmers billions of
dollars through yield reduction and increased
pesticide use.
Also in December, NCGA updated its popular
“Know Before You Grow” database, which the
association maintains to help growers realize
potential export markets for their crops. The
database lists seed products and their approval
status by Japan and the European Union. Of 24
registered hybrid traits covered in the database,
22 have been approved in Japan, 10 for food
and feed use in the EU, and 13 for feed use in
the EU. The database lists nearly 4,000 seed
products based on these biotech traits.
2 Corn Grower Update: A newsletter from NCGA
Ethanol and Energy
NCGA and its allies celebrated a major
victory on December 19 when President Bush
signed the Energy Independence and Security
Act, expanding the renewable fuels standard
to require 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol
production by 2015 – perfectly in line with
NCGA’s vision.
Other provisions in the bill include:
• Requirement of 9 billion gallons of
renewable fuels in 2008, progressively
increasing to the 36 billion-gallon
requirement by 2022, including a 1 billion-
gallon mandate for biodiesel;
• Increases in the Corporate Average Fuel
Economy (CAFE) standards to 35 miles
per gallon by 2020, the first congressional
increase in 32 years;
• Studies on the feasibility of ethanol
pipelines, higher blend levels and the
optimization of flex fuel vehicles.
During this same period, NCGA was forced to
respond to numerous attacks on corn ethanol,
the most egregious of which was a statement
by Jean Ziegler of the United Nations, who said
that using food crops for biofuels are a “crime
against humanity.”
“Genocide is crime against humanity. War
crimes are a crime against humanity. Any act
of persecution to a large scale of people is
a crime against humanity. Finding solutions
to a global energy problem while continuing
to provide food to the world is not a crime
against humanity,” said NCGA CEO Rick
Tolman.
Tolman said if Ziegler were citing facts on
biofuels and corn he would know the United
States is harvesting more than enough to
help meet the needs of global hunger, offset
petroleum use, provide a nutritious feed for
livestock and have more than an adequate corn
supply on hand.
“It is a travesty when an official makes public
statements that are so irresponsible, so
inaccurate and so inappropriately damning,” he
added. “The statements ‘crime against humanity’
and ‘catastrophe of the massacre (by) hunger
in the world’ are not to be used lightly or in
such an irresponsible manner. Hunger is not
something to trifle with and those in positions
of responsibility need to be accountable in
their statements.”
In October, a letter from NCGA President Ron
Litterer led the letters page of the Wall Street
Journal after an editorial in the paper attacked
ethanol’s water usage.
The editorial, Litterer wrote, “obfuscates
the need for domestic energy solutions by
torturing data and attempting to stir up those
ugly political fights it warns about. … Growers
are on the brink of delivering the largest U.S.
corn crop on record—providing enough corn
for food, fuel, feed and fiber. And they’re doing
it responsibly.”
Farm and Rural
Development
In the first quarter of the fiscal year, NCGA’s
grower leaders and staff worked hard to
ensure its voice was heard in all key discussions
related to the renewal of the farm bill. While
the farm bill has yet to pass out of Congress
and make its way to the president’s desk, our
voice has not only been heard but is reflected
in the House and Senate legislation being
discussed in conference committee.
NCGA is advocating a market-based revenue
protection program so that producers would
have access to flexible supports that move up
with rising commodity prices and input costs.
In an era of increased demand for corn and
other feed grains, revenue-based programs
target support more efficiently than current
programs. The organization called on its
members and other interested parties to reach
out to their senators especially, and express
support for a revenue program option.
On Dec. 14, the Senate passed the Food and
Energy Security Act of 2007, marking another
positive step forward for the optional revenue-
based counter cyclical program. The adoption
of the state-based Average Crop Revenue
Election (ACRE) program in the comprehensive
bill’s Commodity Title incorporates a more
market-oriented farm safety net program that
better meets the needs of producers in today’s
economic environment. ACRE is scheduled to
be available as an option beginning 2010 and is
designed to deliver more effective support for
producers who experience revenue shortfalls.
Although the ACRE is tied to base acres and is
not integrated with federal crop insurance, the
optional program’s expected variable support
per acre is more stable across high and low
prices than payments from current programs
or the national revenue counter-cyclical
program provided in the farm bill approved by
the House.
With additional refinements, the ACRE would
offer corn growers the choice of an even
more viable risk management tool for
a rapidly changing agriculture economy.
NCGA urges Congress to adopt a strong “NCGA will continue to
revenue-based safety net program in the
fight for a farm bill that will
2008 Farm Bill that provides farmers
better targeted and more reliable strengthen the agricultural
protection against crop losses and falling safety net and create job and
commodity prices. growth opportunities for
“NCGA will continue to fight for a farm
rural America.”
bill that will strengthen the agricultural
David Gillen
safety net and create job and growth
