National Corn Growers Association sets plans in place for 2016

The issues and opportunities the National Corn Growers Association anticipate for 2016 were discussed during a meeting with the Corn Board, action teams and committees last week in St. Louis.

The corn industry, academia and government leaders presented information on possible changes to policies and activities to help improve opportunities for growers.

The action teams and committees are formed based on specific areas of expertise including trade policy and biotechnology, ethanol, public policy, production and stewardship, research and business development, and grower services. Each team and committee defines, implements and measures program actions according to their specific area of expertise. During this meeting, they listened to separate presentations and discussed policies.

A new draft of the strategic plan for NCGA was also reviewed during the gathering. The strategic plan will govern the association for the next several years.

“I was inspired by the dedication to agriculture that the farmer leaders showed as a whole and by the depth of subject area knowledge they brought to team discussions,” NCGA President Chip Bowling, a grower from Maryland, said. “By dividing the variety of issues facing our industry into subject areas, we allow growers to delve more deeply into a single area and gain more nuanced insight. Together, our leadership can then tackle each subject with a full understanding of its intricacies and the broader perspective our shared sessions offer.”

The teams will meet in various locations around the country in February 2016, then gather together in Washington in July.