Education and Training

National Grain and Feed Digital Solutions (NGFDS) announced Nov. 30 that the Barge Digital Transformation (BDT) platform will be operational for soybeans and other commodities, including wheat, soybean meal and distillers dried grains, in early 2021. The platform has been operational for corn bills of lading since Nov. 1. NGFA announced its official partnership in July with the affiliated organization NGFDS to oversee the BDT platform. NGFDS has partnered with essDOCS to implement this platform that is digitizing barge trading documents so they may be transmitted electronically – a huge ... Read More

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing an opportunity for warehouse operators to update storage and/or handling rates for warehouses that have a Uniform Grain and Rice Storage Agreement (UGRSA). A UGRSA is required to store commodities owned by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). The UGRSA letter sent to grain warehouses on Jan. 6 informs warehouse operators how to request changes to their storage and handling rates using the CCC 25-2 form. The submission deadline is Jan. 26. No action is necessary if a warehouse operator desires to maintain their current storage and ... Read More

By Max Fisher, Director of Economics and Government Affairs With bumper crops exceeding permanent storage capacity in many parts of the country, grain elevator managers are reminded of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) rules for the use of temporary and emergency storage. Regulations governing the use of temporary and emergency storage have been embodied in the U.S. Warehouse Act (USWA) Grain and Rice Licensing Agreement entered into with federally licensed grain warehouses, which also apply to licensed grain elevators operating under the Uniform Grain and Rice Storage ... Read More

Above photo: The NGFA on Feb. 22 welcomed members of the 2015-16 Michigan Agri-Business Association’s Leadership Group for a discussion on major policy issues being addressed by Congress and federal agencies that affect the grain, feed and processing industry. Topics included the status of federal legislation to preempt state and local laws on biotech labeling of human and animal food; new plant breeding technologies that involve gene editing and other non-transgenic technology; the impact of the Food and Drug Administration’s regulations implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act; ... Read More

By Todd Kemp, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Treasurer A new class of 18 committee apprentices will serve on nine NGFA committees during the coming year. Now entering its third program year, the apprentice program has successfully facilitated involvement by several dozen early- to mid-career employees and future leaders of NGFA-member firms. Several members of the first apprentice class already serve as full members on various NGFA committees. New apprentices and their committees are: Biotechnology Committee Jay Day, CGB Enterprises, Jeffersonville, Ind. Bryce Johnson, ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media With more than 600 pages of rules dedicated to animal feed and pet food being implemented in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) final rules, it’s important to understand how the wide-ranging law and these new FDA regulations will affect your business. A webinar hosted by the NGFA and Grain Journal will cover details and answer questions about the agency’s recently published FSMA regulations, which apply to domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack or store animal feed, as well as pet food. David ... Read More