opportunities for rural America,” said Chairman
David Gillen, chair of NCGA’s Public NCGA Public Policy Action Team
Policy Action Team.
Research and
Business Development
NCGA research representatives met with
representatives from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture and researchers from the land-
grant universities to assess the proposed
changes to the structure of USDA’s research
arms – the Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
and the Cooperative State Research, Education,
and Extension Service (CSREES). Currently,
the Research and Business Development
Action Team supports increasing the efficiency,
inter- and intra-agency communication,
stability and long term increases in agricultural
research resources. However, the House
of Representatives’ version of the farm bill
supports the creation of six new oversight
positions to review all research activities within
the USDA, a possible increase in bureaucracy
and decrease in efficiency.
The Senate version holds some promise and
caveats as well. NCGA supports the creation
of a National Institute of Food and Agriculture
(NIFA), but the Senate does so at the expense
of any guaranteed funding to agricultural
research and replaces half of the current USDA
research organization, CSREES with NIFA.
NCGA hopes to see better solutions to the
decline in agricultural research in during the
conference sessions of the farm bill.
Divergence, a research company in which
NCGA has invested, reported having a
successful year in developing chemical and
transgenic nematode control in agricultural
systems. In addition to their work in corn, soy
Corn Grower Update: A newsletter from NCGA 3
 At its regular meeting of action teams and committees in November,
NCGA took time out for a reception celebrating the passage of the Water
Resources Development Act of 2007. Joining NCGA President Ron Litterer,
left, were U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello of Illinois, center, and
Art Bunting, president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association.
and other plant systems, Divergence
was awarded a grant from the National
Institute of Heath to continue parasitic
control research in animal systems.
Likewise, Divergence was highlighted as
one of the major technology transfer
success stories produced from the
research done under the National Plant
Genome Initiative (NPGI). The NPGI
has seen tremendous growth since NCGA
helped create it 10 years ago and, through
the National Science Foundation, will be
announcing the draft sequence of the corn
genome this spring.
An announcement of the corn genome
sequencing will coincide with the 50th Maize
Genetics meeting being held in March in
Washington, D.C. NCGA has been working
with the oversight committees organizing the
event for a kickoff reception at the Smithsonian
Natural History Museum, honoring some of
the major scientific and political contributors
to plant genetics.
Production and
Stewardship
In December, NCGA released the results of its
annual National Corn Yield Contest. Staff were
faced with an extraordinary record number
of entries – 4,932, which is 56 percent more
than in 2006. And the yields themselves were
extraordinary. Two dozen entries recorded
yields of 300 bushels or more per acre, and
the 27 national winners in nine production
categories had verified yields averaging more
than 298 bushels per acre, compared to the
estimated national average of 151.1 bushels per
acre.
While there is no overall winner in the contest
due to differences in categories, the top yield
NATIONAL CORN YIELD CONTEST
of 385.5861 was recorded by David K. Hula
of Charles City, Va. The 529 national and
state winners will be recognized at the 2008
Commodity Classic and are featured in the
mid-February issue of Farm Journal.
4 Corn Grower Update: A newsletter from the NCGA
These high yields were reflective of record-
breaking production in 2007, as harvest-time
reports brought out some significant numbers.
Production in 2007 hit an all-time high of 13.1
billion bushels from a harvested 86.5 million
acres, for a yield of 151.1 bushels per acre, the
USDA reported.
Moving these record crops to market will
become easier, thanks to congressional action
on the 2007 Water Resources Development
Act (WRDA), which was passed by Congress,
vetoed by President Bush, and then passed by
Congress again in override votes in November.
“When it comes to this issue, nothing has
been easy,” said NCGA President Ron Litterer.
“After almost two decades of work by corn
growers, millions of dollars spent on studies,
seven years of waiting on the legislative
process, a presidential veto and then a veto
override by the U.S. Congress, we finally
have achieved authorization to modernize
seven locks on the Upper Mississippi River
System. Once again, our grower members
demonstrated their influence and commitment
to the Water Resources Development Act by
contacting their members of Congress and
urging them to overturn the president’s veto.”
Overturning the president’s veto is just a
permission slip to seek funding through the
annual appropriations process. For several
years, NCGA has worked to secure pre-
construction dollars for the Upper Mississippi
River System projects, but the real work
now begins with a full-court press to obtain
construction dollars through the annual
appropriations process, Litterer said.
Trade
Passage and signing of the Peru Trade
Promotion Agreement was another victory for
corn growers in late 2007. This success came
about, in part, due to the effective grassroots
of NCGA. In October, prior to the passage
