SD Corn

Leaders from several South Dakota ag commodity groups met with U.S. Sen. John Thune and his senior advisor Lynn Tjeerdsma in Sioux Falls on Tuesday to discuss the upcoming 2012 Farm Bill.

“We want to find out what people want to see in the bill – what’s working and what’s not,” said Thune.

The biggest thing that is working for farmers today is Federal Crop Insurance, which is the top priority for the South Dakota Corn Growers among other groups.

“Crop insurance is our No. 1 issue,” echoed South Dakota Corn Growers Association President, Gary Duffy. “Crop insurance is an efficient and effective program for all producers and farmers do pay premiums on it.”

The second term senator recognized the importance and success of the crop insurance program but admitted that challenges do lie ahead.

“Unfortunately, the guys in cotton and rice country have a different opinion on crop insurance and direct payments,” he said.

Thune also discussed the common public misconceptions of the Farm Bill as three-fourths of its funding goes towards food assistance programs like SNAP.

“A dime out of every dollar from the ag budget goes to production agriculture,” Thune said. “People assume most of the money goes to farmers.”

Duffy agreed that the public’s perception of farm programs can be easily misunderstood.

“When agriculture is thriving, consumers tend be negative towards farm programs,” said Duffy. “People need to understand that these programs are in place for the rough times to not only protect our food producers, but our food supply as well.”

The United States House of Representatives is on a mission to take apart the Environmental Protection Agency. Whether they are right or wrong isn’t the issue, it’s the fact that they continue to put politics ahead of the countries clean energy future.

Last January, the EPA approved the blend E15 (15% ethanol, 85% gasoline) as being safe for non flex-fuel cars and light trucks model year 2001 and newer. The announcement came after several delays and substantial amounts of testing. In fact, E15 is the most tested fuel in American history. So what exactly is the problem?

Two U.S. House members, John Sullivan (R-OK) and Gary Peters (D-MI) have introduced an amendment to further block the EPA’s financial means of implementing E15 into the marketplace.

The freshmen in the House are touting overall spending cuts, but would it make sense to block the implementation of E15 after all of the money that has already been spent on its testing and approval? And wouldn’t the blend benefits including lowering greenhouse gas emissions, increased tax revenues and less imported petroleum from not so nice countries far outweigh those costs?

America uses a lot of oil and imports 50% of it. That number has decreased by 10% in the last five years due in part to increased biofuel production. E15 would continue America on the path of lessening its dependence on foreign oil, create new green jobs and further enhance the countries energy security.

“Installing E15 into the marketplace needs to be about sound science, not party politics,” said South Dakota Corn Growers Association President, Gary Duffy, a farmer from Oldham, SD. “Higher blends of ethanol at the pump will not only save consumers money, but keep those dollars right here in the United States. It’s time to make our countries 90% gasoline mandate a thing of the past and let America’s corn farmers fuel us into the future.”

The Environmental Protection Agency approved a fuel pump label today for the blend E15 (15% ethanol and 85% gasoline), that the agency had declared safe for vehicles 2001 or newer back in January of this year.

The work on approving the E15 blend for non-flex fuel vehicles has been an ongoing ordeal for quite some time but progress continues to be made with the label finally being approved making the blend closer to a reality in the marketplace.

While the E15 label isn’t perfect, South Dakota Corn Growers Association President, Gary Duffy feels that it is a definite improvement from previous drafts.

“We feel that the language, ‘may cause damage’ and orange color of the label doesn’t necessarily represent the fuel in positive light,” said Duffy. “But as an organization, we are happy to see the EPA use industry recommendations and we support the use of the label in the marketplace.”

Gaining additional access to the marketplace will be a giant step for the ethanol industry who has been up against a blend wall for decades as oil companies have maintained a comfortable 90% gasoline mandate in the United States. Studies show that the E15 blend will create over 100,000 additional green jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 40 million tons of CO2 per year and improve the countries’ overall energy security.

“We’re already reducing our dependence on foreign oil with our current ethanol production and E15 will only progress our country down the path of energy independence,” added Duffy.

Thousands of farmers from across the country including 12 from South Dakota Corn will be meeting in Tampa Bay, Florida as Commodity Classic 2011 kicks off. Commodity Classic is the premier trade show of the American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Association of Wheat and National Sorghum Producers.

Producers meet every year at Commodity Classic to discuss agriculture issues, shape future policy, network with farmers from other states and learn about new products.

Sharing and discussing agriculture issues is a big part of Commodity Classic as farmers embrace new challenges such as rising input costs, weed control and adapting to new technologies.

During Commodity Classic, the National Corn Growers Association hosts Corn Congress, giving corn growers from across the nation a chance to gather and shape future NCGA policy determining what positions the organization will take on certain issues including the 2012 Farm Bill, ethanol development, EPA regulations and many more.

“Commodity Classic is an excellent opportunity for growers from our state to express the needs and concerns for our fellow producers on a national level,” said South Dakota Corn Growers Association President, Gary Duffy, a farmer and rancher from Oldham, SD.

You can follow Commodity Classic events live from Tampa via Twitter by searching for #Classic11.

The South Dakota Corn Growers Association board directors and staff gathered at the state capitol on Wednesday and Thursday to meet with legislators to discuss current topics and legislation.

69 legislators joined South Dakota Corn and the American Coalition for Ethanol on Wednesday night at View 34 in Pierre for “An Enchanted Evening with Ag and Energy.” An event sponsored by the two organizations to show their appreciation for the state’s lawmakers.

“We appreciate the commitment, leadership and passion for public service shown by our South Dakota officials,” said Teddi Mueller, SDCGA’s legislative and industry affairs director. “This is a challenging year for the Legislature with the state facing a budget shortfall, and we recognize all the extra work they’re putting in.”

“We have great relationships with a number of South Dakota legislators, but there are many new faces and this event gives our directors an opportunity to meet with them in a relaxed setting,” said SDCGA president, Gary Duffy, a farmer and rancher from Oldham, SD.

Today, the SDCGA directors held their February board meeting in Pierre. Directors also sat in on several committee hearings including the House Ag and Natural Resources, House Taxation and the Senate Ag and Natural Resources.

“Having a presence in Pierre is an important part of the South Dakota Corn Grower’s efforts in best representing our membership,” said Duffy. “We are here as the voice for not only our membership, but all of our state’s producers.”