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NCGA joins grains, livestock coalition to kill COOL
(Tuesday, May 6, 2003 -- CropChoice news) -- The following comes from a National Corn Growers Association press release.
St. Louis, MO--Representatives of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and several grains and livestock organizations are forming a coalition to identify and address possible threats facing agriculture within the next 10 years.
NCGA co-hosted a meeting May 1 in St. Louis with the American Soybean Association (ASA) and the United Soybean Board (USB) to address the issues.
In attendance were representatives of the National Oilseed Producers Association, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the National Pork Producers' Council, the Cattlemen's Beef Board, the National Chicken Council, and the National Pork Board.
NCGA President Fred Yoder, who represented NCGA with CEO Rick Tolman and Livestock Information and Programs Manager Tracy Snider, said the meeting was called as a forum to discuss common issues affecting agriculture.
"It was a great opportunity to understand the perspective of the other groups," said the Plain City, Ohio, corn grower. "I think there was a lot of power in that meeting and I think we have a real chance to put together a successful coalition and get some things accomplished in Washington, D.C."
Representatives from the attending associations discussed topics such as production capability, profitability and foreseeable events that could impair or prevent future opportunities for the burgeoning coalition.
The afternoon was spent in a brainstorming session, providing attendees the chance to put forth ideas on how the new group may benefit the respective organizations and its individual members.
"It was evident we really need to talk more about the issues affecting us all," said Yoder. "We should have been doing this a long time ago. Putting this together was a great idea by ASA and USB and we're planning regular meetings and conference calls. Tracy will be NCGA's point person and she will be responsible for representing corn grower issues to the grou p."
Yoder said among the priority issues for the new coalition is country of origin labeling (COOL). "We don't really have a policy on that," he said, "but there is definitely a need for one. The groups at the meeting were adamantly opposed to COOL."
"After hearing about the decline in livestock and hearing about the obstacles facing that industry," Yoder continued, "it's clear to me livestock could potentially start slipping away and we need to help them any way we can. Livestock is our number-one customer and do what we can to assist them.
"I'm excited about the coalition and the prospect of working together for the benefit of agriculture overall."
For more information, contact NCGA at 636-733-9004 ext. 113. | |