of the agreement legislation, NCGA joined
50 organizations representing U.S. farmers,
ranchers, meat processors, food producers and
exporters, to urge congressional approval.
“Removing trade barriers between the U.S.
and Peru will create important new export
opportunities for corn growers,” said NCGA
President Ron Litterer. “This agreement will
allow the United States to compete on a level
playing with Peru’s other trading partners.”
The PTPA provides reciprocal access for
American farmers and ranchers, as many of
Peru’s agricultural products have little or
no tariffs upon entry into the United States
through the Andean Trade Preference Act.
Under the act, corn growers could expect
a penny-per-bushel increase in price. In
addition, the increased demand in beef, pork
and poultry converted into bushels of corn
would likely mean another one-half cent. The
Peru trade agreement would also improve U.S.
corn growers’ ability to compete with regional
competition such as Argentina.
In October, NCGA joined with farm groups
representing a dozen agricultural commodities
to ask President Bush to push for trade
reform. The letter to the president stated that
proposed cuts in farm programs need to be
balanced with improved trade opportunities
for U.S. crops, including corn. The groups asked
the president to correct what they called a
“severe imbalance” between proposed cuts in
federal support for agriculture and weak or
non-specific concessions by trade partners to
remove barriers to their markets.
“The level of ambition in cutting trade-
distorting domestic support must be
commensurate with the level of ambition
in obtaining access to both developed and
developing country markets,” the letter said.
“Unfortunately, the current text for the
agriculture negotiations proposes to further
reduce U.S. domestic support well below the
U.S. offer of October 2005, while the ranges
for overall tariff cuts are set lower than those
proposed by the United States. Even more
troubling, the current agriculture text does
not address key measures that could seriously
erode any market access gains.”
Without significant improvements in
the current World Trade Organization
negotiations, the groups said, there is
“little hope of achieving balance between
what the U.S. is being asked to give up in “Removing trade barriers
reduced domestic support and what our between the U.S. and Peru
trading partners are offering on increased will create important new
market access.” The groups cautioned
the president that correcting the current
export opportunities for corn
flaws in the U.S. position was essential for growers. This agreement will
continued support by agriculture for a allow the United States to
new trade agreement. compete on a level playing
Considerable concern has arisen regarding with Peru’s other trading
partners.”
the ability of American farmers to access
the necessary supply of inputs, including
fertilizer. One of the issues raised in
regard to this supply is the current Ron Litterer
antidumping orders on solid urea from President, NCGA
Russia and Ukraine, given the rapidly
growing demand for agricultural inputs.
NCGA began work on the issue of
Russian urea and the tariff this past year.
In late November, the U.S. International
Trade Commission (ITC) failed to allow new
information to be reviewed for the record on
the antidumping order. The court is unlikely
to now overturn the ITC’s decision but there
is always a possibility. White & Case, which
represents Russian fertilizer manufacturers,
plans to submit comments to the U.S. Court of
International Trade opposing the ITC’s decision.
However, in late December, the Department
of Commerce issued a preliminary decision on
a new shipper review, brought by EuroChem,
a Russian exporter, which stated a 0.00%
dumping margin for the latter half of 2006. A
final decision is expected in May 2008.
Membership
As the presidential election season approached
the first set of primaries and caucuses, NCGA
debuted an informational program designed
to educate the candidates about issues of
importance to growers – and to involve
growers in the political process by providing
them the information they need to make an
informed choice.
Called the Targeted Agricultural Education
Program (TAEP), the program’s main feature is
a Web site section that provides information on
where the candidates stand on five issue areas
Corn Grower Update: A newsletter from NCGA 5
 important to growers – trade, the farm bill,
ethanol and renewable fuels and estate and
capital gains taxes. It also includes information
about where the NCGA stands on these
issues. For more information, visit www.ncga.
com/vote2008.
Also in late 2007, NCGA and BASF Corp.
joined forces to award college scholarships
to deserving undergraduate and graduate
students pursuing a degree in an agriculture-
related field.
“A solid education will help tomorrow’s
agricultural leaders excel in a world of
increased technological and scientific
sophistication,” said Matt Gibson, chair of the
NCGA’s Grower Services Action Team and a
farmer from Morocco, Ind. “We’re proud to
support this program to help young growers
get the academic background they need to
advance our industry.”
The NCGA Academic Excellence in
Agriculture Scholarship Program will be
conducted annually, awarding five (5) $1,000
one-year scholarships to deserving, qualified
second-year undergraduate students (or later)
or graduate students enrolled in an agriculture,
agribusiness, or agriculture vocation program
at a 2-year or 4-year program of study at an
accredited junior college, college or university.
Winners will be recognized at the 2008
Commodity Classic.

REGISTER NOW FOR TOP NCGA EVENTS

Two upcoming meetings will provide NCGA members and others with the
opportunity to network, learn and share ideas – and have a little fun in the process.

The 2008 Commodity Classic is right around the corner, Feb. 28-March 1, in
Nashville, Tenn. Several educational and marketing sessions and a trade show
await corn, soybean and wheat growers at this annual convention and trade
show of NCGA, the American Soybean Association (ASA) and the National
Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG).

Of special interest for NCGA members will be the issues briefing, open forum and
state caucuses on Wednesday, Feb. 27, the CornPAC Auction that night, and Corn
Congress sessions on Thursday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1. An enlightening
General Session, learning sessions, large trade show and family fun at the Evening
of Entertainment round out this annual favorite. For more information, visit www.
commodityclassic.com.

Also, NCGA has been gearing up for the biennial Corn Utilization and Technology
Conference (CUTC), June 2-4 in Kansas City.

With a theme of “Corn: New Horizons,” the conference will emphasize the
importance of identifying the next generation of technologies to sustain corn as
nature’s feedstock of the future. CUTC has been expanded to include new topics
that will be of value to many audiences, such as ethanol producers and livestock
interests.

CUTC has been increasingly recognized as an important industry networking

event. Attendees will have the chance to meet with hundreds of valuable business
contacts, identify potential new customers, and learn how new technologies
will enhance the value of corn. CUTC will also offer exhibitors presenting new
technologies and equipment, posters demonstrating cutting-edge technology, and
a golf tournament at Tiffany Greens, one of the top courses in the state.

Visit www.corntechconf.org to register or for more information.

6 Corn Grower Update: A newsletter from NCGA

NCGA FY 2008 BUDGET

NCGA FY 2008 REVENUE SOURCES

Government
Grants
2%
Interest
1%
CUTC
2% Memberships
Corn Yield
Contest 7%
7% Industry
Commodity 10%
Classic
3%

Checkoff Revenue

68%

5-YEAR FINANCIAL STATEMENT

COMPARISON

10,000,000
9,000,000
8,000,000
7,000,000
6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
0
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Total Assets Total Liabilities Equity Total Revenue Total Expense

Corn Grower Update: A newsletter from NCGA 7

 Continued from page 1

“The media is full of stories about a pending corn shortage

and the impact higher corn prices were having on the
consumer’s pocketbook,” said NCGA President Ron Litterer.
“In the midst of the largest corn harvest in history, we
wanted to take a moment to highlight corn growers' role in
meeting demands for both our food and feed needs, as well as
helping our nation become more energy independent.”

The Image of Corn campaign generated a total of nearly 50

million media impressions. As part of that a radio spot with
actor James Garner earned approximately 32 million media
impressions across the country, including airing about 150
times in the top 10 media markets. In addition, a holiday news
release detailing how America stacks up in terms of food
prices earned an additional 17.7 million media hits, including
a prime spot in New York’s Times Square at four times ‘Image of Corn’ Campaign Celebrates Farming,
over the Christmas holiday. And Internet elements of the Educates Consumers
campaign reached more than 75,500 individuals with campaign
messages.

CONTACT NCGA: (636) 733-9004 - FAX (636) 733-9005 - corninfo@ncga.com - www.ncga.com

2007 Photo
Contest
Winner a
Three-Peat
By its exuberant
portrayal of farm
family life, a non-
traditional top photo
helped amateur
shutterbug Peggy
Bellar take home the top award in NCGA’s
annual photo contest for the third year in
a row. Bellar’s photo shows her sons, Luke
and Ben, with puppies at the family farm, in
Howard, Kan.